Slim pickins on ballot
<p>Barbara Hedden fills out a Declaration for Candidacy for city council seat 3 as Renata McLeod, city clerk for the City of Coeur d’Alene, witnesses the process Friday just minutes before the 5:00 p.m. deadline at city hall.</p>
COEUR d'ALENE - The deadline for filing a declaration of candidacy to run for office in a city or fire district ended at 5 p.m. Friday.
Super Tuesday this year will focus solely on city and fire district elections on Nov. 3. There are 14 cities and 10 fire districts holding elections in Kootenai County this year.
Kootenai County Clerk Jim Brannon noted that there will be very few names on the ballot for leadership roles in eight cities on Nov. 3.
"Fernan, Hauser, Hayden Lake, Huetter, Rathdrum, Spirit Lake, Stateline and Worley had only one candidate file for each open seat by the 5 p.m. deadline today," Brannon said.
By law, cities have to hold an election even if there is only one name on the ballot for each open seat, he said in a press release.
Write-in candidates for city council or mayor offices have until Oct. 6 to file their declarations. However, absentee ballots are required to start being mailed on Oct. 2.
"Write-in candidates should not wait until the last minute," Brannon noted.
Some fire districts have contested races. Fire districts are allowed to appoint an unchallenged candidate to the vacancy, avoiding the need for an election. Write-in candidates for fire district offices have until Sept. 18 to file their declarations.
Potential write-in candidates should contact their local city hall, fire district office, or the county elections office at 446-1030.
The attached list notes each candidate who has filed for all available offices. Only these names will appear on ballots:
City of Athol (Mayor)
Robert Wachter
Darla Knickerbocker-Kuhman (Incumbent)
City of Athol Council - Seat 1
William R. Hill
Daniel Ratcliff
Deborah Warner
City of Athol Council - Seat 2
Joshua M. Spencer (Incumbent)
Lynn Gronlund-Cole
City of Coeur d'Alene Council - Seat 1
Loren Ron Edinger (Incumbent)
Toby Schindelbeck
City of Coeur d'Alene Council - Seat 3
Dan Gookin (Incumbent)
Barbara Hedden
City of Coeur d'Alene Council - Seat 5
Dan English
Bruce MacNeil
Steve Adams (Incumbent)
City of Dalton Gardens (Mayor)
Steven Roberge
Robert Wright
City of Dalton Gardens Council - 2 seats available
Denise Lundy
Jamie L. Smith
Scott W. Jordan
Bret Taylor
Rick Nordhausen
City of Fernan (Mayor)
Heidi Acuff
City of Fernan Council - Seat 2
Paula Buechs
City of Fernan Council - Seat 3
Peter Job (Incumbent)
City of Harrison Council - 3 seats available
Jordan Hall
Tim Neville
Joe Cornell
Debbie Lockhart
Jeff E. Hall (Incumbent)
Russell T. Riberich (Incumbent)
Mark Wagner (Incumbent)
City of Hauser Council - 2 seats available
Bill Ray (Incumbent)
City of Hayden (Mayor)
Steven J. Griffitts
City of Hayden Council - Seat 1
Tim Timmins (Incumbent)
Matthew Roetter
City of Hayden Council - Seat 3
Roger D. Saterfiel (Incumbent)
City of Hayden Lake (Mayor)
Chris Beck (Incumbent)
City of Hayden Lake Council - Seat 1
Ed Graves (Incumbent)
City of Hayden Lake Council - Seat 3
Tommy Frey (Incumbent)
City of Huetter (Mayor)
Brad Keene (Incumbent)
City of Huetter Council - 2 seats available
Luke Gibler (Incumbent)
City of Post Falls Council - Seat 1
Kerri Thoreson (Incumbent)
City of Post Falls Council - Seat 3
Joe Malloy (Incumbent)
Clay Larkin
City of Post Falls Council - Seat 5
Lynn R. Borders
Barry D. Rubin
City of Rathdrum (Mayor)
Vic Holmes (Incumbent)
City of Rathdrum Council - Seat 2
Fred Meckel (Incumbent)
City of Rathdrum Council - Seat 4
Debbie M. Holmes (Incumbent)
City of Spirit Lake Council - 2 seats available
Gary Ventress (Incumbent)
City of State Line Council - 2 seats available
Brenda Cooper (Incumbent)
Keith Warner (Incumbent)
City of Worley (Mayor)
Charlene E. Waddell (Incumbent)
City of Worley Council - 2 seats available
Robert Wienclaw (Incumbent)
Karen L. Babbitt (Incumbent)
Eastside Fire Protection District (Zone 2)
Keith Botai
Philip Noel
Hauser Fire Protection District (Zone 1)
Wesley J. Michael (Incumbent)
Hauser Fire Protection District (Zone 2)
Lisa Wendle (Incumbent)
Kootenai County Fire and Rescue (Zone 1)
Pam Houser
Kootenai County Fire and Rescue (Zone 2)
Joe Doellefeld (Incumbent)
Mica Kidd Island Fire District (Zone 1)
James L. Smith (Incumbent)
Michael Arhutick
Mica Kidd Island Fire District (Zone 2)
Gretchen Hauser
Chris Shelton
J. Kelso Lindsay (Incumbent)
Northern Lakes Fire Protection District (Zone 2)
David P. Halpin (Incumbent)
Northern Lakes Fire Protection District (Zone 4)
James C. Washko (incumbent)
Spirit Lake Fire Protection District (Zone 1)
David R. Esterly (Incumbent)
Spirit Lake Fire Protection District (Zone 3)
Mike Sexsmith
Chuck Hodge
St. Maries Fire Protection District Jt (Zone 3)
Leon Douglas Tyrrell (Incumbent)
Timberlake Fire Protection District (Zone 1)
Byron L. Burrow
Neil Peck
Timberlake Fire Protection District (Zone 3)
Shane Stavros
Worley Fire Protection District (Zone 1)
Ronald A. Hise (Incumbent)