Dale Gibboney - 2024 Kootenai County Commissioner Seat 1 Primary Candidate
Dale Gibboney, a Republican and retired professional, is running for County Commissioner in District 1 of Kootenai County. With a background in police work and aviation, where he notably served as the Chief Pilot for the Los Angeles Police Department and Time Warner’s Burbank base, Gibboney believes his extensive management and budgeting experience qualifies him for the role of County Commissioner. During his career, he was responsible for training programs, budget management, and personnel hiring, skills he sees as directly transferable to governmental administration.
Gibboney, a resident of Kootenai County for five years, aims to address what he perceives as a lack of foresight and planning by previous county governments, which he argues has been costly for taxpayers amidst rapid local growth. He stresses the need for proactive planning to manage changes and preserve the quality of life in North Idaho.
Regarding federal funding, Gibboney views it as a "necessary evil" and emphasizes the importance of careful evaluation of the attached conditions. He is committed to maintaining open lines of communication with constituents through various channels to ensure that their voices guide his decision-making. Gibboney encourages voters to actively engage with all candidates to make informed choices and is endorsed by several local organizations. He invites constituents to learn more about his platform at his campaign website.
May 8, 2024
MORE EPISODES
Cheri Zao - 2024 State Senate District 5 Primary Candidate
Cheri Zao, a retired medical professional and Republican candidate for State Senate District 5, presents her views in a recent interview. With an educational background in Chemistry and Biology from Stephen F. Austin State University, and a Medical degree from the University of Texas Medical Branch, Zao has been a resident of Kootenai County for 35 years. She criticizes Idaho’s current public education funding as confusing and insufficient, advocating for legislative improvements to make the system more understandable and equitable.
On constituent communication, Zao plans to utilize her website (cherizao.com), which she describes as informative and interactive, in addition to regular email correspondence, town halls, and speaking engagements. She emphasizes the importance of being responsive to constituent needs and concerns.
Addressing affordable housing, Zao identifies the issue as a key motivation for her candidacy. She points to the large-scale purchase of residential homes by private equity and hedge funds as detrimental to housing affordability and advocates for legislation to protect local interests and control.
Zao supports the Idaho open primaries ballot initiative, arguing that closed primaries unfairly restrict independent voters. She believes that open primaries offer a fairer choice to all voters, regardless of their party affiliation.
In her concluding remarks, Zao positions herself as a proponent of conservative values, civility, and community strength, urging voters to support her candidacy based on these principles.
May 11, 2024
Carl Bjerke - 2024 State Senate District 5 Primary Candidate
Carl Bjerke, a Republican State Senate District 5 primary candidate, has an extensive background in public safety and legislative roles, which he believes qualifies him for re-election. With an associate degree in Respiratory Therapy and a bachelor’s degree in Organizational Leadership, along with specialized training in incident command and management from prestigious institutions, Bjerke has built his career on a robust educational foundation. He moved to Kootenai County in 2017, drawn by family ties and retirement plans.
In terms of public education funding, Bjerke recognizes Idaho's constitutional commitment and suggests simplifying the funding formula while exploring creative funding methods to alleviate property tax burdens and enhance school choice options. Communication with constituents, particularly during legislative sessions, is challenging due to the volume of communications; however, Bjerke prioritizes accessibility via text and phone, encouraging engagement outside of session times for policy discussions.
On affordable housing, Bjerke sees a need for local solutions and possible legislative changes to support faster development processes, favoring a task force approach to address the mismatch between job availability and housing. He opposes the Idaho open primary ballot initiative, fearing it could lead to ranked-choice voting, which he views as detrimental.
Bjerke positions himself as a candidate dedicated to public service, touting his legislative achievements and ongoing commitment to improve Idaho through experienced and collaborative governance, making a strong case for his re-election based on a track record of service and a platform focused on practical, localized solutions to state issues.
May 10, 2024
Dave Raglin - 2024 State Representative District 4, Seat B Primary Candidate
In an interview, Dave Raglin, a Republican candidate for State Representative in District 4, discussed his extensive background and his plans for addressing key issues in Kootenai County. Raglin, recently retired, has a diverse professional history spanning 38 years across various sectors, including transportation, logistics, and rail industries. He also operates a local agency aiding developmentally disabled adults with his wife.
Raglin expressed concerns about the current state funding for public education in Idaho, advocating for permanent solutions to improve the educational system rather than temporary fixes. He emphasized the need for community and legislative collaboration to address educational inequities and enhance the quality of education.
On housing, Raglin highlighted the local crisis where wages haven't kept pace with rising home prices, making housing unaffordable for many, including essential workers. He proposed a comprehensive strategy involving community leaders, local builders, and non-profit organizations to address this issue effectively.
Regarding constituent communication, Raglin plans to ensure transparency and responsiveness through regular updates, town hall meetings, and a robust social media presence.
Raglin supports the Idaho Open Primary ballot initiative, arguing that it promotes inclusiveness and reduces polarization by allowing independent and third-party voters to participate in primaries.
He concluded by emphasizing the need for unity and shared community values in addressing local issues, advocating for a collaborative approach to preserve the cultural and foundational roots of Coeur d'Alene and North Idaho.
May 10, 2024
TRANSCRIPT
00:00:00:00 - 00:00:23:01
Tyrel Stevenson
Well, we'll now hear from Dale Gibboney as we continue to get to know each candidate running for Kootenai County Commissioner seat one. please introduce yourself and explain why you run for this office.
