A look at the local elections
Remember to vote.
Tuesday is Election Day, and mayoral and city council seats are up for grabs in 11 cities across Kootenai County, not to mention a fire district spot in Kidd Island.
We have compiled a list of municipal candidates from Athol to Harrison, and a synopsis of many of those politicos in some of the higher profile races. We decided to focus only on the contested ones.
That said, a few reminders before you go out and rock the ballot box.
All voters must go to their designated polling place if they want to vote on Election Day. To look up your polling place, go to www.kcgov.us/elections, and click on the Polling Place look-up link highlighted in blue on the top right side of the page.
Polling places will be open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. And city races are nonpartisan, so there won’t be an ‘R’ ‘D’ or ‘I’ next to any names on the ballots.
There’s more to a candidate than a few paragraphs can provide, but we hope the 11th-hour crash course can be of some service for those about to cast a ballot.
So get out there. And don’t forget your ‘I voted’ sticker either.
Coeur d'Alene
City Council
Seat 1
Adam Graves
Graves is a co-founder of Range NW, a branding and marketing firm with offices in Dallas and Coeur d'Alene.
In his first run at a council position, Graves has said he supports the city's plans with redeveloping McEuen Field and does not support putting the project up to a public advisory vote. He does not support ending collective bargaining for city employees, but new monies from reduced departments shouldn't go to increased wages for city employees. He supports urban renewal, and wants to use his marketing background to improve city communications by utilizing updated technology.
The 37-year-old is treasurer of the Coeur d'Alene Downtown Association's Board of Directors and sits on the city's parking commission.
Ron Edinger
Edinger is the seat 1 incumbent with more than 40 years experience as a mayor and councilman.
The veteran councilman has been the lone vote of opposition regarding McEuen Field, going against the park's conceptual plan, contracts for the park's designers and the city's fiscal year 2012 budget because it included money for the park's construction and replacement facilities.
He has made motions several times to put the park up to a public vote, but has never received a second.
While he has been a critic of the city's urban renewal agency at times, he maintains the agency and city have done many positive projects together.
Edinger has lived in Coeur d'Alene for 56 years, and also serves on the Tubbs Hill Foundation and the Parks Foundation and is in the Idaho Umpires Hall of Fame.
Seat 3
George Sayler
Sayler is a former four-term state representative.
He supports the development of the McEuen Field project and the education corridor along the North Idaho College campus. He is a proponent of the city's urban renewal agency, Lake City Development Corp.
He said he would second a motion to put the McEuen project to public vote so the discussion could get to the council level, but would hold off on making a decision until that conversation took place. He supported the council's decision to give city employees pay raises, especially since it didn't raise property taxes in the process.
The former public school teacher's landmark legislation, before he retired, was strengthening Idaho's child care statute which improved children safety.
Dan Gookin
Gookin is the founder of the 'For Dummies' book series, authoring more than 100 books.
An activist in local and state government, Gookin is critical of City Hall on several issues, including how the local urban renewal agency spends some of its money. He'd prefer the agency put more of its documents online. He does not support giving employees raises during difficult economic times, saying instead that money should go back to taxpayers.
He also favors putting the McEuen Field topic up to public vote.
It's the third attempt by the 51-year-old for a council seat, having lost by 29 votes two years ago. He has campaigned on breaking down the wall between inside City Hall and outside, saying there is a disconnect between the two.
Derec Aujay
The 41-year-old North Idaho College student is running for the first time for a council seat.
He was disappointed in the city administration's handling of the McEuen Field redevelopment project, and said he supports putting it to a public vote.
He has campaigned on freezing city employee wages, which could require eliminating collective bargaining agreements the city has with its three collective bargaining agencies. Aujay said he would explore ways to do that, and that freezing wages would help trim the city's budget.
He is a proponent of the education corridor, but has concerns with urban renewal.
Annastasia Somontes
Somontes, a 44-year old gas station cashier, is running for Coeur d'Alene City Council on the platform that not enough people in the service industry are represented on the commission.
It's important, she said, because Coeur d'Alene has so many service industries in the tourist-heavy area, and what constitutes minor amounts of money to city officials and white collar workers can be burdensome increases that break the economic back of the working class.
She said she was upset that the city moved forward with the McEuen Field conceptual plan despite opposition from members of the community, and that city employees shouldn't be given pay raises and merit increases. If elected, she said she'll try to negotiate ways to prevent city employees from getting any annual increase.
