KCRCC addresses investigation into Prop 1 signers

COEUR d'ALENE — In a tense meeting that stretched past midnight this week, the Kootenai County Republican Central Committee discussed an investigation into members who signed to qualify a proposed abortion-rights initiative for the November ballot.

Details were scant, however, because the central committee took up the matter behind closed doors late Tuesday night. 

"It was addressed and there will be more to come," said KCRCC Chair Ron Jacobson. 

Proposition 1, drafted by the group Idahoans United for Women and Families, would repeal Idaho's abortion ban, which is one of the strictest in the nation. 

In Idaho, it is a felony to provide an abortion, except in cases of rape and incest in the first trimester with a police report or to prevent the death of the mother. Prop 1 would allow abortion up to fetal viability or beyond in case of a medical emergency, codify rights to reproductive healthcare, such as access to IVF and contraception, and provide protections for physicians providing such healthcare. 

According to Idahoans United, about 38% of the roughly 110,000 Idaho voters who signed the ballot initiative are Democrats, about 30% are Republicans, and the rest are unaffiliated. 

Organizers said the thousands of Republicans who signed to get the initiative on the ballot did so for many reasons, including wanting Idaho voters to have the final say, even if they don't necessarily support abortion themselves. 

"To me, it's a very intimate decision," said Tim Skubitz, the committeeman representing precinct 301. He's one of the subjects of the subcommittee's investigation. "I signed the petition because I think it is very personal." 

In August, Terri Seymour, who represents precinct 402, proposed that the KCRCC form a subcommittee to investigate whether certain members "would tend to injure the good name of this organization" by signing to qualify Prop 1 for the ballot. 

Some committeemen said the investigation reflects a bigger struggle within the central committee. 

"This isn't about abortion," said Gary Neill, who represents precinct 408 and signed the Prop 1 initiative. "This is a power play." 

Every two years during May primary elections, voters elect representatives from Kootenai County's precincts, now 74 in number. These committeemen, elected in neighborhood-level races, form the central committee of each county’s political parties. 

A 38-seat coalition is needed to take majority control of the KCRCC. Candidates backed by Kootenai Freedom Caucus, a political action committee bankrolled by the KCRCC under former chair Brent Regan, secured 37 seats in May 2026. Candidates supported by rival PAC North Idaho Republicans, including Neill and Skubitz, picked up 33 seats. 

The remaining four seats were won by Republican candidates unaffiliated with either group. 

After the primary election, the KCRCC voted to give half its funds, totaling about $64,000, to the Idaho State Republican Party, days before newly elected precinct committeemen were set to vote on new leadership. 

"They simply don't want us to succeed," Neill said, referring to the Kootenai Freedom Caucus. "This is about their power, not about our community." 

Since May, the KCRCC has made decisions by narrow votes. Those margins widened slightly Tuesday when the central committee voted to fill the vacancy in precinct 420 left by well-known Coeur d'Alene attorney Peter Erbland, who died Aug. 2. Erbland helped found North Idaho Republicans. 

Republican legislator Joe Alfieri — who received the endorsement of Kootenai Freedom Caucus in May and endorsed the PAC himself, according to its website — won the seat by a single vote. In all, 37 committeemen voted to appoint him to precinct 420, while fellow nominee Kathy Larson received 36 votes. 

Tensions were high during the nearly six-hour meeting Tuesday night. 

When some precinct committeemen asked Alfieri about his position on issues like a local option sales tax, Todd Banducci accused those members of "attacking" Alfieri. 

"There are a number of members of this body who signed the petition to be able to put Prop 1 on the ballot," said Banducci, the former North Idaho College trustee who represents precinct 518. "Why don't you deal with your own people that are supporting something that goes against this body, goes against the GOP and goes against our platform?" 

After the primary election, the KCRCC voted overwhelmingly to choose Jacobson as the new chair. That night, Jacobson told the group he was tired of infighting on the central committee. But since then, he said it's been a challenge to diffuse tensions. 

"My goal is to bring unity and cooperation and I'm just not seeing it," he said. "I think it prevents any of the necessary business from being accomplished." 

He pointed to a lengthy debate Tuesday night about whether the central committee should support all Republican candidates in any campaign mailings sent before the general election. 

"There was pushback on that," he said. 

While the KCRCC's practice of endorsing candidates in Republican primary elections and nonpartisan races has been controversial, endorsing Republican candidates in general elections is standard. 

Some committeemen said members associated with the Kootenai Freedom Caucus balked at the idea of the KCRCC endorsing Idaho Gov. Brad Little, who won the Republican primary election in a landslide. 

The vote to support all Republican candidates in mailings ultimately passed. 

"I think there are good people on all sides," Jacobson said. "The challenge is there is a core group that tries to make things difficult. We'll continue to work on it." 

    Kootenai County Republican Central Committee Chair Ron Jacobson leads a meeting.
  

    Todd Banducci speaks during a KCRCC meeting Tuesday night.