County candidates clash at forum

COEUR d’ALENE — If Kootenai County voters can be grateful for one thing this election year, it’s that they have the luxury of choosing from county candidates who offer genuinely different choices.

During Thursday’s county candidates forum, hosted by the Coeur Group and CdA-TV, county clerk opponents Jim Brannon and Dan Gookin openly went at it, while District 3 county commissioner opponents Leslie Duncan and Ruben Miranda drew sharp distinctions between themselves for the packed house audience.

Gookin accused the incumbent county clerk, Brannon, of hiding information from the public and from other county employees. No one knows what his office spends on travel, training, or other line items, said Gookin. “When I’m clerk, I’ll put everything in that budget.”

An exasperated Gookin couldn’t cite any particular expenses he’d cut from the clerk’s office budget, responding, “How the hell would I know that? He doesn’t put them in his budget.”

Gookin derided the partisan label affixed to the office, stating that “Party lines help uninformed people think they’re voting for the right guy.”

When asked if voters should be concerned that Gookin — who has said he will serve out the remainder of his term on the Coeur d’Alene City Council even if elected county clerk — might get stretched too thin, he remarked, “I’d rather have concerns about that than blindly vote Republican.” Since the office of county clerk simply carries out the law and doesn’t set policies, it shouldn’t be partisan, added the independent candidate running as a “nonpartisan.”

Gookin also attacked Brannon as wanting “to be the fourth commissioner” instead of fulfilling his duties as county clerk.

The incumbent struck a different tone, noting that he had “promised a positive campaign” and urging voters to choose “the candidate who best reflects your values.” In contrast to Gookin’s claims, Brannon said there’s more information on the county clerk website than in any other municipality he’s ever seen. “About the only thing I don’t put online is my personal checkbook,” he said. Brannon chided Gookin for claiming a lack of financial transparency exists in his office, explaining that “We have been told by our auditors that the narrative helps people understand, instead of a listing of numbers … That’s why it’s listed in narrative form. If he doesn’t like it, then I’m sorry. But it’s not because the budget isn’t up there.” Gookin’s claims were “totally not based in fact whatsoever,” he added.

Brannon said his proudest accomplishment is the team he’s built in the county clerk’s office, and he stood by the propriety of running as a Republican. The state code requires the county clerk to be partisan office, he explained. “I’m a proud Republican, but I also have many friends across the aisle,” he added.

Brannon said if elected, Gookin would likely encounter conflicts of interest serving as both a city councilman and a county clerk. “Knowing Gookin I’d assume he’d recuse himself in those situations.” However, said Brannon, “He will be a great councilman, but he’s not going to be county clerk.”

Miranda and Duncan set out their differences during the county commissioner debate. The Democratic candidate said while permitting “procedures have been cumbersome in the past,” they “have been fixed for most part.” If elected, he said his first action would be to repeal the opt-out provision. “It will be gone,” he assured the audience. In response to citizens who may feel that they’re saving money by opting out, Miranda countered “You’re buying yourself more expense down the road.” When such homeowners try to sell their homes they’ll be forced to drop the price of their property due to the opt-out. In turn, their lower property values will drag down the values of their neighbors’ properties. “That’s not fair,” Miranda argued. “Opting out of building codes is just not good for the county.”

Miranda supported the transit center, calling it “an incredibly good return on investment.” He said mass transit is attractive to companies considering locating in Kootenai County. Linking the transit system to Spokane would also make the county more attractive by enlarging companies’ possible workforce, he explained. “I do not believe it will bring added crime. I just do not think that. I have never seen a bank robber rob a bank and then go jump on a bus,” he said.

Miranda said the office of county commissioner is effectively a nonpartisan position. Commissioners don’t “make deicisons based on left-wing, right-wing, Democrat or Republican ideologies. They will make decisions on things that will affect you immediately and severely.” However, he said he ran as a Democrat instead of a Republican in order to not “feel I was living under a lie.”

Duncan clarified her position on the opt-out question by first explaining that it’s not the building codes but the county permitting process that property owners are opting out of. All the relevant state codes and inspections are still in place, she said. If elected, Duncan said she would “suggest to allow private, licensed, bonded inspectors to alleviate some of the overly bureaucratic processes that we have in the county. I would like to see those inspectors be able to be accountable. County inspectors are not liable in case of errors. I would like more privatization to come in and alleviate some of that burden,” she said.

“Homeowners should have the choice to hire their own inspector over the county one. They can price it out. Which is cheaper, going with the county or going with private industry?” she asked.

On the transit center, Duncan claimed that of the cities she had studied, every one that brought in a rapid transit system saw its demographics and crime rates change. “Chief White would have had a different opinion if we had proposed to hook up with Spokane,” she said. The center’s purpose should be to serve the people of Kootenai County and its cities, not any place outside of the county, said Duncan.

Duncan said she thought the office of county commissioner was, in fact, highly partisan because of the land use and property rights decisions that commissioners make. “I stand by the Republican platform when it comes to free enterprise and limited government. Those are things that are important to me and why I associate with that party.”

Neither Miranda nor Duncan cited any particular line item they’d like to reduce in the county budget. However, they both spoke in favor of bolstering county employee pay. Duncan said she would be open to privatizing some services not mandated for the county, if the private sector could do them better. Miranda said no matter who gets elected, taxes will probably rise because of the county’s rapid rate of growth.

The forum was live-streamed on CdA-TV, Charter cable channel 1301, and will be re-broadcast multiple times before the Nov. 6 election: Sunday and Wednesday at 2:30 a.m., Monday and Friday at 8:30 a.m. and 8:30 p.m., and Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday at 2:30 p.m.

The video will also remain on the city’s Facebook and YouTube channels for on-demand viewing. The Kootenai County Voters Guide, featuring all county and local state legislative candidates, ran in Saturday’s newspaper. A limited number of free copies are available at The Press, 215 N. Second St. in downtown Coeur d’Alene.