City council candidate drops out of race

COEUR d'ALENE - Jared Festner has officially withdrawn from the Coeur d'Alene City Council race for seat No. 2, leaving Amy Evans to go head to head with Chris Fillios for the seat.

"I recently sat down with Chris Fillios and very politely asked him to step aside and allow me to continue my campaign against Amy Evans," Festner wrote in an email announcing his decision. "I made it very clear to him that another conservative creating friction within the party by entering the race at the 11th hour would be devastating to our cause. I graciously asked him drop out and he refused."

Festner said rather than split the conservative vote, he decided to drop out of the race.

After Festner announced candidacy for the upcoming election, he sparked an online controversy concerning his past business dealing in Las Vegas and Arizona, as well as a $4.8 million personal bankruptcy he filed last year.

"For me to continue with a campaign that I felt was being hijacked because I lack the name recognition would've been a disservice to the people. In the end, it wouldn't be fair to my supporters if Chris and I were to continue fighting each other," he wrote. "This is definitely not the last you will be hearing from me. My time to represent this city is coming. I hope that when the opportunity presents itself again, I will have the full trust and respect of my fellow Coeur d'Alenian's."

The deadline for dropping off the ballot was Friday. The deadline for filing a write-in candidacy for fire districts also expired.

However, the deadline for city council or mayoral candidates to declare for a write-in candidacy expires Oct. 8.