The victories behind the votes

Lakeland school officials breathe sigh of relief with levy approval

COEUR d'ALENE — Ted Cruz supporters and Lakeland Joint School District officials won local victories in Tuesday's presidential primary in different fashions.

Lakeland's $5.3 million school supplemental levy proposal was narrowly approved with 2,757 votes (53 percent) in favor and 2,478 against.

A vote of at least 50 percent, plus one, was needed for the proposal to pass.

The close vote surprised Lakeland officials, especially after the 2014 supplemental levy the district floated passed with a 70 percent approval.

"Historically we have had tremendous support from the communities that we serve and we are very thankful for the continued support," said Lakeland Superintendent Brad Murray, declining to speculate on why he believes the vote was so close.

Voter turnout may have been a factor as it was higher than normal with it being a presidential primary. Many voters who may not have turned out at the polls otherwise did so in this election with it being a presidential year.

A total of 5,235 voted on the levy

compared to 1,239 in 2014.

Cruz, meanwhile, cruised to victory in Kootenai County and Idaho in the race for the Republican nomination for president just three days after he spoke at a rally at the Kootenai County Fairgrounds.

The Texas senator had 11,924 votes (53 percent) in Kootenai County, comfortably ahead of businessman Donald Trump's 6,516 (29 percent), Florida Sen. Marco Rubio's 1,880 (8 percent) and Ohio Gov. John Kasich's 1,528 (7 percent).

Others who earlier dropped out of the race received 568 votes in Kootenai County. A total of 23,040 votes were cast in the county.

Cruz's overwhelming victory in Kootenai County and Idaho didn't surprise most of those who attended a watch party held by Cruz supporters at The Fedora Pub and Grille, especially with rallies both here and in Boise and the candidate's conservative stance on issues. Cruz was declared the winner in Idaho around 9 p.m. — shortly after the early Kootenai County results were released.

"Ted's the man," said Dennis Muoio, of Coeur d'Alene. "Ted upholds the Constitution. I know of several people who changed their minds in the past couple weeks on who to vote for."

Cruz won in 32 of Idaho's 44 counties with Trump taking the other 12. Cruz had 100,928 votes (45 percent) in Idaho, followed by Trump with 62,466 votes (28 percent), Rubio 35,333 (16 percent) and Kasich 16,515 (7 percent).

More than 222,000 Idaho Republicans cast a ballot, the highest voter participation in a primary in Idaho history. This equates to 74 percent participation among Republicans and 30 percent among all registered voters.

While official results won't come until next week after the election has been certified, as of now Cruz will receive 20 delegates and Trump 12.

In the race for the Constitution Party's nomination for president, Scott Copeland led the way in Kootenai County with 23 votes, followed by Patrick Ockander with 12 and J.R. Myers with seven. Copeland was also the top vote-getter statewide, receiving 52 percent of the party's votes.

Kootenai County Clerk Jim Brannon said the voter turnout of 34 percent among all registered voters for the presidential primary was higher than expected.

"Turnout was better than it has been traditionally," said Brannon, adding that new voter registrations and visits to Idaho by Cruz and Rubio were reasons for the high turnout. "It was busy. One precinct in Rathdrum had more than 500 voters. It was the first presidential primary for the state of Idaho and I think that people wanted to participate."

Brannon said he didn't know exactly how many Democrats changed their party affiliation to Republican and voted on election day, which was allowed, but he doesn't believe there were many.

"I wouldn't suspect there was a lot of them, but maybe some," he said. "They have their own caucus coming up (on March 22 at North Idaho College)."

The Lakeland school levy will increase the district's existing levy by $505,000.

For the owner of a $150,000 home, the levy increase amounts to $12.33 per year, or $1.03 per month, over the current levy.

"With the passing of the supplemental levy, the school district will be able to continue to provide safe, inviting learning environments that will make our patrons proud," Murray said. "The support we feel from our community is recognized and appreciated and we plan to show our gratitude through our successes."

Murray said he was surprised the vote was so close because the district received a lot of positive feedback while educating the public about the proposal and limited negative feedback.

Murray said the levy will allow the district to maintain neighborhood schools with the same grade-level alignment and course offerings and help offset decreases in federal funding that support special education and Title programs.

It will also improve school safety measures — including hiring a school resource officer in partnership with the city of Rathdrum and the Kootenai County Sheriff's Office, reinforcing windows with safety film, and enhancing existing emergency response systems — and improve student health and safety services, which includes athletic trainers for competitive high school sports.

Democrats will make their choice for their party's presidential nomination during a caucus on March 22 at NIC's Schuler Performing Arts Center. Doors open at 4:30 p.m. and close at 6.

Any person who is a Democrat and a qualified voter of Kootenai County and who has not participated in any other presidential selection process may participate in the caucus. The meeting is open to the public.

For more information about the Democratic caucus, call 755-9590, email kootenaicountydemocrats@gmail.com or visit idahodems.org.

The deadline for voters to change their party affiliation or become unaffiliated for the May 17 primary election featuring county and state races is Friday.