Meyer, 2 newcomers lead NIC board races

COEUR d'ALENE - A longtime trustee and two newcomers were in the lead early this morning to win seats on the North Idaho College Board of Trustees.

As of 12:45 a.m., with 15 precincts reported, incumbent Judy Meyer was ahead of her challenger Paul Matthews with 53.9 percent of the votes counted in the race for Seat A. Meyer had 10,993 votes, and Matthews had garnered 9,935 votes.

Meyer, of Hayden Lake, served on the NIC board from 1990 to 1994. She was then appointed to the Idaho State Board of Education. Meyer was elected to the NIC board again in 2002, and was re-elected in 2008.

Todd Banducci had the lead in the race for Seat B. Banducci had 11,117 votes, representing 56 percent of the votes counted. Incumbent Mic Armon had 8,645 votes.

Banducci, of Coeur d'Alene, owns Falcon Investments and Insurance, Inc. He graduated from the United States Air Force Academy and the USAF Institute of Technology.

Businessman Ron Nilson had the lead in a six-way race for Seat C. Ron Vieselmeyer, who currently holds that position, is not seeking re-election.

By 12:45 a.m., Nilson had earned 7,077 votes, representing 35.3 percent of the votes cast.

The closest contenders in that race were Vickie Ambrosetti with 4,062 votes and Dean Haagenson with 4,813 votes. Gary Coffman had 1,672 votes, Fritz Wiedenhoff 1,240 and James Ruch 1,169.

A Coeur d'Alene resident, Nilson is president and CEO of Ground Force Worldwide, a Post Falls-based multinational company that manufacturers mining equipment. He has lived in Kootenai County for 12 years.