MacNeil touts experience in public and private sectors

COEUR d'ALENE — Bruce MacNeil has more than 50 years of management experience in both the public and private sectors.

MacNeil, a 72-year-old retiree, is challenging incumbent Coeur d'Alene City Councilman Steve Adams. Dan English is also challenging.

"I understand what it means to have to make a profit to justify my existence," MacNeil said. "I also understand what it means to spend public funds wisely to deliver quality services to the people who pay the taxes."

MacNeil said he worked to make Person Field one of the city's neighborhood parks. That was nearly a 10-year effort, he said.

Person Field now has a master plan for improvements and serves as the only location in Coeur d'Alene for junior tackle football.

"I know when to listen and when to talk," he said.

He said he knows how to translate "talk" and "ideas" into tangible results that meet the identified needs.

"I was part of the working groups who helped build the city (comprehensive) plan, which leads the way in the build-out of our community to 2027," he said. "I was part of the working group that developed the city parks and recreation master plan."

He also has been involved in multiple federal projects, including leading creation of the Challis National Forest Land Management Plan.

"That effort took four years and $2.5 million to produce," he said. "I supervised a full-time staff of resource professionals and had an interdisciplinary team of 20 additional employees as workload and technical issues demanded. Our plan had a national and international audience because of the Frank Church River of No Return Wilderness."

He said the Challis Plan was accepted publicly without objection, while other forest plans in Idaho and nationally were contested in federal court.

He also worked as a trial court administrator in Oregon for a six-judge state district court serving a county of more than 100,000 residents.

"I was able to cut 20 percent of my court budget and reduce my staff by 20 percent without disrupting court services to the residents of my county," he said.

MacNeil said he has the time and "juice" to help lead Coeur d'Alene into the future.

"It's easy to stand on the sidelines and take shots at those who make decisions for our residents," he said. "You either lead, follow, or get out of the way. I've made my decision."

MacNeil wants to work to heal divisions in the community by "building bridges of communication."

"We cannot be an effective force for the collective good of all our residents unless we respect and trust each other," he said.