County commission candidates square off

POST FALLS — The race for the Kootenai County District 2 commissioner seat heated up on Friday with the Republican candidates taking on questions about taxes, a perceived conflict of interest, land use and other topics.

Incumbent David Stewart and Chris Fillios spoke to the Panhandle Pachyderm Club at Red Lion Templin's Hotel on Friday. They face off in the May 17 primary.

District 2 includes the southern part of the county, areas around Lake Coeur d'Alene and most of Coeur d'Alene.

Fillios said Stewart should have recused himself from voting on pay increases at the sheriff's office for command staff and patrol deputies since Stewart's wife, Teresa, works at the sheriff's office.

But Stewart said that situation was vetted with the county's legal staff before a decision was made.

"My wife never received a pay raise," Stewart said. "She's considered a civilian and not a sworn deputy."

Fillios countered that it's not always a question of conflict of interest, but also perception when officials should recuse themselves.

Ann Seddon, who attended the meeting, said she had concerns of Stewart evading taxes after reading a story in The Press on Friday that the candidate hasn't had the proper building permit for several years for his Coeur d'Alene-area home. The building was permitted as a pole building, not as a residence. Taxes for pole barns are less than single-family dwellings.

"If I'm paying my fair share of taxes and if another is evading taxes, essentially I'm picking up the load for them," Seddon said.

But Stewart said county staff members at the time were aware of his residence situation and that he was not trying to cheat the system.

"If there's any issues we have with the county, we will work through those," he said. "How things fell apart with communicating with the building department is something we need to work out, and I intend to do that."

Stewart, who has a home construction background, said he thought concerns about his residence were addressed two years ago during another election season when it was re-assessed as a home.

He said he originally planned to build a home near the pole barn, but building the home was postponed when the economy sank. He said he still plans to build a permanent home at the site.

Seddon said she remains skeptical of the situation.

"There's a difference between planning on a home and someone realizing that your home is not going to be built and not letting the county be aware of that," she said.

Fillios, who is an East Side Highway District commissioner and a real estate agent, said if someone sits in a judicial capacity as commissioners do, those people need to be clean.

"The same law has to apply to commissioners as it does individuals," he said.

When asked about their views on the county's comprehensive plan, Stewart said he has concerns about it because it was approved by lame-duck commissioners and it needs to be condensed.

"I'd like to see less regulations and more freedoms," he said.

Fillios said after ongoing discussions wrap up on the proposed Land Use and Development Code, which will be part of the comprehensive plan, there needs to be a "cooling-off period" for at least six months before a final revision is made to shorten the document.

Fillios suggested citizen committees should be formed to meet with developers as a way of avoiding possible lawsuits that can be costly to taxpayers. He said that has helped the highway district avoid some messes.

Stewart said he has a proven record of making positive changes in the county, including pay raises at the sheriff's office to avoid turnover and reducing employee claims against the county.

Fillios, who ran against Jai Nelson and Rick Currie for a commissioner's seat in 2010, touted his ability to manage people, projects and budgets.