David Stewart (R)

I am an advocate of:

*Protecting Your Private Property Rights.

Private property rights are at the top of my list of things I will continue to fight for and protect.  I believe every use should be allowed unless explicitly forbidden by law.  The left believes every use is forbidden unless approved.  These are two fundamentally different positions.  I believe Government through more and more regulation cannot fix all things.  Government should have minimal reach into our lives and only provide the basic essentials.  Government is created by the people to serve the people and the more regulation we create, the more freedoms we lose.  Since my election in January of 2015 I immediately started work on improving our Land Use Codes.  Currently the Interim Land Use Code is nearly complete and in a couple months work will begin to update the Comprehensive Plan that was adopted in 2010.

*Low Taxes

In the 2016 budget I voted for a zero percent (0%) increase in property taxes that was ultimately passed by the majority of the board.  On January 27th of 2016 I proposed that the Board of County Commissioners give a minimum of 5 million dollars back to the taxpayers as a one-time property tax credit.  This would have been roughly a 12% reduction in next year's property taxes.

Low  taxes will enable businesses to grow and hire more employees.  Low taxes will also allow you to save or spend your money as you see fit.  I believe budget surpluses acquired due to over taxation threatens prosperity and hinders growth to the local economy.  I do not believe taxation should be used as a means to redistribute wealth.

*Appointing A County Administrator??

My opponent Chris Fillios supports the appointment of a County Administrator.

I do not support appointing a County Administrator.  As a Kootenai County Commissioner you are one of three commissioners that is in charge of an 81 million dollar budget that oversees 18 departments and work alongside the other elected officials in varying degrees.  All three commissioners have to be equally informed on all decisions that affect the daily business of the county.  Hiring one individual to oversee the daily operations of the county is giving too much power to a single individual and is not what the founders of this country had envisioned.  Not to mention this form of government was soundly defeated a few years ago by the citizens of Kootenai County.  In my opinion commissioners are elected to do the job they were elected by the people to do and not pass their responsibility and duties to an unelected position.

*Unified Land Use Code (ULUC)

My opponent Chris Fillios supported passage of the Unified Land Use Code.  On July 10, 2012 the Kootenai County Republican Central Committee passed resolution "Land Use Code 2012" in opposition of the ULUC.  Chris Fillios wrote a letter to the KCRCC stating:

1.  "The effort by those opposed to the ULUC effort is disingenuous and self-serving."

2.  "Sadly, many Central Committee members plagued with anti-Obama syndrome, will ignorantly vote to pass a resolution which will do more to divide our community, and harm economic growth."

3.  "I urge you to defeat the resolution to water down our land use efforts."

I did not support the ULUC and believe it contained restrictions that would place 90% of the population inside city limits and allowing only 10% of the population to live in rural areas.  I believe the ULUC would have negatively impacted peoples investments they have in real property and is not what is best for Kootenai County property owners.  Please visit www.stewart4idaho.com for further details.

*Representing All Of The People Of Kootenai County.

Kootenai County has a culturally diverse population.  I believe everyone should be treated equally, fairly and with respect regardless of race, creed, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, or disability.

*An Open And Transparent Government.

I believe government is representative of the people and the people should have access to its government.  I also believe government should operate efficiently.  An open and transparent government promotes equality, accountability, and fairness and provides information for citizens about what their Government is doing.

*Fair Wages For Kootenai County Employees.

Kootenai County employee retention, morale, and fair compensation remain a high priority of mine.  The previous Board of County Commissioners paid out tens of thousands of dollars to settle employee claims.  Over the past several months I have brought forward changes to the county personnel policy that in my opinion reduces liability to Kootenai County.  Since my inauguration in 2015 there have been no dollars spent to settle employee claims.  Although more work needs to be done, we are starting to see improvements in these troubled areas.

I have met with numerous county employees and have found that a lot of them work 40 to 50 hours a week for the county and then have to work a second job to make ends meet.  I believe corrective action should be taken to mitigate the long-term damages and expense to the county by updating job descriptions and re-evaluating the pay scale of all Kootenai County employees.

*Endorsements

Cd'A Lakeshore Property Owners Association

Kootenai County Deputy Sheriff's Association

EMPIRE Airlines

Resort Aviation

Windermere Coeur d'Alene, Post Falls, and Hayden Realty

Cannon Hill Industries

Kerr Oil Company

JifiStop Stores

Adams Coeur d'Alene Tractor

THORCO Electrical Construction

Joan Genter - Realtor For Windermere Real Estate

Rocky Watson - Kootenai County Sheriff (Retired) 1999 - 2011

Please visit my website at www.stewart4idaho.com for more information.

Paid for by David Stewart for Kootenai County Commissioner – District 2 - Kristin Williams Political Treasurer.