Pat 'Mitch' Mitchell
Mitchell has a marketing degree from the University of Idaho and is contracted with Internet Prospect Accelerations Systems, a marketing company for online business in Indianapolis.
He said he supports much of what the current city administration has accomplished, pointing to the public library, Kroc Center and Centennial and Prairie trails as examples.
The 49-year-old has said he still needs to learn more about the local urban renewal agency to form a concrete stance, but believes the board has accomplished many positive things in their districts.
A former stand-up comic, Mitchell favors putting the McEuen Field project to public vote.
Mitchell said he wouldn't look to cut city employee pay. He'd prefer to only give raises through personal achievements, rather than across-the-board raises.
Seat 5
Steve Adams
The 45-year-old Allstate insurance agent and Lake City native said he has been firm in his position that city hall could have around 100 jobs too many, and he would look to begin possibly cutting staff if elected.
He is an opponent of the city's urban renewal board and said he would explore ways to retire their districts early.
Adams ran for City Council for the first time in 2009. He lost to incumbent Woody McEvers by 361 votes, taking in 48 percent of the total.
He is a Sunday school teacher and leads an annual ministry to the poor. He's on the city's parking commission and was elected Republican committee chair for the 39th Precinct. He is the 4th Legislative District chairman and is also vice president of citizenship of the Kootenai County Reagan Republicans.
John Bruning
The incumbent is seeking to retain the seat he won four years ago.
The 66-year-old retired U.S. Forest Service contract administrator said it's important the city maintain its progressive vision as it builds toward the future.
It's imperative the city continue developing two of its larger projects, McEuen Field and the education corridor, he believes.
He does not favor ending collective bargaining for city employees, saying the staff has made Coeur d'Alene the recognized City of Excellence that it is. He does not favor putting the McEuen Field project to public vote, that the council handled its responsibility on the decision properly.
He was appointed to head the ad hoc committee to fight the U.S. Army Corps. of Engineers order to remove trees along Rosenberry Drive.
Amber Copeland
The 31-year-old North Idaho College student is running for a council seat for the first time on grounds that the younger generation isn't represented on the commission.
Different perspectives from different generations offers the best range of opinions in a democracy, she said, which is why she would explore ways to implement possible term limits for the commission members, getting the council to better share information with a Facebook page and working to recruit more events to the city as an economic boon.
She said she is proponent of urban renewal, but feels two of the bigger projects the local agency is financially involved in, the education corridor and McEuen Field, should have been scaled back.
She said she would favor a public vote for McEuen Field.
It's the first run for office for the psychology student and single mother of four children.
Hayden
Nancy Lowery
Hayden City Councilwoman Nancy Lowery, who also is president of the Hayden Chamber of Commerce, is running for mayor.
She sees herself being a mayor that is "boots on the ground," as involved and engaged in city business as possible, she said. She has criticized incumbent Mayor Ron McIntire for not being involved enough.
"I don't know if he has the heart to deal with the (spending) cuts that need to be made," she said at a candidate forum on Thursday.
She also has questioned whether his heart is still in the job.
"I build enthusiasm for the city," she said.
The city needs to continue working on its identity, being a place that draws people in and hosts events.
She also has said she wants to bring more accountability to City Hall.
The mother of eight and grandmother to six has been on the city council for 12 years.
Lowery was a city employee, including assistant to the administrator, before she ran for City Council.
Her full-time job, which she has held for two years, is aquatics manager at the Kroc Center, where she oversees about 75 employees.
As mayor, one of her top priorities would be to focus on the relationship between business and city government.
Lowery and the Hayden Chamber board tackled the massive debt from the 2004 air show, Thunder Over the Prairie, and cut it in half.
Ron McIntire
McIntire is running for a fourth term as mayor. He owns 14 stores in Montana and Idaho, including the Super 1 Foods grocery stores in North Idaho.
He said his more than four decades of business experience helps him make the tough decisions necessary on the job. And he said his heart is still plenty into serving as mayor and he would definitely like four more years.
"I think the next four years will be exciting," he said Thursday. He said it also will be unpredictable because it's not clear how much money the city will receive from state revenue sharing.
"We're just going to live within our means," McIntire said.
He said the city has probably the best staff it's had since he's been mayor, and he'd like to keep it in place.
He wants to find some way to put more funding into the street department's budget.
