PAC power: Most local campaign spending from PACs

COEUR d’ALENE — Candidates for contested county races and the North Idaho College board of trustees have raised more than $75,000 since the May primary election and spent around $48,000.

The biggest spenders, however, aren’t individual candidates, but the PACs supporting them, according to campaign finance filings available for public viewing as of last week.

PACS are required to file reports monthly, and the filing deadline for October is Nov. 10, so more expenditures are likely going to be filed, which will raise pre-election spending amounts.

The Kootenai County Republican Central Committee has received about $82,000 in donations since the May primary and spent about $108,000 since then. Locally, the group has thrown its support behind candidates Ron Hartman, Diana Sheridan and Mike Waggoner in the nonpartisan North Idaho College trustee race.

The local GOP’s biggest donors are Redman & Company Insurance ($25,000), Daniel Pinkerton ($18,000), Post Falls Sanitation ($10,000) and Paul Van Noy ($5,000). KCRCC Chair Brent Regan donated $10,500 in July.

Between June and September, the central committee poured $31,000 into the People’s Pen, a publication that features interviews with candidates and elected officials backed by the local Republican party.

The Kootenai County GOP came under scrutiny earlier this year after it paid more than $63,000 for ads in the People’s Pen. The central committee paid the printer directly, funding an entire print run.

Following an investigation into whether the publication violated Idaho campaign finance laws, the Secretary of State’s Office declined to proceed with prosecution. Chief Secretary of State Chad Houck called the direct payments to the printer “a really weird business practice, but nothing illegal.”

The Republican central committee’s single biggest expenses after the May primary were a $20,000 donation to the Idaho State GOP, as well as around $9,400 spent on signs, buttons and similar material. The group also spent around $3,600 on broadcast ads and about $2,900 on print ads in various publications.

The Friends of NIC PAC is backing a different slate of NIC trustee candidates: Pete Broschet, Brad Corkill and Tarie Zimmerman.

The group has raised about $142,000 and reported expenditures to date of just over $16,000. The bulk of those funds — almost $13,000 — has gone toward advertising - with the rest spent on printing, web services and other operational costs. The PAC also donated $1,000 to each of its preferred candidates.

The group’s biggest donors include the Coeur d’Alene Tribe, which gave a total of $25,000, and Citizens to Elect Qualified and Experienced Candidates, which gave $15,000.

The Idaho Association of Realtors, Glacier Partners, LLC and individual Bret Dirks each gave $10,000 to the PAC. Hecla Mining Company donated $7,500.

Corkill has raised the most money of the six NIC trustee candidates, around $16,000, and spent close to $10,000, most of which has gone to broadcast and print ads. He’s received $1,000 donations from the Coeur d’Alene Tribe, Citizens to Elect Qualified and Experienced Candidates and numerous individuals.

Sheridan collected the second highest amount, receiving about $10,800 in donations and spending around $9,500. Her biggest donations are a $1,000 loan to herself and $1,000 from Jordan Redman. Most of Sheridan’s expenses have been on signs, as well as print and broadcast ads.

Broschet has raised about $10,000, including $1,000 donations from the Idaho Forest Group, the Coeur d’Alene Tribe and Empire Airlines, his employer. Broschet also loaned himself $500. He’s spent about $4,800 so far, the bulk of which has gone to print advertising.

Hartman has received about $9,000 in donations. He is his own biggest donor, putting approximately $2,000 into his campaign and repaying $1,200. He’s spent about $8,000, including around $3,000 on signs, buttons and similar materials, as well as $800 on printing costs.

The NIC candidate with the smallest war chest is Waggoner, who has collected about $7,500. He donated about $1,300 to himself and received $1,000 donations from individuals Scott Foster and Jeff Zember. His biggest single expenses have been around $800 spent on signs, buttons and similar materials, as well as $350 on Bushnell Media.

The Kootenai County Democrats have raised about $28,000 since May, with the biggest single donation coming from individual Mirna Kleines. The Idaho State Democrats donated $936 to the local party in August.

The local Democrats have made $1,000 contributions to numerous Democratic candidates for state and local office, spent about $11,000 on events at the Coeur d’Alene Resort and Roosevelt Inn and and donated $3,600 to the state party.

Only two county-level races are contested.

Leslie Duncan, the Republican incumbent for the District 3 seat on the Board of County Commissioners, has raised about $6,800 and spent about $4,300.

She received $1,000 donations from the Idaho Realtors Association, as well as from individuals John Condon, Jordan Redman and John Huckabay. Duncan’s greatest expense has been $3,000 on postage.

The Democratic candidate, Ruben Miranda, has received $1,500 in donations — including $1,000 from the Kootenai County Democrats — and spent about $420, more than half of which went to broadcast ads.

Kootenai County Assessor Bela Kovacs has spent about $2,100 since he won the Republican primary in May, repaying a $2,000 loan to himself. He has received no donations since the primary.

Bob Scott, a write-in candidate for assessor, has received about $4,100 in donations since the primary election and spent about $1,900. He received $1,000 donations from individuals Deborah Fisher and Walter Fisher.

Scott’s single biggest expenses were $1,000 on broadcast ads and repayment of an $800 loan to himself.