Eberlein faces memory concerns

Commissioner said he'll focus on job, not get caught up in inquiries

COEUR d'ALENE — Kootenai County Commissioner Marc Eberlein is aware of a possible effort to remove him from his elected position through a recall.

Eberlein said Monday he also knows of allegations that he's had multiple memory lapses pertaining to county business since he took office in January.

"I hear all sorts of rumors, and I try to avoid (listening to) that," Eberlein told The Press. "I've got a job to do. I try to take the high road. With the rumors that are out there, I say go for it."

Eberlein said he is also aware that Coeur d'Alene attorney Peter Smith and citizen Larry Spencer both submitted public information requests about certain county meetings in which Eberlein was present.

Smith didn't return phone messages seeking comment.

Spencer said he's not the person who is Smith's client seeking meeting information on Eberlein, but he shares the same concern.

Spencer said he and county staff met with Eberlein last spring to discuss impact fees and Eberlein subsequently scheduled a full board meeting on the issue. A week later, when the meeting started, Eberlein didn't remember how the meeting came about.

"I'm fine with somebody holding office and wondering where they misplaced their keys, but when you're in office and can't remember how a meeting came about in less than a week, you wonder if it impacts his ability to function as a commissioner," Spencer said. "Since that happened, other similar instances have been brought to my attention."

Commissioner David Stewart said he can think of at least five times when Eberlein brought an agenda item forward, and then when the meeting was held, he was unsure how it got there.

"There's something going on, but I don't know what it is," Stewart said.

Stewart said the water adjudication topic during Monday's commissioner debriefing was one of the few times since around June that Eberlein has brought a topic forward to a meeting to discuss. He also said that's around the time that Eberlein began siding with Commissioner Dan Green on most topics. Previously, he and Eberlein shared many common views, including during the election campaign.

Eberlein vehemently denies having memory issues.

"Do you know how much minutiae I deal with daily?" he said. "I think we're all human. Show me a person who hasn't made a mistake."

Eberlein said he'll focus on his job and not get caught up in public information requests and the rumblings.

"Some people laughed when they found out that Larry is one of the people behind this," Eberlein said. "I'm not fighting that battle."

Stewart said he does not know the identity of the other person beside Spencer who made the information request.

Stewart said he does not have sour grapes over being voted off as chairman of the board last month after eight months in the position, nor is he bitter that the other commissioners have disagreed with him on recent topics. For instance, Eberlein changed his stance to keeping the county's baseline employee termination policy of "at will," an opinion shared by Green. Stewart campaigned for switching to a "for cause" baseline policy.

"We disagree on a lot of things, but that's part of the process and how the system works," Stewart said.

Green said he has also heard about the talk in the community, and he believes it is absurd.

"Marc is very bright," Green said. "I'm amazed at his breadth of knowledge. He's moral and works hard. The county residents are getting their money's worth out of Marc. He's a solid performer."

Green said he hasn't seen anything about Eberlein that raises red flags.

"In my daily work with Marc Eberlein, I've seen none of it," said Green, adding that he doesn't believe how many times a commissioner places an item on agenda has a correlation with confidence and abilities to discuss topics.

Eberlein said he's just trying to stay focused on his duties.

"I don't deal with rumors," he said. "I deal with facts."