00:00:00:00 - 00:00:40:04
Lindsay Allen
Welcome to the 2024 General election. Meet the candidate forum. My name is Lindsay Allen and I am joined by Naomi Boutz. We will be your moderators for the 2024 Meet the Candidates series. This year's forum is sponsored by the Hagadone Media Group, Quicksilver Studios, and the Joint Public Policy Committee of the Coeur d'Alene regional, Hayden, Post Falls, and Rathdrum Chambers of Commerce in partnership with the Coeur d'Alene and Post Falls Press.

00:00:40:06 - 00:01:05:17
Lindsay Allen
This forum is intended to allow you, the voter, to hear from the candidates representing various Idaho state legislative …

00:00:00:00 - 00:00:40:04
Lindsay Allen
Welcome to the 2024 General election. Meet the candidate forum. My name is Lindsay Allen and I am joined by Naomi Boutz. We will be your moderators for the 2024 Meet the Candidates series. This year's forum is sponsored by the Hagadone Media Group, Quicksilver Studios, and the Joint Public Policy Committee of the Coeur d'Alene regional, Hayden, Post Falls, and Rathdrum Chambers of Commerce in partnership with the Coeur d'Alene and Post Falls Press.

00:00:40:06 - 00:01:05:17
Lindsay Allen
This forum is intended to allow you, the voter, to hear from the candidates representing various Idaho state legislative and Kootenai County positions who will share their vision and policies to help inform your vote. Candidates will be given one minute to introduce themselves, then asked three questions with two minutes to respond to each question. Candidates will be allowed one minute for their closing statements.

00:01:05:18 - 00:01:49:01
Lindsay Allen
These forums provide a unique opportunity to connect with the candidate who seek to serve our community. By meeting our candidates one on one in a more casual environment, we aim to better inform Kootenai County voters about each candidate's point of view.

00:01:49:03 - 00:02:13:01
Naomi Boutz
All right. We are moving into the Kootenai County Sheriff candidate. And we are going to start with Justin Nagel. Welcome, Justin. Thank you for being here. You get to start off with a one minute introduction.

Justin Nagel
All right. My name is Justin Nagel. I'm the only candidate that's from Kootenai County. I've a private investigator in the area for roughly 25 years.

00:02:13:01 - 00:02:41:10
Justin Nagel
In the past ten years. I've noted in police reports, public documents of the investigating the pre-meditated murders of Greg Moore. Misty
Tristy. Excuse me. Misty Tristan, Riley Phelps, the four Moscow murders, the abduction of Allison Hizelhorn, and bringing to light the fact that the Kootenai County Sheriff's Office can't provide investigative records to the ATF.

00:02:41:12 - 00:03:11:04
Justin Nagel
Also, the fact that testimony is being doesn't make it to the STR recording system. At our local Kootenai County courthouse. The, the main reason I was able to do that is living here and understanding that we have a huge problem with organized crime in the area. And I plan on fixing that by putting citizens first and simply following the rules that we already have set forward for the police department.

00:03:11:04 - 00:03:33:04
Justin Nagel
So thank you for voting, Justin Nagel.

Naomi Boutz
Okay. Thank you Justin. So first question, what are the primary challenges facing Kootenai County law enforcement, and how do you plan to address them as sheriff? You have two minutes.

Justin Nagel
Okay. I still believe in the same as four years ago. We have a huge problem with nepotism and corruption in the police department.

00:03:33:06 - 00:03:58:14
Justin Nagel
The there seems to be a shift, of we've replaced a lot of, employees at the sheriff's office and moved. Restructured. It still seems to be a huge problem where we retained certain employees that are known for, criminal activity. And by knowing, I mean the prosecutor's office knows about it, and we can't for some reason, we don't even fire them.

00:03:58:16 - 00:04:27:04
Justin Nagel
So that's pretty concerning. The the rules here are simple. We have rules to avoid all these things. We have. You're not supposed to hire family members. Our last sheriff hired his son, and it's to avoid nepotism. And all you have to do is follow the rules that we've already made. And it's simply disrespectful to the community and to citizens that we made all these rules to have a good police department.

00:04:27:10 - 00:04:55:17
Justin Nagel
And then it's simply not followed by the people that we employ. So it's actually a really simple, solution is follow the rules we all made or go work somewhere else. That's it.

Naomi Boutz
Thank you for that. Second question. What policies or programs would you implement to improve public safety and trust?

Justin Nagel
That's, that's a tough one because you really need to be there first and examine the policies and programs.

