Another election looms

Take your pick why local elections came out the way they did this week.

* Voters rejected the Reagan Republican-injected partisanship in nonpartisan races.

* The teachers union trumped the conservative club.

* In the battle of political action committees, Balance North Idaho outsmarted the Reagan Republicans.

There's probably some truth in all three statements, but there are flaws, too. The Reagan Republican-backed school board candidates in Post Falls both won, defeating challengers who were endorsed by both the teachers union and Balance North Idaho. But the reverse held true, in a big way, in the Coeur d'Alene school district. The teachers union probably gets more credit and more blame than it deserves. Barely half of Coeur d'Alene's teachers are dues-paying members of the Idaho Education Association, so consensus based on mere union membership is illogical.

In the PAC smack attack, Balance North Idaho's campaign, which was virtually omnipresent on cdapress.com leading up to the election, appeared to be far broader reaching than did the Reagan Republicans'. But if it's as simple as one political action committee outsmarting or outworking the other, why is it that the only candidate endorsed by neither PAC won, and the only candidate endorsed by both lost? Neil Nemec was the leading vote-getter of all four hospital board candidates, and Jim Pierce was edged out for second place by Liese Razzeto.

The reason all of the analysis on Tuesday's election is not a pointless exercise is this: Municipal elections, which also are supposed to be nonpartisan, lie just ahead. Whomever gleans the most from this election is likely to be smiling after the next one.

And it's entirely possible that when further analysis is done, another "why" will emerge. Indeed, it might be the dominant one.

As they did nationally last November, voters are seeking inclusive leadership. With increased vigor, they're rejecting candidates they perceive to dictate, rather than collaborate. You saw that phenomenon play out in the last municipal elections, too, when political neophytes Steve Adams and Dan Gookin won seats on the Coeur d'Alene City Council.

Reagan Republicans thumped their chests because they had vaulted their guys to upset wins, but is that really what happened? Smarter money might say Gookin and Adams won because they ardently opposed a McEuen Park plan that many citizens, D, R and I alike, felt had been dictated to them. No, that's putting it too mildly; they thought a park plan had been crammed down their throats. A last-minute slip on a banana peel is all that separated an upset citizenry from a recall election that might have knocked out the council's remaining McEuenites.

You don't have to be a Carnegie to realize that pushing too hard in any direction - right, left, on local parks or international educational programs - is certain to lose friends and influence enemies. And you don't have to be an Einstein to see that if you play that way, you'd better plan on plenty of pushback.