Dunlap eclipses all in contributions after filing mix-up

When Dr. Joe Dunlap opened his Friday morning Coeur d’Alene Press, he was surprised to see an article detailing financial contributions and expenditures of all the local candidates in competitive races coming into October, an annual tradition this time of year.

Specifically, the incumbent for the North Idaho College Board of Trustee Zone Four position expressed surprise at the dollar amount listed next to his name, or, more specifically, the lack of a dollar amount. The Press reported Dunlap had brought in $0 in contributions.

“The report was filed, and the (Idaho) Secretary of State got the report,” Dunlap said. “But it wasn’t filed in the right place. We got in touch with the Secretary of State’s office, and they corrected the issue.”

Chad Houck, chief deputy Secretary of State, confirmed to The Press Friday afternoon that the error had occurred, and that the digital paperwork has since been properly filed.

“Dr. Dunlap’s report was filed timely,” Houck said. “It was filed complete. It was just filed in the wrong spot. There was nothing deceptive about it. We examined it to discover: ‘Was all the data there? Was full disclosure there?’ We determined the answer to both questions was, ‘Yes.’ At that point, it was just a clerical matter.”

For the record, Dunlap has brought in $8,215 in contributions — all in September — in the non-partisan race, eclipsing every other candidate in competitive NIC Trustee races combined. His largest contributions come from three different $1,000 donations: Eve Knudtsen of Post Falls, Chris Dodge of Seattle, and Rick Harshman of Singapore.