Bauer announces run for sheriff

Mike Bauer of Harrison announced his unaffiliated candidacy for Kootenai County sheriff in the 2020 election.

He becomes the fifth candidate to file for sheriff. Sheriff Ben Wolfinger does not plan to seek re-election.

Bauer has 33 years of county-level law-enforcement experience. He retired as a sheriff's captain for Los Angeles County.

"I have a humble respect for the rapidly vanishing simple lifestyle of rural Idaho and the Mountain West," he said in a written statement.

Bauer said he entered the race because rural residents wanted a choice for a sheriff who was by philosophy and disposition agreeable to their preferred style of law enforcement and whose management style was compatible with their Western heritage.

"A majority of our county residents living in more urban areas, and perhaps living their lives at a faster pace, deserve a fair return for their property-tax investment as they try to make ends meet and fund both city and county operations," he wrote.

Bauer said he had assumed a more rural lifestyle living in Montana and Harrison since retirement.

He said running unaffiliated is the best way to convey his desire to diminish political influence in law enforcement.

"Our sheriff serves everyone, all people, of all political views," he wrote. "This has not been an easy decision since I have been a lifelong Republican. But I am getting over it."

Bauer said recent and future changes in leadership at the sheriff's office needed to be considered.

"I reviewed the Capt. Dan Soumas dismissal matter and his federal lawsuit cause of action, and I am concerned that the Kootenai County Sheriff's Department may not, from within, be able to supply the leadership needed to move forward from it," he said. "The matter must be skillfully resolved."

Bauer said his campaign will be self-funded.

"I will not solicit campaign contributions because I do not consider it good public policy or dignified to ask for money for this office," he wrote.

Bauer said if contributions are offered unsolicited, he will carefully consider the source and motivation before accepting them.

"Under no circumstances will a donation be accepted from any person or entity having a financial interest in the Kootenai County Sheriff's Department," he wrote.

Bauer said he would, if elected, donate at least $10,000 of his net annual salary to local charities.

Bauer worked for the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department from 1969 to 2002. He was assigned to the Special Investigations Bureau as a captain during his last three years.

Bauer has been a Kootenai County resident for the past seven years.