00:04:55:23 - 00:05:22:01
Justin Nagel
Of course, policies, most of them are public, and programs that are already in place. But the Kootenai County sheriff's office is famous for not providing public records on public records request. It's a 15 or 20 year problem. I sued them in the past for it. And then. And they acknowledge that they do it. So, we've changed people out of the sheriff's office in that in those positions.

00:05:22:03 - 00:05:49:13
Justin Nagel
And if you look historically back through the the sheriff's office with the with not being able to provide records, usually there's a husband and wife team going on. When Dan Meadows. Excuse me, Dan Sumas was supposed to provide ATF investigative records. His wife was the custodian of the records, and they couldn't supply them. Moving on before.

00:05:49:15 - 00:06:16:12
Justin Nagel
It was, Bob Norris, actually, that's gonna say that's Ben Wolfinger boss Bob Norris. Dan Meadows, the undersheriff couldn't supply investigative records. So they they're famous for keeping these. They call them investigative records. But there's no investigations. And there's there's never a conclusion to the investigations. So it's more like they keep them orally. Like water cooler talks instead of actual investigative records.

00:06:16:14 - 00:06:48:07
Justin Nagel
And, once again, that's the main problem is you have sheriff's. The department runs on, less statistical fact, they play a game where they don't collect the data by refusing to take complaints and therefore, the data that is collected is what drives the response from the Department of New Policies being set forward. So all you have to do is be honest and provide public records, requests and, follow the rules we already have.

00:06:48:09 - 00:07:08:19
Naomi Boutz
Okay. Thank you. And last question. If elected sheriff, how would you ensure transparency and accountability in your office?

Justin Nagel
That's another good one. You know, this goes right back to the problem with not providing, public information requests.

00:07:08:21 - 00:07:40:15
Justin Nagel
Intentionally is, simply that we don't have trustworthy people there. You look, whatever happens in the records department, or you can't always get the correct information request. That's a real internal problem. You have to be there to fix that. It's. We shouldn't trust them. Is the plain and simple fact. If you can't ask for an information request or a policy, and they simply refuse to provide it to you.

00:07:40:17 - 00:08:00:22
Justin Nagel
We shouldn't be trusting them. The whole point of of that system is we pay them to be honest with us because we pay them. I think it's 2.5 hours of labor to fulfill the information requests, and they refuse to do it. So if you simply hammer that one point,

00:08:01:00 - 00:08:19:08
Justin Nagel
It's it'll probably drive out most of the problems in the Kootenai County Sheriff's Office.

Naomi Boutz
Thank you. Justin. All right. We've reached the point for your closing remarks. So you have one minute to make a closing statement.

Justin Nagel
All right. Thank you. Again, my name's Justin Nagel. I think it's important that we look at long term commitment in the role of sheriff.

00:08:19:10 - 00:09:00:01
Justin Nagel
I've been around long enough that I know where the department made mistakes in the past, and where those mistakes are taking us. I'd appreciate if everybody checked out my website. Nagel for sheriff.com.

00:09:00:03 - 00:09:21:21
Naomi Boutz
We have Kootenai County Sheriff candidate, Bob Norris. Bob, we'd first like to have you start off with, giving an introduction. You have one minute.

Bob Norris
Absolutely. My name is Robert Bob Norris. I'm your current sheriff here in Kootenai County, and I am a member of Coeur d'Alene Rotary. I'm a member of the American Legion. Member of Coeur d'Alene Eagles.

00:09:21:23 - 00:09:45:22
Bob Norris
I'm a member of the Vikings here at Coeur d'Alene high. I am a member of many, many Republican clubs here. And you can often see me at high school football games. I enjoy being your your sheriff. The last three years or the last four years, we've been able to reduce crime in the unincorporated and contract cities by 16%.

00:09:46:01 - 00:10:08:17
Bob Norris
We've had no major deaths, major incidents whatsoever on our waterways. And we're taking fentanyl out of our community and out of our schools at a record pace.

Naomi Boutz
Thank you. As the incumbent. What do you see as the primary challenges facing Kootenai County law enforcement, and how do you plan to address them in your second term as sheriff? You have two minutes.

00:10:08:18 - 00:10:45:08
Bob Norris
The number one problem facing Kootenai County law enforcement and Kootenai County Community. This community is fentanyl. Fentanyl is the biggest problem that we have in our community and in our schools. I'm going to continue to focus on education, rehabilitation and enforcement. We have to, as a community, come together and start a conversation because one pill can kill you and we need to have that conversation as part of our community service organizations, in our neighborhood watch meetings at everything that we do.

