Twete seeking re-election to Lakes Highway District

Rod Twete announced he is seeking re-election to the Lakes Highway District Board of Commissioners.

Twete, 66, has lived in North Idaho for 53 years. Appointed as a highway district commissioner in 2007, Twete has served continuously by re-election ever since. He has been a member of the Idaho Association of Highway Districts since 2013 and worked for the district for 33 years as an equipment operator.

He and his wife, Marilyn, raised two children in Kootenai County and have four grandchildren living in the area.

“Throughout my 10 years of being a Lakes Highway District Commissioner, I’ve looked for ways to save the taxpayers money, while at the same time getting as many federal grants as possible to supplement our budget,” Twete said in his announcement.

Twete’s work to save taxpayers includes voting against a 3 percent budget increase and advocating for an in-house engineer that reduced engineering costs. Since Twete has been in office, $12 million in federal grants have been used for various road projects.

“Our equipment is current and well-maintained and our crews are completing more work with less staff hours,” Twete said in the announcement. “One of our greatest accomplishments has been to reduce the amount of gravel roads in the District from 40 miles in 2007 to only 16 miles today.”

Twete said he is proud of the way the Highway District maintains its roads.

“I think we have the best highway district in the state. Our crew is unsurpassable,” Twete said.

The election will be held Tuesday, May 16.

Early voting begins May 1 at the Kootenai County Elections Office, 1808 N. Third St., Coeur d’Alene. Early voting will continue Monday through Friday between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. through May 12. To receive an absentee ballot by mail, requests must be received by the elections office by May 5. For information about the election, call (208) 446-1030 or visit kcgov.us/elections.