DART issues GOP primary recommendations
Here are the recommendations for moderate, reasonable candidates in the upcoming May 17 Republican Primary from the community-minded Democrats And Republicans Together (DART), a loose-knit collection of North Idaho residents who seek election of moderate, reasonable and qualified individuals to positions of leadership, said Rick Palagi, spokesperson for the Executive Committee.
“If you live in North Idaho, you would be living under a rock this past year if you haven’t noticed the increase of groups and volume of voices advocating for the return of moderate, reasonable and qualified leadership to our non-partisan and partisan elected positions,” Palagi said.
While the executive leadership positions at the state level are critical, DART’s focus is on local elections. In particular, as has been extensively reported in The Press and social media postings, the Republican Primary is absolutely the most important vote to select those moderate Republicans who have the best interests of North Idaho upper most in mind, not partisan politics and ideology, he said.
DART’s general membership reviewed the declared Republican candidates and researched each of them via publicly available information and websites.
Criteria included professional experience, length of residency, public service and volunteer efforts and knowledge of the particular position the candidate is running for.
A consensual process was used to arrive at the following candidates being recommended. No opinion is rendered on the candidates for uncontested races.
County Races
• County Assessor: BOB SCOTT
• County Clerk: JENNIFER LOCKE
• County Commissioner: CHRIS FILLIOS
• County Coroner: MARK MANTEUFFEL
Legislative Races
• Legislative District 4A Representative: JIM ADDIS
• Legislative District 4B Representative: PAUL AMADOR
• Legislative District 5A Representative: CHERI ZAO
• Legislative District 4 Senator: TARA MALEK
“Our recommendations are similar to other leading community groups such as Non-partisan Doctors of CdA (NDOC), North Idaho Republicans (NIR), North Idaho Builders and Contractors Association (NIBCA), and the Idaho 97 Project to name a few groups who have published their lists of recommended candidates,” Palagi said.
“It is amazing to watch a small group of extremists control our partisan and non-partisan elected positions. It seems apparent to us that the large majority of North Idahoans want middle-of-the-road, thoughtful leadership not dominated by extremes of either the right or the left,” Palagi emphasized.
DART’s mission is to identify, encourage and support reasonable, moderate, community-minded candidates for positions within Kootenai County and the state of Idaho, regardless of political affiliation. For information on DART or to explore membership with the group, contact dartcda@gmail.com or visit the Facebook page “North Idaho DART”.
The official DART Voting Brochure is available on-line and includes the following message: “Every Vote Matters! Please vote on May 17th and encourage your friends and family to research the candidates and go to the polls, as well, You can learn more about the candidates, and obtain other valuable information to make yourself a more informed voter by visiting the social media pages for these candidates and by vising the following websites: https://sos.idaho.gov/elections-division, https://kcgov.us/31/Elections, https://voteidaho.gov, https://cda-meet-the-candidates2022.webflow.io and https://www.kcgov.us/710/KeyPerformance-Indicators.