The city needs to examine all the building and impact fees to make sure the costs aren't holding development back, he has said.
And the city needs to review the downtown revitalization of recent years to make sure property and business owners along Government Way are not facing restrictions that are too tight, he said. He doesn't want to see properties along the corridor going unused or undeveloped because of unneeded or excessive restrictions.
City Council
Seat No. 3
Roger Saterfiel
Saterfiel, the director of Kootenai County's solid waste department for the past decade, is running unopposed for a second term.
He said he wants to continue working to bring jobs to the city and get the public more involved in city business and make sure it continues to be a family oriented city.
He said he worked hard to secure additional law enforcement for the city, which has contracted with the sheriff's department for that coverage.
He also was a proponent of single-stream recycling for the city, which became available in Hayden during the summer.
He said he also favored the city's adoption of zero-based budgeting.
Saterfiel was appointed to the City Council, seat No. 3, in September 2007 by McIntire after Chris Beck stepped down. Saterfiel then was elected in November of that year, running unopposed.
Outside of work at the county, Saterfiel served on the North Idaho Fair board of directors for 10 years, until 2007.
He is married with two grown children. He has lived in Hayden for the past 10 years, and has lived in North Idaho since the third grade.
Seat 1
Kris LaMarr
LaMarr is a commercial truck driver who recently moved to North Idaho. He also happens to be McIntire's son-in-law.
He describes himself as conservative politically, and one of his primary goals, if elected, is working to make the city more attractive to businesses and bringing more jobs into the community.
For work, he hauls animal feed on routes in North Idaho.
He was re-married two years ago, and between his new wife and himself they have nine children.
LaMarr has no prior political experience.
He moved to Hayden two years ago from neighboring eastern Washington, just north of Spokane.
He moved to the Inland Northwest from Colorado about five years ago.
Tim Timmins
Timmins is owner of Eagle Ridge Builders.
Timmins moved to Hayden about six months ago, from Coeur d'Alene, where he had been living since 1990.
He has been married for 18 years and has four grown children.
He said the city needs increased building activity, which would help raise revenues to pay for critical city services. Revenues haven't been high enough to meet expenses in recent budgets.
He said building fees are too high in Hayden, which has slowed growth.
His sits on the contractors board of the Idaho bureau of occupational licenses, and Timmons is a director on the board of the North Idaho Building Contractors Association.
Post Falls
City Council
Seat 1
All three City Council incumbents are seeking re-election and face challengers.
Former council member Joe Bodman and Jim Edgington will challenge incumbent Kerri Thoreson for Seat 1.
Kerri Thoreson
Thoreson, who has been a Post Falls resident for 26 years, is a freelance writer/photographer. She is a former publisher/editor of the Post Falls Tribune, a former Post Falls Chamber of Commerce executive director and graduated from the chamber's River City Leadership Academy last year.
Thoreson was elected to the city council in 2007 after serving on the Parks and Recreation Commission.
Joe Bodman
Bodman, who served on the council three terms from 1998 to 2010, has been a Spokane County deputy for the past 10 years and has been in law enforcement for 23 years. He was defeated by Betty Ann Henderson during his re-election bid for council two years ago.
Jim Edgington
Edgington, a retired police officer, moved to Post Falls from Rapid City, S.D., in 2003. He said he decided to run to "put some common sense back into the political system."
Seat 3
Joe Malloy will challenge incumbent Scott Grant for Seat 3.
Scott Grant
Grant will seek a sixth term on the council in November. He was appointed to the council in November 1990 and has served ever since.
Grant retired in 2007 after 32 years with the Department of Correction, where he worked in the probation and parole division. He served on a contract basis with the department's Lewiston office last year and the Coeur d'Alene office earlier this year.
Joe Malloy
Malloy is formerly a sales and marketing executive for Idaho Veneer Company. He recently accepted a job with an energy products firm.
Seat 5
Seat 5 incumbent Skip Hissong will be challenged by Barry Rubin.
Barry Rubin
Rubin, who is retired, is a political newcomer. He said he would bring "decisive leadership" to the city. A Post Falls resident for the past five years, Rubin is a former Navy officer, was an operations administrator for Countrywide Mortgage and an accounting consultant with the University of Southern California Medical Center.
Skip Hissong
In addition to finishing his current term, Hissong, co-owner of Summit Equipment, a manufacturer of recycling equipment in Post Falls, served on the council from 1990 to 1993. Hissong, who has lived in Post Falls 39 years, said he decided to run again because he wants to continue to give back to the community.
