County commission candidates square off

COEUR d'ALENE — During a forum on Thursday, Kootenai County District 3 commission candidates addressed topics ranging from land use to how surplus funds should be spent.

Republican candidates Duane Rasmussen, Fred Meckel, Leslie Duncan and Bob Bingham spoke to about 40 people attending the Kootenai County Reagan Republicans meeting at The Fedora Pub and Grille.

Dan Green, the current commissioner for District 3, which serves the north-central part of the county, decided to not seek re-election. The primary is May 17. No Democrats filed for the seat.

Bingham, who is retired after working in the energy and construction industries, founded the North West Property Owners Alliance, a grassroots nonprofit formed to focus on private and property rights. The

alliance opposed the Unified Land Use Code that was proposed more than two years ago and scrapped in favor of updating the county's code in house.

He said what sets him apart from the other candidates is that he's already done a lot of research into county matters, especially on the land-use front.

Bingham held up copies of the county's proposed Land Use and Development Code and public comments about it.

"I have 60 comments in here," he said. "I don't know if anybody else does. This code needs to get thinner (in the number of pages). As a conservative Republican, I'm in favor of less taxes and less government."

But Meckel, who is a Rathdrum City Council member and a mental health therapist, said there needs to be a balance — to not get too lean with ordinances.

"We need to protect ourselves as long as there are not redundancies (in the code)," he said. "Land use is not cut-and-dry. It is very legal, deliberate and specific to what you're looking at."

Rasmussen said his experience in law would be an asset at the county, citing this week's decision by a judge to remand commissioners' vote last year to deny a controversial zone change near Athol for a residential proposal. Since a county zone change ordinance had not been updated to reflect a state law that was amended in 2013, the judge set aside the commissioners' decision after two lengthy public hearings that had to be moved to North Idaho College to accommodate the number of attendees.

"Due process had been violated," Rasmussen said, referring to the decision. "How are you going to know what due process is, unless you've handled a lot of cases? There is no clear-cut answers until it gets to the courts. That's why I would benefit the county. We need someone who will drill down to comprehend problems and work from there."

Duncan, who owns a sports TV production company and is chairwoman of the county's Aquifer Protection District, said she opposes adding more ordinances based on only a few situations.

"I'm for what citizens want in the framework of less regulations," she said.

Meckel said the county sending inmates to other facilities due to crowded conditions at the jail is an issue that should be addressed with the county's $37 million in surplus funds.

"Sending them out is like having a high-interest credit card," Meckel said, referring to the cost to house inmates elsewhere.

He also suggested exploring a regional jail facility involving multiple counties.

Duncan said her previous experience of working in law enforcement would be an asset as the county examines jail expansion.

After voters rejected what Bingham called three "Cadillac" jail expansion proposals that would have increased taxes, he said he supports an expansion with surplus funds.

Rasmussen said he would support returning some of the surplus funds to the taxpayers. He said the county should be cautious on how much it spends on the jail because there are needs countywide.

"We've got a whole county to run, not just a jail to run," he said.

Rasmussen touted his law background, which included sexual abuse cases within the Catholic Church and the state's proposal several years ago to local a work-release center in Kootenai County.

Meckel said he hadn't thought about running until he was asked by several people to do so. After spending time with commissioners, he learned about the large responsibilities involved and that's what made him decide to run.

Bingham said he has been active in politics and has spoken to groups on property rights, so becoming a commissioner would be a natural next step for him.

Duncan said she hasn't been involved in politics and has no allegiance to special interests, so that would mean bringing a fresh perspective to the commission.