OPINION: KCRCC’s 'vetting' scam

Yes, I’m back at it after a wonderful summer of family celebrations and travel. It has been great to ignore the political angst and focus on what is truly important in life. We are so blessed to live in Idaho.

But now we are approaching the election season again. The Nov. 7 elections will include city councils, school boards, but not NIC. They are next year. Please remember that this year’s local elections are nonpartisan, meaning no primary election and no Democrat, Republican or other party designations.

Nonpartisan races? Yet the Kootenai County Republican Central Committee is still using their now infamous “vetting” process to choose the candidates they like. The chairman of three big organizations: Idaho Freedom Foundation, the powerful Idaho GOP Rules Committee and the KCRCC, Brent Regan, developed this vetting method of voter manipulation during 2022. I was an unwitting participant. Let me tell you about my experience and then we’ll talk about the negative impact their “Sample Ballot” has on unaware voters.

During the 2022 campaign season, I was still working very hard in Boise, finishing my eighth year as state senator from Coeur d’Alene, while also running for secretary of state. I was notified that the KCRCC was requiring candidates to have an interview with their brand new Rating and Vetting Committee, so I scheduled a time during a weekend I would be home.

The interview was held in a small room in the basement of the Altar Church. There were about eight people sitting in a U-shaped format with a single chair in front and a single light above. It was cold and strange. I knew some of these folks, and had for years, so I felt confident they would be aware of my dedication and commitment to our community. I handed each of them a packet of information, as requested, with my bio, resume and the lengthy questionnaire required by the KCRCC. They hardly looked at the packet. They asked questions, and then a few people I didn’t know started accusatory questions with an angry edge, which I answered calmly.

I found out later that the accusers were well-known supporters of Dorothy Moon, my opponent in the SOS race, and were not members of the KCRCC. Almost half of the interview panel were not even members of the Central Committee.

Several days later, when I was back in Boise working for you, the whole Central Committee had the final “vetting” vote. There are 73 seats on the KCRCC. Only 44 people showed up that evening to vote, and I had arranged for my information packets to be delivered to the meeting in my absence.

The next day I was informed that Dorothy won the vote by a large margin, and would be the endorsed candidate by KCRCC. I was not shocked after the cold, pre-calculated feeling in the interview. My box of 75 newly copied information packets was returned to me in mint condition. Not one page had been turned; none of them had been opened, though I was assured they had been present and available.

So what did the members base their vote on if they didn’t even look at my information? I’m guessing they were told the Rating and Vetting Committee voted for Dorothy and my IFF score was low. That’s all they wanted to know. That was the infamous KCRCC “vetting.”

The Committee members didn’t care about the legislative effectiveness of the candidates or their success in working with others toward a positive end. They didn’t read the list of bills I worked hard to get through the legislature and signed into law. Here are just a few:

• Parental Rights in Education

• Campaign finance reporting for School Board Trustees

• Moving School Board elections from low-turnout May to the more noted November date.

• No private money to run Idaho elections — first in the nation

• Fairness in Women’s Sports —also first in the nation

• And many more

During a public debate before the “vetting,” Dorothy was asked to name any bill she had successfully sponsored during her six years in the House. Her answer was one bill: A Purple Heart insignia may be added to an existing veteran license plate, if appropriate.

Also, at that same public debate, before the “vetting," Jeff Tyler, the chairman of the KCRCC Rating and Vetting Committee, was handing out Dorothy Moon pamphlets to the crowd. Not an objective and fair system, folks, not even close.

So when you receive the never-ending copies of KCRCC’s “Sample Ballots,” please remember the ridiculously weak basis for their endorsements. They choose largely uninformed candidates who will obey. For example, one of this year’s KCRCC “rated and vetted” Coeur d'Alene City Council candidates has a police record of a DUI and a domestic violence conviction. There are other recruited candidates who say they “know nothing about the position." These folks are perfect for the KCRCC. Flawed or uninformed candidates are much easier to manipulate.

So, dear voters, please know that I am happily retired, and am writing these columns to help you see behind the curtain of these charades and make your own decisions. Do your own research, ask questions and look up the candidate’s background and accomplishments. Your vote is your power. Please use it carefully.

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Mary Souza, a Coeur d'Alene Republican, represented District 4 in the Idaho Senate for eight years from 2014 to 2022.

Feedback: MarySouzaUnfiltered@gmail.com