00:10:45:10 - 00:11:12:13
Bob Norris
We're doing really well with getting employees with our patrol division. We have to do the same thing in the jail. Currently, we're we're down about 20 positions in the jail. So we need to focus on getting better staffing in the jail. We're going to continue our community engagement. This sheriff's office and myself as your sheriff, we have engaged this community like no other sheriff in Kootenai County history.

00:11:12:15 - 00:11:36:17
Bob Norris
One of the biggest compliments I get when I'm out in the community is, you know, I might not agree with everything that you've said and done, but guess what? You're the most accessible sheriff this county has ever seen. And, that I take a lot of pride in that. So I'm going to continue with our community engagement. We're going to continue with our coffee with the sheriff, coffee with the cop, breakfast with the sheriff.

00:11:36:19 - 00:11:58:14
Bob Norris
All of our town halls. We're going to continue on that. But and part of that messaging is going to be fentanyl. So we're going to improve staffing in the jail. Community engagement. We're going to continue to fight crime and bring crime down.

Naomi Boutz
What policies or programs would you implement to improve public safety and trust? You have two minutes.

00:11:58:16 - 00:12:31:00
Bob Norris
Well, I think we kill two birds with one stone on that one. And one of the purposes, byproducts of being a community engaged sheriff and community engaged sheriff's office, we are building trust when we are going out there in the community making these communication loops. And they're by design. It's not a byproduct. They're by design to create these communication loops so we can bring it back to the community and put in operational policies based on these this outreach.

00:12:31:01 - 00:12:54:07
Bob Norris
So so it's by design. We're going to continue on that.

Naomi Boutz
Thank you. If reelected sheriff, how would you ensure transparency and accountability in your office?

Bob Norris
Well, we've we have, killed a lot of birds with one stone today, haven't we? So we're going to continue with the community engagement that the sheriff has brought to the sheriff's office. And we are very, very transparent.

00:12:54:09 - 00:13:24:13
Bob Norris
We absolutely acknowledge and we love public records request. So we want the public to know what we're doing and when we make a mistake, we say, you know what? We made a mistake. We could have done better. And that's okay because there's been never been a tactical operation that's gone perfectly. So, we're very, very transparent with the, with the public, and it's never been part of a downfall of them as your sheriff.

00:13:24:15 - 00:13:44:04
Bob Norris
I've never had a problem with just coming out and saying, you know what? We could have done better in this particular event.

Naomi Boutz
Thank you. Now you got to make a closing statement, and you have one minute.

Bob Norris
All right. Well, ladies and gentlemen, I've enjoyed being your sheriff the last four years. I look forward to being your sheriff in the next four years.

00:13:44:06 - 00:14:07:12
Bob Norris
I am a member of Coeur d'Alene Rotary. I'm a member of the Coeur d'Alene Vikings booster club, member of the American Legion. I am a member of many, many clubs here in our community. I am very accessible. I will continue being very accessible. There is a, design by that because I do want to bring that communication back to the sheriff's office.

00:14:07:14 - 00:14:47:13
Bob Norris
I look forward to the next four years, and I'm asking for your support and your vote in November. Thank you very much.

Naomi Boutz
We're going to continue on with the Kootenai County sheriff candidates. And next up is Dan Wilson. Welcome, Dan. Thank you for being here. You have one minute to give your introduction.

Dan Wilson
I'm running for Kootenai County sheriff because I believe that in this time and place in history right now, the people of Kootenai County need a proven leader, somebody that has not only an extensive background of volunteer service as a police officer to my community, but also as a businessman who spent 25 years in this region taking care of many men and women

00:14:47:13 - 00:15:15:08
Dan Wilson
in our communities. I'm from a historic landmark where I lived on most of my life in Spokane, and eventually realize my dream of moving to Kootenai County. So I'm looking forward to serving the people of this community and providing equal protection under the law to everyone, as the founders originally intended.

Naomi Boutz
Okay. Thank you. First question what are the primary challenges facing Kootenai County law enforcement, and how do you plan to address them as sheriff? You have two minutes to respond.

00:15:15:10 - 00:15:40:20
Dan Wilson
The first one would be fentanyl. Of course, this poison is killing hundreds, of individuals in our own region in Idaho, it's over 250 deaths in the past year. From a strategic standpoint, Washington state leads the nation when it comes to fentanyl deaths. We have over 100,000 deaths that occur every year from fentanyl poisoning.

00:15:40:22 - 00:16:03:19
Dan Wilson
And it's not just affecting adults. It's also affecting our children. But until we can stop the pipeline coming across the southern border, the best that we can do besides interdictions is to educate our children and our families. It's a community effort. The second thing that we're having an issue with in Kootenai County, from a public safety standpoint, is 911.

