NIC trustee race still underway

COEUR d’ALENE — The race for three seats on the North Idaho College board of trustees was far from over Wednesday morning.

As of 3:15 a.m., Rick Durbin, Eve Knudtsen and Mary Havercroft were leading narrowly. Just 24 of Kootenai County's 74 precincts had been counted. 

Durbin led William Lyons with 54.4% of the vote. Knudtsen was ahead of McKenzie, the sole incumbent, with 57,67% of the total counted so far. Havercroft led Angiletta with 53,28% of the vote. 

The election has the potential to shift the balance of power on the board and shape NIC’s future. 

Since February 2023, the college has operated under a show cause sanction from its accreditor, the last step before loss of accreditation. The college has until April 1, 2025, to resolve the remaining issues identified by its accreditor, most of which involve college governance and trustee behavior. 

Two opposing slates of candidates defined the nonpartisan race. 

Durbin, Knudtsen and Havercroft were backed by Save NIC Now, a PAC formed originally under the name Friends of NIC. The PAC promoted the trio as “strong, no-nonsense, conservative-minded candidates” who aim to “clean up the board and get NIC back on track.” 

The Kootenai County Republican Central Committee threw its support behind Lyons, Angiletta and McKenzie. The three candidates ran on a promise to “make NIC great again” and keep the college “under local, representative government that reflects the community’s values, not those of Boise bureaucrats.” 

Knudtsen noted the high turnout Tuesday night, which elections staff said would likely lead to longer tabulation times. Before Election Day, more than 23,000 voters cast absentee ballots and Kootenai County voters broke records for early voting turnout. 

“There was phenomenal voter turnout, which says a lot,” she said. “This is how we really know what the will of the voter is. This is where every vote counts.”

Reflecting on the campaign, Durbin expressed disappointment that the nonpartisan race was politicized by the Kootenai County Republican Central Committee and its slate of recommended candidates.  

“What stands out to me the most is the fact that we ran a campaign based on our qualifications and the objective to serve NIC, the faculty, students and community,” he said. “I feel very good about a clean campaign. I felt the KCRCC did not run a transparent campaign and, unfortunately, did not promote their candidates from the aspect that they were the best candidates to serve NIC.”