Yes to levy request, and vote for Mic
Please take time today to read Don Bradway’s My Turn on the Local section front page.
His endorsement of Northern Lakes Fire District’s levy request next week carries more weight than the average pair of eyes might discern.
First, Bradway’s actually an expert. He’s a former firefighter and paramedic. But the California transplant has a national reputation for something else entirely.
Bradway was literally the face of an Aug. 27, 2016, Washington Post story by Kevin Sullivan headlined: “A Fortress Against Fear: In the rural Pacific Northwest, prepping for the day it hits the fan.” Why? Bradway stands center stage as a leading actor in the American Redoubt movement.
An Oct. 22, 2017, BuzzFeedNews.com article, “Here’s What Happens When Republicans Have No One To Fight,” by Anne Helen Petersen, also quoted Bradway. In both cases, the image he projected was one of a citizen essentially retreating from mainstream society and preparing for a time of, shall we say, some serious tribulation.
Did you just read his opinion piece in the Local section? Then let us ask you: If Don Bradway can support Northern Lakes’ reasonable request to provide better life-saving services to people living in the sprawling district, who could stand against him?
Well, apparently, plenty. In the tagline at the end of his opinion piece, Bradway responds politely to the negative feedback he received after posting his thoughts on Facebook.
The point here is not to argue whose conservative hand trumps anybody else’s, but to note that Northern Lakes’ request is anything but a slam dunk because of people who disagree with Bradway. When Don says, “I support this levy because I think it’s good for our community” and notes that it’ll cost the owner of a $300,000 home around five bucks a month, that sounds not only reasonable but responsible.
To those who think any tax increase for any reason is inherently evil or at least un-American, we say, listen to Don. If government in its many aspects serves any irrefutable purpose, it is to ensure the safety of its citizenry. That’s what Northern Lakes Fire District is focused on with its levy request, and we urge voters to support it next Tuesday.
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The Press rarely endorses individual candidates anymore, but today we’re making a modest exception. Six candidates’ names appear on the ballot for two seats on Kootenai Hospital District’s board of trustees. These are unpaid and exceedingly demanding jobs because of the complexity not just of a 3,300-employee hospital’s operations and planning, but because of the tangled web of American health care today.
Michael “Mic” Armon deserves your vote. He’s a financial expert and a dedicated community servant whose experience on the board is invaluable. Re-electing Armon to the hospital board will help assure continuance of the high quality medical service North Idahoans enjoy today.