Bonner County officials facing felony charges

SANDPOINT - The charges recently brought against two Bonner County officials are felony offenses, according to court records.

The cases against Bonner County Clerk Ann Dutson-Sater and Deputy Clerk Charles Konrad Wurm remain sealed until they make an initial court appearances in magistrate court.

Dutson-Sater and Wurm were issued summonses and are due in court on Sept. 26, the Idaho Supreme Court Data Repository states. The Kootenai County Prosecutor's Office is handling the cases.

Dutson-Sater said earlier this week that she believes the charges concern last year's attempted recall of Steve Youngdahl, chairman of the Lake Pend Oreille School District's board of trustees.

Dutson-Sater said she mistakenly allowed a recall backer to approve the petition without realizing that he wasn't the person who gathered all the signatures.

The clerk's office certified that recall organizers had secured enough signatures to call for an election. The Idaho Secretary of State's Office overruled the certification, concluding that signature petitions were required to be submitted in one fell swoop instead of batches.

Youngdahl became the target of the recall after advancing a proposal to arm district staff to protect students in the event of a school shooting.

The proposal produced a rift in public opinion, with some calling it apt and others calling it a bad idea. District patrons sought the recall because they argued that the data Youngdahl presented to support the proposal was unsound.

The emergence of the criminal charges against Dutson-Sater has raised questions over whether the investigation is politically motivated. Dutson-Sater is the last Democrat holding office in Bonner County.

Dutson-Sater faces Republican Michael Rosedale in the Nov. 4 general election.