00:16:03:21 - 00:16:28:18
Dan Wilson
We're having a very hard time keeping 911 operators at the Kootenai County Sheriff's Office, and there should be concern to the citizens out there who have to pick up the phone, call 911 and know that that call will be answered accordingly and that the appropriate resources will be sent. Recently, the sheriff had to go to the Board of County Commissioners or request $260,000 of, retention bonuses.

00:16:28:18 - 00:16:53:17
Dan Wilson
And that is to keep the existing 911 operators there. We must change this environment immediately. And in my first 90 days, I will fix this problem.

Naomi Boutz
Okay. Thank you. Next question. What policies or programs would you implement to improve public safety and trust?

Dan Wilson
Number one again would be I would immediately take care of the staffing issues inside Kootenai County Sheriff's Office.

00:16:53:17 - 00:17:21:07
Dan Wilson
We're still despite pay raises, despite perks, we are hemorrhaging officers and support staff from the Kootenai County sheriff's office. We're still 20 deputies down in the jail. We're five down in patrol. As I stated earlier, we are deficient when it comes to 911 operators. We have to change the Kootenai County Sheriff's Office, the culture to bring back one of calling versus just a culture of pay.

00:17:21:09 - 00:17:46:03
Dan Wilson
If you're in law enforcement for any other reason than a calling, then you're probably not the right fit for the Kootenai County Sheriff's Office. But we believe that we can cultivate that and change, this environment back around so that the deputies are reminded of what they serve and why they serve, which is the people. Along with that, we will make certain that we're taking care of our deputies, that we're making certain that they are being paid, appropriately.

00:17:46:03 - 00:18:14:19
Dan Wilson
But we do need to balance that with the the fact that it's not study after study will say it's not just about pay, it's also about culture. So if we have a good culture, we have a full service in our patrol and in our jail. And in 911, to name a few, then we will be able to provide the absolute best service to our community, which is why the Kootenai County Sheriff's Office exists, which is to protect everybody's rights to life, liberty and property.

00:18:14:21 - 00:18:49:18
Naomi Boutz
Thank thank you. If elected sheriff, how would you ensure transparency and accountability in your office?

Dan Wilson
I think the very first thing that we do is we provide citizen advisory boards. Currently, I'm not aware of any such organization that that occurs inside the sheriff's office, but we need to bring the people in. And not only do we need to bring them in from a public safety standpoint, but we need to also join hands with those in the community they're facing the the epidemic of fentanyl poisoning to include survivors to to include those that are in rehabilitation.

00:18:49:19 - 00:19:21:02
Dan Wilson
We need to provide a network where communication is flowing between the citizens and the sheriff. And I will absolutely make certain that the sheriff's office is fully, obtainable to every citizen that needs to voice their concerns. I will be meeting with everyone, as as I can. I will also be holding weekly town halls online so that we can stay in touch with every citizen across the entire county.

00:19:21:04 - 00:19:47:01
Naomi Boutz
Thank you. Now it's time for your closing remarks. Your one minute.

Dan Wilson
Look, we know that as Americans, we're facing very difficult times. Not only nationally, locally as well. But I don't want people to lose hope. I want people to be reminded of who we are. We do not descend from fearful men. We descended from men who understood the times, and they acted accordingly.

00:19:47:03 - 00:20:13:21
Dan Wilson
And they pledge your lives and their fortunes and their sacred honor. And now we're in this tough time as well. We can join across all political barriers. We don't have to recognize a party as the sheriff's office. Being loyal to only one. I will unite the entire county, regardless of what your ideation is, and provide equal protection under the law for all.

00:20:13:23 - 00:20:26:17
Dan Wilson
Join with me in this cause. I ask for your vote November 5th. Thank you.

Naomi Boutz
Thank you. Thanks for being here.

Dan Wilson
Thank you very much.

00:20:47:05 - 00:21:05:19
Naomi Boutz
Okay. And continuing on with the Kootenai County sheriff candidates, we have Kyle Woodward. Welcome, Kyle.

Kyle Woodward
Thank you.

Naomi Boutz
We're going to start off with an introduction. So you have one minute.

Kyle Woodward
Absolutely. My name is Kyle Woodward. I am a 23 year old resident of Kootenai County. I have lived up here for the past 20 years of my life.

00:21:05:21 - 00:21:36:03
Kyle Woodward
I was raised in Athol and currently live in Rathdrum. I spent my pretty much my entire life up here involved in the community and interacting in different elements, within it. I'm currently in college studying information technology, and I am a very, very community focused candidate. I am focused on the well-being and the safety of the public, and that is my most paramount objective.

