KCRCC: Do they really ‘vet’ candidates?

The Kootenai County Republican Central Committee (KCRCC) have posted their recommended ballot for the May 20 election. The KCRCC reports that they use a “signature Rating and Vetting Program” to determine their recommendations and that it’s done through a process that includes questionnaires, interviews, candidate forums, as well as due diligence.    

As a conservative candidate running for my local water district in Kootenai County, I was neither contacted by KCRCC nor asked to meet with them to discuss my qualifications. I also did not receive their questionnaire. My contact information was available to them through the election office if they wanted to do their due diligence. 

If the KCRCC won’t take the time to contact or meet the candidates who raise their hands to serve, how can they possibly believe their vetting system is a fair, thorough or comprehensive process? Why are they reporting that they vet candidates using their process if they aren’t following this very process? It’s misleading and inaccurate.  

The KCRCC’s says their rating and vetting process is designed to be “open and transparent.” A Coeur d’Alene Press article from Oct. 4, 2024, by Dan Sheckler, a KCRCC committeeman, indicates otherwise. Mr. Sheckler’s “My Turn: KCRCC’s secretive machine” reports that KCRCC’s rating and vetting process is implemented behind closed doors and involves Rating and Vetting Committee members who sign Non-Disclosure Agreements (NDAs). Is this what qualifies as “open and transparent” to the KCRCC?  

Voters deserve better from the KCRCC. I hope voters will do their own “vetting” and determine for themselves who is best qualified to represent them; it’s just common sense.

SARAH LOADER

Coeur d’Alene