OPINION: More mayhem, or great leadership?

We read frequently about the merits of the KCRCC rating and vetting system for candidates under its leader Brent Regan. Yet, what we get is more like Mayhem, the Allstate insurance guy on TV. As voters, we should take any endorsement as a starting point and do our own homework to ensure the candidates are suited for the job they are seeking.

For example, under the Regan-led KCRCC’s hand-picked Kootenai County Assessor, it has led to property assessment backlogs, staff turnover, and repeated valuation errors that have frustrated taxpayers and fueled lawsuits. Employees describe low morale and chaotic management, while the public sees a loss of confidence in one of the county’s most basic services. The county commissioners’ attempt to dock the Assessor’s pay spoke volumes about how they felt he was doing his job.

According to a recent Lightcast study, North Idaho College is a $270 million a yeareconomic engine for our region. Yet, the Regan-led KCRCC-endorsed board of trustees put the college on life support. They fired a president without cause, spent hundreds of thousands on lawsuits, and drove away donors. The cost? More than $12 million wasted — money that should have gone to scholarships, classrooms, and local students. The college’s insurance bill jumped from $321,000 a year to $1.2 million. Even today, after rejoining its old insurer, premiums remain at about $1 million, which are still triple 2021 levels. That’s not conservative fiscal prudence.

The good news is that North Idaho College is finally on the other side of the drama and beginning to thrive again — with trustees endorsed by North Idaho Republicans, not the Regan-led KCRCC. That’s the difference experience and responsible leadership can bring.

For years, Spokane County provided helicopter coverage for Kootenai County law enforcement at just $10,000 a year — affordable, reliable, and ready when called. That helicopter was a critical law enforcement and public safety tool, helping with search and rescue, pursuits, and protecting citizens. In 2023, the Sheriff and county commissioners — all endorsed by the Regan-led KCRCC — scrapped that contract and launched their own program. Insurance costs spiked, and with no coverage secured, the helicopter hasn’t flown in more than a year. Taxpayers are left with higher costs — and the community has lost a proven tool that once safeguarded lives.

Then there’s the Community Library Network endorsed trustees who claimed they were tightening belts. In reality, as documented in July 2024 guest opinion by former Idaho Commission for Libraries appointee Pat Raffee, these trustees cut Sunday hours and reduced staff pay, limiting public access. Further, thinking they would save taxpayers money they turned down $42,000 in urban renewal revenue — but those funds had already been collected and so had no impact on property taxes, but simply led to cuts in services. Most concerning, according to Raffee, was the failure to publicly disclose or allocate an unexpected $500,000 in state funds, moving ahead with budget cuts as if the money didn’t exist. That’s not fiscal transparency.

Chairman Regan’s frequent writings describe a rigorous rating and vetting process. Yet, the results speak for themselves. What’s missing from their checklist is experience, budget management, and governance skills. The very qualities that could have prevented NIC’s $12 million meltdown, the Sheriff’s grounded helicopter program, the library’s concealed windfall, and the dysfunction in the Assessor’s Office that left taxpayers with backlogs, errors, and lawsuits. Experience isn’t a luxury — it’s the difference between steady leadership and costly mayhem.

This isn’t about partisanship. It’s about principles. This fall, voters have the same choice in our city and school board races: we can stick with costly chaos, or we can elect leaders who protect taxpayers, deliver services, and put our community first. True Republican values are about protecting taxpayers, being good stewards of resources, and respecting the community we love. This fall, look closely and do your own homework on the candidates in your city and school board races.

Let’s choose wisely. Or as the Allstate commercial says, we may need to pay for the damage ourselves.

To start your research, you can find high-caliber candidates supported by North Idaho Republicans at https://www.nirpac.org.

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Luke Russell is a former business executive and co-founder of North Idaho Republicans.