Job seeker speaks

COEUR d'ALENE - Timothy Paulding, who interviewed for the job former Kootenai County Commissioner Todd Tondee landed at the county, said he was passed over despite being "extremely qualified" for the county gig.

"I have two master's degrees in the disability-related field, worked four years as a database manager for an agency that received state and federal funding, and I'm a person with a disability who relies on public transit," Paulding, of Coeur d'Alene, told The Press. "I feel burned and that my time was wasted."

The county hired Tondee for a newly created job in the Grants Management Office as a "transit program specialist," earning $21.74 per hour.

"Todd Tondee demonstrated the best grasp of the transit system essential duties and responsibilities," said Jody Bieze, director of the Grants Management Office. "He is the best fit for this department."

The county received 13 applications for the position. The county's human resources director, Skye Reynolds, said her reading of state statutes on public records prohibited her from sharing copies of the applications with The Press.

Paulding is the only applicant so far to step forward publicly, saying a lot of the job description entails working with federal grants - an area he considers one of his strengths. He was a quality-assurance specialist at Disability Network, a federally funded Center for Independent Living in Kalamazoo, Mich.

There he was responsible for "monitoring, evaluating, and training multiple staff persons in data collection and record keeping in order to help the agency adhere to federal, state and private grant requirements," according to the cover letter he included with his resume to the county. "Data analysis and report writing were a regular part of my responsibilities."

"I also worked on few transit projects with that agency" in Kalamazoo, he said. He worked with Kalamazoo County Transit Authority to make electronic route and schedule information more accessible to people who are blind or have print disabilities.

Paulding, who is blind, has a bachelor's degree in psychology from the University of Michigan. His master's degrees are both from Western Michigan University, with one in vision rehabilitation therapy and a second in orientation and mobility.

Paulding uses a screen reader, a software program that reads text displayed on a computer screen to him. He also uses a service dog, Laddy.

County officials have said the position was open from Dec. 9 through Dec. 26. As it turns out, the deadline was later extended to Jan. 9 due to a "low response from the first posting," Bieze said.

"The first posting generated three applications," Bieze said in an email Tuesday. "The second posting generated 10 applications."

Paulding was interviewed on Jan. 5 by Bieze. He brought his computer to demonstrate his abilities, but didn't bring Laddy.

"During the interview I asked her about (the extension to Jan. 9)," Paulding said. "She sort of stumbled and said, 'Well there was somebody else who was going to blah, blah, blah.'"

He said Bieze stopped there.

"She said, 'I shouldn't say that,'" he recalled from their conversation. "'We're just looking for a larger applicant pool.'"

He said he is passionate about public transit, having relied on it as an adult.

"The public transit in Kootenai County needs some help," he said. "I wanted to be a part of that... I wanted to make this change in my community."

He was excited to hear the department had recently grown to four people, with the commissioners - including Tondee - approving three new positions.

"My takeaway from it was that it's all starting right now, from the ground level," he said. "They're going to improve transit - make it better. It's really turning into a system that is going to be a lot bigger."

Paulding currently contracts with the states of Idaho and Washington as a specialized blindness skills instructor, and works full-time as a technology skills instructor.

"Thank you very much for taking the time to interview for the transit specialist position," Bieze wrote to Paulding on Feb. 3. "I am writing to let you (know) that we have selected the candidate whom we believe most closely matches the job requirements of the position."

Tondee, who served eight years as a commissioner, started his new job on Feb. 9, a month after leaving office. He doesn't have a bachelor's degree, but he does own a small used car business.

"It's been very exciting," Tondee said earlier this month after his first week on the job.