Rathdrum
Vic Holmes is being challenged by Kevin Randles. Both are Rathdrum business owners.
Vic Holmes
Holmes said despite a poor economy, the city did well under his leadership. He said that despite new growth, Rathdrum employs one fewer full-time employee than it did four years ago. And even though the city is allowed to take a 3 percent property tax increase each year, it's taken only 5.8 percent over the past five years.
Kevin Randles
Randles said he believes he could help streamline the process for receiving permits, which would expedite building activity in town, add to the tax base and create jobs.
City Council
Seat 4
Incumbent Debbie Holmes is being challenged by write-in candidate Len Newton.
Seat 2 incumbent Fred Meckel is running unopposed.
Dalton Gardens
Robert Romero
Romero is an attorney with the practice of Brown, Justh and Romero in Coeur d'Alene. It is the 47-year-old's first time seeking elected position. A Dalton Gardens resident since 2002, he previously served on the City of Moscow's Board of Zoning Adjustments.
Romero has said he believes Dalton Gardens should be treated as more than "a conduit" between Coeur d'Alene and Hayden.
Romero is calling for the reduction of "excessive traffic" and speeding on the city's streets and improvement of the city's relationship with Dalton Elementary. He has said he sees the need for "common sense ordinances" and a city hall solution to deer overpopulation.
Dan Franklin
Franklin, the incumbent, is seeking a third four-year term as mayor. Before becoming mayor, Franklin, 53, served on Dalton Gardens City Council for two eight-year terms.
He is a trauma nurse in the emergency room at Kootenai Medical Center.
A 28-year resident of the city, Franklin has said it is important to maintain Dalton Gardens' rural atmosphere.
If elected, Franklin says he will continue working closely with citizens and other elected officials to maintain good working relationships with the Kootenai County Sheriff's Department, the county and the city's neighboring cities; and keep a low property tax levy rate while completing major projects.
Robert Wright
The Press has no information on this mayoral candidate.
City Council
The two top vote-getters of five candidates running will win two seats up for election.
Gary Hagman
Hagman says he feels citizens' voices are not being heard at city hall. He is concerned about public safety on Dalton Gardens' streets, the city's relationship with Dalton Elementary, and sees a need to preserve Dalton Gardens' "sense of community."
The 61-year-old is a 10-year Dalton Gardens resident. He worked in construction management for 30 years.
Steve Roberge
Roberge, 51, has served 12 years on the city council and is currently council president.
He is a 21-year resident of Dalton Gardens and is employed as district manager for Waste Management of Idaho.
Roberge hopes to continue helping maintain the city's low property tax levy rate, the quality of its roads and dealing with vehicles speeding through the city. He has said he believes it is important to retain the rural character of Dalton Gardens.
Dick Epstein
A 21-year resident of Dalton Gardens, Dick Epstein is seeking a third term on the city council. He previously served for 10 years as a volunteer on the city's planning and zoning committee.
Epstein, 62, is a software quality assurance engineer with a company in Liberty Lake.
If elected, Epstein has said he will continue looking for cost-effective ways to provide city residents with high quality services like their street maintenance now provided through a contract with Lakes Highway District. He has said he is committed to maintaining a safe, clean community with low taxes and a rural atmosphere.
Scott Jordan
Jordan, an electrical contractor, says he would like the public to be more informed and involved in tackling issues facing the city.
He has said he does not believe citizens feel heard by city hall. He says elected officials should not seek to draft more ordinances to deal with problems like deer overpopulation, but should rather be guiding citizens toward creative solutions that include community involvement.
The 57-year-old is a lifelong resident of Dalton Gardens.
Jeff Dickenson
The Press has no information on this city council candidate.
Other races
Spirit Lake City Council
Diane Berg, incumbent
Gary Ventress
Rosemary Wheaton
Bill Erickson
Hayden Lake Mayor
Nancy Morris
Chris Beck
Hayden Lake City Council
William Bentz
Ed Graves
Robert Grant, incumbent
Tommy Frey
Harrison City Council
Jeff Hall
Ron Elliott, incumbent
Russell Riberich, incumbent
Joe T. Cornell
Heidi Acuff
Sabrina Goodsen
Peter Job, incumbent
Mica Kidd Island Fire District Commissioner Sub District 2
Chris Shelton
Robert Hecker