00:21:36:05 - 00:22:04:07
Naomi Boutz
All right. Thank you. So first question. What are the primary challenges facing Kootenai County law enforcement and how do you plan to address them as sheriff? You have two minutes to respond.

Kyle Woodward
Absolutely. I believe that one of our biggest, troubles that we're facing right now is trust in law enforcement, and trust between the community has been on a decline recently, and that is a very hard thing to tackle, especially in a short term.

00:22:04:09 - 00:22:42:05
Kyle Woodward
Trust is very important to being able to do your job effectively as a law enforcement officer. And it's incredibly hard to hold, the actions of just one bad officer can ruin all the trust you've built up. So it's definitely a difficult thing to tackle. And, I believe that through community outreach programs, hiring local and the ability to open up the department, to accountability and transparency, both financially and with the actions of officers, it's going to play a big role into that.

00:22:42:07 - 00:23:16:14
Naomi Boutz
Okay. Thank you. What policies or programs would you implement to improve public safety and trust?

Kyle Woodward
Absolutely. A big part of that is transparency and accountability with trust. I plan to open up, our financial records in order to gain a better look into where our tax dollars are being spent. I feel that that is going to play a big role into, building up the trust that we have in our sheriff's department and also allowing for an easier flow of information when it comes to officer-involved incidents.

00:23:16:16 - 00:23:39:07
Kyle Woodward
It's going to be crucial to building up that trust. So opening up a new way of accessing that information, such as body cam and reports in a timely manner, is going to play a big role into that as well, because as you I'm sure are aware, if you're not first, you're last. So it's important that we get that information out there quickly.

00:23:39:09 - 00:24:09:20
Kyle Woodward
Especially in a law enforcement capacity.

Naomi Boutz
Thank you. Last question. If elected sheriff, how would you ensure transparency and accountability in your office?

Kyle Woodward
Perfect. Opening up these financial records and getting a very in-depth breakdown. I'm not sure how many of you have actually looked into the financial records that are available, but it's a very not complicated breakdown.

00:24:09:22 - 00:24:28:08
Kyle Woodward
It breaks down into, like, personnel equipment. I want to break that up even further. I want to go into how much money are we spending on overtime? How much money are we spending on certain types of equipment? How much money are we spending on gas? How much money we're spending on vehicle maintenance? I want to really broaden that aspect of the transparency.

00:24:28:10 - 00:25:03:09
Kyle Woodward
And as I spoke on before opening up, our records is going to play a big role in that as well. Towards accountability is that we want information to be free flowing. We don't want to have barriers between the public and these. And these crucial incidents in our community. We should be able to give this information in a timely manner and in a way that really aids the public's view of what we're doing as law enforcement officers.

00:25:03:11 - 00:25:29:14
Naomi Boutz
Thank you. And now it's time for your closing remarks. You have one minute.

Kyle Woodward
Absolutely. I'm going to keep it short. There are a lot of candidates you're going to view today, but I hope that I stand out and I like to stand on my merits. And. I like the fact that we have such differing options up here right now.

00:25:29:16 - 00:26:00:21
Kyle Woodward
But I can guarantee one thing, and that is that I am driven by one motivation, and that is my love and commitment for the community. I want nothing but the best and I want a safe community for our future. That is my that is my end goal here. Thank you.

Naomi Boutz
Thank you. Thanks for being here. On behalf of the Joint Public Policy Committees representing the Coeur d'Alene regional, Hayden and Post Falls and Rathdrum, Chambers of Commerce, in partnership with the Hagadone Media Group and Coeur d'Alene Post Falls Press.

00:26:00:23 - 00:26:26:02
Naomi Boutz
Lindsay and I thank all candidates for participating. I would also like to thank the production team members at the Quicksilver Studios, the Hagadone Media Group, and the Coeur d'Alene press. And of course, thank you to those who have taken the time to learn more about each of the candidates featured in this year's Meet the Candidates series. This series has made it possible to hear from 23 Kootenai County local race candidates.

00:26:26:04 - 00:26:51:22
Naomi Boutz
We sincerely thank candidates who took the time to discuss what is important to voters in Kootenai County. We hope this town hall forum has helped inform those still uncertain about whom they will cast a final ballot for in the coming weeks. Please remember to vote. It's one of the most significant rights and responsibilities as Americans. The fundamental message this year is cast informed votes.

00:26:52:00 - 00:27:08:17
Naomi Boutz
Thank you.