Commissioner candidates sound off

COEUR d’ALENE — Growth, infrastructure and funding for emergency services were hot topics when all four candidates for District 1 addressed the North Idaho Federated Republican Women at Seasons of Coeur d’Alene.

Republicans Marc Eberlein, Dale Gibbony, Bat Masterson and John Padula are vying for the seat occupied by two-term commissioner Bill Brooks, who has served since 2018. Brooks is not running for reelection.

Becky Funk, president of North Idaho Federated Republican Women, said the organization doesn’t endorse Republican candidates before a primary election.

“We want to help good people get elected and you get to decide who the good people are,” Funk told the crowd of more than 30 people.

The candidates fielded the same questions, which were submitted via email.

Padula, a pastor at The Altar Church, said he wants to see growth slowed throughout the county. He also opposes raising property taxes.

“My mom is on disability and she can barely afford to live in her house right now,” he said. “She’s almost taxed out of her own home. She gets less than $1,000 a month in disability and her property taxes keep going up and she’s not going to be able to afford to live here any longer. I think that we’re hurting our community by continuing to raise taxes.”

Masterson is a lifelong Kootenai County resident who worked in the local health care system following his service in the Marines. He said growth must come with the infrastructure to support it.

He recalled his childhood, when he could run a tractor for two miles in any direction on the Rathdrum Prairie. That land is now filled with housing but infrastructure hasn’t kept up.

“We have the same roads today that we had when I was a kid, with the exception of 41,” Masterson said. “The residents that live here can’t even get around.”

Eberlein served as the District 1 commissioner from 2014 to 2018 and now aims to retake the seat. He said growth should be paid for by developers.

“That’s including schools, fire stations, police, the whole thing,” he said. “Those are all part of making a development and right now, it’s getting shuffled back to the taxpayers.”

Gibbony, a retired pilot, said it’s important to properly fund county services because doing so will save money in the long run.

“Everybody thinks it’s a good idea to come up here and say, ‘We’re going to cut the spending,’” he said. “Well, it’s been cut so bad that some of these departments can barely function.”

Gibbony said he’s focused on long-term planning for a rapidly growing county.

“What are we going to need in five years and where are we going to put it?” he said. “I don’t see any planning being done for this. Those are things that need to be done right now.”

Masterson emphasized the importance of responsible budgeting, maintaining the traditional rural character of Kootenai County and acting with integrity.

“If you want somebody honest in that office, somebody that will work for you, that’s me,” he said.

Padula said he believes the current commissioners favor certain entities and he wants to change that.

“Most of the decisions that are made are leaning toward one group or another group and there are always people that are left out,” he said. “If I’m elected as county commissioner, what I want to do is meet with everybody and make decisions that represent the community as a whole.”

Eberlein said he learned during his time as a commissioner about the importance of spending taxpayer dollars carefully and keeping property taxes low.

“We have to be very tight with the budgets,” he said. “What’s driving the cost of living here in Kootenai County is property taxes. It’s terrible, especially for renters.”

This story has been updated to reflect that Tim Plass is no longer running for commissioner.