Local elections heating up

COEUR d'ALENE - Today is the last day for candidates to withdraw from the Nov. 2 ballot.

By Thursday afternoon, that option was fairly popular. Eleven candidates had already quit their race.

Kootenai County Clerk Jim Brannon said the number of people dropping out seems slightly more than years past. However, the upcoming election also saw a record number of candidates put their names in the running. 

"It seems a little higher," Brannon said Thursday. "When people see that the races are contested, they may not want the challenge, and it's harder to run if the race is contested." 

Withdrawn candidates as of Thursday 3 p.m. were:

KC Reese — Coeur d’Alene City Council Seat 4

Bobby Wilhelm — Post Falls Mayor

Louis Rueter — Post Falls City Council Seat 2

Lori Allen — Post Falls City Council Seat 6

Matt Spindler — Rathdrum City Council Seat 1

Annie Winston Poetker — Coeur d’Alene School District Zone 1

Jennifer Brumley — Coeur d’Alene School District Zone 4

Jeff Zember — Coeur d’Alene School District Zone 4

Chrisdee Imthurn — Lakeland Joint School District Zone 4

Dave Paul — Post Falls School District Zone 1

Tana Wrublik — Post Falls School District Zone 1

A list of current candidates is posted at www.kcgov.us/31/Elections. 

VOTER REGISTRATION

The League of Women Voters of Kootenai County invites residents to register Tuesday, Sept. 28 — National Voters Registration Day. 

Volunteers will be at the Coeur d'Alene, Hayden, and Post Falls libraries from 1 to 7 p.m. that day to help get Kootenai County signed up to participate in the November election. 

The LWVKC is a nonpartisan organization that strives to promote political responsibility through informed and active participation in government.

"Voting in the Nov. 2 nonpartisan election is more important than ever as many are running for mayoral, city council, school board and fire district positions," an LWVKC release said. 

Voters must register by 5 p.m. Oct. 8 to participate in the election. Virtual registration is available at voteidaho.gov. 

Same-day registration and voting are available on Election Day at your polling place. 

The LWVKC intends to boost local involvement through Vote411.org — a free, nonpartisan resource that includes candidate information and questionnaire responses.

Individuals running for office this fall can contact the LWVKC to participate in Vote411.org at LisaSchaff1@hotmail.com. 

The Press and LWVKC are partnering to collect candidate questionnaires and contact information ahead of the election. 

Candidates should contact Press reporter Madison Hardy for a candidate questionnaire and elections coverage. Email mhardy@cdapress.com or call 208-416-5109. 

CANDIDATE FORUMS

Four days of candidate forums are scheduled, starting Sept. 28. Because of the pandemic, the forums will be Zoom-only events, rather than live audience events.

City council candidates from Coeur d'Alene, Post Falls, Hayden, as well as Coeur d'Alene School District trustee candidates will participate in the forums. 

The forums are a partnership by The Press and Coeur d'Alene Regional Chamber of Commerce to provide voters a personal introduction to each candidate.

"The Chamber is a great nonpartisan platform that needs to be at the forefront in political matters," said a Chamber press release. "We want to make sure that people in North Idaho get to see and hear from the candidates." 

Contestants will answer questions developed by Coeur d'Alene Press staff on important topics within the community. The Press will not provide the candidates with questions in advance. 

"Hosting community forums is an incredibly important way to familiarize ourselves with the individuals who will be potentially making critical decisions for our community," Press Publisher Clint Schroeder said. 

These are question-and-answer forums, not debates. Candidates should answer questions directly and speak with facts about themselves and their platforms, not their opponents. 

"The average voter doesn't normally have access to as much information about city council and mayoral candidates as they do for more highly publicized races," Schroeder said. "This is a great opportunity to hear unique candidate perspectives about the important issues on the minds of local voters."

Recordings will be available in the "Meet the Candidates" section of www.cdapress.com the following day. Responses collected during the forums may also be used in the Press Voters Guide and daily election coverage.

Candidates should register through brenda@cdachamber.com or 208415—0110. 

The forum schedule is as follows:

Tuesday, Sept. 28

Coeur d'Alene City Council — eight candidates, three races 

Seat 2 — Amy Evans, Morgan Dixon, Roger Garlock

Seat 4 — Grayson L. Cross, JD Calridge, Woody McEvers

Seat 6 — Elaine Price, Kiki Miller 

Wednesday, Sept. 29

Hayden and Post Falls City Council — 14 candidates, five races 

Hayden Seat 2 — Ed DePriest, Nicole Barnett, Richard 'Dick' Panabaker

Hayden Seat 4 — Jeri DeLange, Sandy White

Post Falls Seat 2 — Alan Wolfe, Josh Walker

Post Falls Seat 4 — Bob Flowers, Nathan L. Ziegler, Steve Anthony

Post Falls Seat 6 — Eric Klinkhammer, Kenny Shove, Linda Wilhelm, Tara Polley

Monday, Oct. 4

Coeur d'Alene and Post Falls Mayoral — six candidates, two races 

Coeur d’Alene — Jim Hammond, Joe Alfieri, Michael Lentz

Post Falls — Austin Hildebrand, Daniel Temple, Ronald G. Jacobson 

Wednesday, Oct. 6

Coeur d'Alene School District #271 board of trustees — six candidates, three races 

Zone 1 — Allie Anderton, Lisa May

Zone 4 — Leslie Bjerke, Lindsey Swingrover

Zone 5 — Glen Campbell, Rebecca Smith 

For more information on elections and polling, go to www.kcgov.us/31/Elections or call 208-446-1030.