Local elections hot and heavy already

Kootenai County's two largest cities are going to have new leadership.

Maybe lots of new leadership.

We already knew that Coeur d'Alene Mayor Sandi Bloem was not going to seek re-election this November, but current Council President Mike Kennedy was strongly rumored to run for that spot. In a written statement early Monday morning, Kennedy announced that he not only won't pursue the mayor's job, but he'll take a pass on seeking re-election to the council, too.

Only a couple of hours after Kennedy cleared the air on his intentions, Post Falls Mayor Clay Larkin reversed course on his previous declared intent to seek another term as mayor. Larkin not only said he'll bow out, but he tossed his considerable support toward council President Ron Jacobson. And that endorsement prompted Councilmember Kerri Thoreson to declare her candidacy for mayor about a month earlier than she said she had intended.

In the River City, Thoreson and Jacobson are both extremely popular. If she loses, Thoreson will still have her council seat to fall back on, but not Jacobson. He's rolling the dice with his run, so a loss would also take out the council's president. There's still loads of time for other candidates to join the fray, too.

In Coeur d'Alene, Mary Souza is active on the mayoral campaign trail, with Jim Brannon and Joseph Kunka also warming up their campaign machines. Some insiders speculate that Brannon will shift gears at some point and drop out of the mayoral race, declaring his intent instead to seek a City Council seat. Then again, speculation was strong that Dan Gookin would run for mayor, and instead his big announcement was simply to introduce Souza as a mayoral candidate. So who knows what Brannon will do? Meantime, a group of community activists is working feverishly to recruit someone who will give voters a viable option to Souza. And there's no word yet on what the other half of the McEuen Park council supporters - Deanna Goodlander and Woody McEvers - intend to do.

For our part, we appreciate the early announcements from all of these candidates, those with big dreams on the local political front as well as those heading off into the sunset. The supposed lazy days of summer are now crackling with excitement and energy that perhaps is a carryover from the spring elections that saw conservatives tossed from the Coeur d'Alene School Board but elected in Post Falls.

As attention focuses on all these municipal races, it's our hope that interest will rise accordingly, leading to much greater voter participation. An informed, active electorate is the best predictor of good government. We say, bring it on.