Contributions fuel Kootenai County election campaigns
COEUR d’ALENE — Candidates and political action committees are pulling in — and spending — serious cash in Kootenai County’s most competitive races.
Kootenai County Sheriff
When it comes to campaign contributions, Republican incumbent Bob Norris and independent challenger Dan Wilson are neck and neck, with each campaign reporting a little more than $29,000 in contributions since the May primary election.
The bulk of the donations to Norris’ campaign were in-state, individual contributions — $25,000 and $26,800, respectively — with $4,000 coming from out-of-state and $2,250 contributed by companies.
The same is true for Wilson, whose campaign has received about $34,000 in total this year, only $818 of which was contributed by companies. Out-of-state donations to Wilson’s campaign total about $4,000.
Several individuals have donated $1,000 each to Norris’ campaign since June. The Fernan Rod and Gun Club also donated $1,000. The campaign’s biggest expenditures since the primary election are about $2,600 with the Best Western Plus Coeur d’Alene Inn and $2,500 with the Kootenai County Republican Women Federated.
Since the primary election, several individuals have donated between $950 and $1,000 to Wilson’s campaign. The biggest expenditures are $4,000 with Yesco Outdoor Media and $3,500 with Retro Rush Media.
Independent sheriff candidates Justin Nagle and Kyle Woodward have not reported any campaign donations or expenditures, according to campaign finance data.
North Idaho College
Save NIC Now, a PAC formed originally under the name Friends of NIC, has received more than $106,000 in total contributions so far this year and had nearly $85,000 in its war chest as of Oct. 11. The PAC supports Eve Knudtsen, Mary Havercroft and Rick Durbin for North Idaho College trustee.
Most of the donations received by Save NIC Now, about $83,500, came from individuals, while $22,000 came from companies. A total of $105,010 were in-state contributions.
Individuals named Michael White and Doug Parker are the biggest donors so far, contributing $25,000 each. Glacier Partners LLC and the Coeur d’Alene Tribe each donated $10,000 to Save NIC Now.
About 62% of the PAC’s expenditures so far have been on advertising, including yard signs and buttons, according to campaign filing data. This includes $12,750 to Lamar Advertising, which operates billboards and other outdoor advertising. Save NIC Now also spent $9,460 with Engage Consulting Northwest, based in Coeur d’Alene, on a mixture of advertising.
In the NIC race, the Kootenai County Republican Central Committee has backed the slate of Greg McKenzie, Michael Angiletta and William Lyons.
The central committee has received just shy of $290,000 in contributions so far this year and spent nearly $250,000. The central committee had a cash balance of about $41,000 at the end of September, according to its most recent campaign financial disclosure report.
Most of the party’s donations came from individuals, about $179,000, while about $65,000 came from companies. Almost $293,000 came from Idaho, while about $13,000 of the contributions were from out of state.
The biggest contributions to the party so far this year include $50,000 from the Idaho Republican Gala, $20,000 from the Kootenai County Republican Women Federated and $10,000 from Coeur d’Alene Garbage Service. Vito Barbieri, a Republican running to retain his District 2 seat in the Legislature, donated $5,500 to the central committee.
One of the central committee’s biggest vendors is the People’s Pen, with more than $52,000 spent on the publication so far this year. The party spent a combined $5,384 on advertising in support of the three trustee candidates, as well as a combined $5,052 to advertise against Durbin, Knudtsen and Havercroft.
Among the candidates for NIC trustee, Knudtsen has received the most contributions by far, totaling $28,420. Nearly $25,000 came from individuals, while $1,500 came from companies. In-state contributions total $22,920 and $5,500 came from out of state.
McKenzie has received about $1,500 in contributions so far, as well as about $3,400 in loans. The campaign has spent $5,652 so far. The biggest vendor is consulting firm McShane LLC.
Lyons’ campaign has received about $1,600 in contributions, as well as $1,000 in loans. The campaign has spent about $1,800 so far, including $1,600 with Bridge View Press.
Durbin has received about $4,000 in contributions, split mostly between $1,000 contributions from Save NIC Now, the North Idaho Builders’ Political Action Committee and a contribution from Durbin to his own campaign. The biggest expense is $1,600 with Rathdrum-based Minute Press.
Contributions to Angiletta’s campaign total about $2,100 so far, as well as $4,600 in loans. The campaign has spent about $4,200, with the biggest expense being $2,500 with Social Eyes Marketing.
Havercroft has received about $4,300 in contributions and has not spent anything so far, according to campaign finance data. At $1,000 each, the biggest contributors are Save NIC Now, North Idaho Builders’ Political Action Committee and Doug Parker.
So far, the biggest donor to the campaigns of Lyons, Angiletta and McKenzie is KCRCC chair Brent Regan, who contributed $1,000 to each campaign.