Dale Gibboney
Well, my name is Dale Gibboney, and I'm running because, I have grandchildren here in, Port Falls that are going to school. They're going to grow up and live here.
00:00:23:02 - 00:00:52:21
Dale Gibboney
I'd like to preserve this way of life that we have now. and the way things are going, it's it's it's not good with its out-of-control growth. So I want to try to do something to preserve the way of life here, North Idaho, not only for my grandchildren, but for all the people that live here. I'm endorsed by the Kootenai County Deputy Sheriffs Association, their F.O.P., the Coeur d'Alene Fliers, out at the airport and, the Fernan Gun Club.
00:00:52:23 - 00:01:17:03
Dale Gibboney
Now, these people endorse, man, it's important to know that, they vetted me. They know me, they trust me. And that's why I have their endorsement. And none of the other candidates do so.
Tyrel Stevenson
All right. Well, we'll get into some questions. And you've got, two minutes for each question.
Dale Gibboney
Okay.
Tyrel Stevenson
Name one thing the county commission could do to improve the quality of life in Kootenai County.
00:01:17:05 - 00:01:33:02
Tyrel Stevenson
And explain how you'd work to implement that.
Dale Gibboney
Well, I think the number one thing is going to be the growth. The growth is pushing everything right now and it's out of control. It's going to increase our taxes. It's going to make this a horrible place to live, because I've seen what happens with uncontrolled growth, and that needs to be taken care of.
00:01:33:06 - 00:01:51:03
Dale Gibboney
One of the ways to do it is we have to get the mayors and the city councils on the same page, because it seems right, right, right now that the mayor, city councils and the developers, have never seen a piece of vacant land that they would like to put an apartment building on, and without the infrastructure for that.
00:01:51:05 - 00:02:11:00
Dale Gibboney
things will just deteriorate. It'll go downhill. The traffic will be uncontrollable, and and, it'll take you. What used to take you a 15 minute drive will now be a 30 minute, 45 minute drive. So something needs to be done, and they have to realize that and stop this. And the growth has to start paying for itself.
00:02:11:02 - 00:02:34:03
Tyrel Stevenson
You know, this is a, primary election. And in, primary election races. members of the same party are running against each other for the for the same seat. And people might think, well, maybe there's not a lot of difference between the candidates, but, what are some differences between yourself as a candidate and your opponents?
Dale Gibboney
Well, first of all, I know all the other candidates.
00:02:34:09 - 00:02:57:09
Dale Gibboney
I've had lunch with them. Coffee with them? they're all good guys. I can't say anything bad about them, but I will criticize their policies because that's going to be bad for the county. especially the former commissioner Marc Eberlein who's running, he decimated the county last time. He wants to cut spending. And he did that so bad that the sheriff's department was down to where they're barely able to function.
00:02:57:15 - 00:03:14:10
Dale Gibboney
And six years after he left office, they're still just now getting back up to where they should be. So it's important that, you know, you want to you say you want to cut spending, but you look in the budget and where are you going to cut it? That is not the place to save money. it hurts the county.
00:03:14:12 - 00:03:44:04
Dale Gibboney
It cost the taxpayers millions of dollars when they cut the funding. That much for the different, departments. And, that needs to be. That needs to stop. You need to function. You need to pay them. the amount of money they need to run the department. And not a penny more. But what they need, that's important because it cost the taxpayers millions of dollars in either lawsuits or, in training when they lost all their deputies because $3.5 million.
00:03:44:08 - 00:03:51:10
Dale Gibboney
So how much was saved by cutting the salaries of the employees of the sheriff's department?
00:03:51:12 - 00:04:10:08
Tyrel Stevenson
Well, in the last question, you've already mentioned it a little bit. You know, growth in Kootenai counties is a huge issue that people talk about a lot. You mentioned a little bit about it, but, you know, if elected, what would you do specifically? What were some of the things that you would you would try to do specifically to, to manage growth?
00:04:10:08 - 00:04:29:18
Dale Gibboney
Well, the pass board cut communications with the, cities and, the mayors and the council, this board. Commissioners brought it back, and that needs to continue. We need to get the cities and the mayors and the county all on the same page on a comp plan and what they want to do. if we don't, we're not going to survive this.
00:04:30:00 - 00:04:48:13
Dale Gibboney
It will turn this into a, Seattle or us, Southern California. And we need to make sure that they have a plan. What do they want this place to look like in 15 years from now? So there's going to be some things that the state legislators need to do also. This growth needs to start paying for itself.
00:04:48:19 - 00:05:11:11
Dale Gibboney
And they've got regulations now in the state that will not allow us to collect impact fees. That will not allow us to, charge any other fees that could help relieve the taxpayer, because right now it's all going on to the property tax owner to pay these bills. And that's not right. So it's going to take a lot of work and a lot of cooperation.
00:05:11:13 - 00:05:42:03
Dale Gibboney
But, if everybody wants to working toward the same objective, we can get it done.
Tyrel Stevenson
All right. Appreciate that. Well, just to close, what are some of your final thoughts in in a minute or so? You'd like to leave us, voters to Kootenai County as to why they should vote for you.
Dale Gibboney
Well, my experience, and if you've seen my, my website, daleforcommissioner.com, it shows you some of my, previous experience.
00:05:42:05 - 00:06:01:16
Dale Gibboney
I was a policeman in Los Angeles for 12 years. I flew helicopters there for seven out of those 12 years. I was a chief pilot. I wrote the policy manual for training of the division. I manage the recurrent training for 35 of the line pilots. After I left law enforcement, I got into corporate aviation and, ended up working for a Time Warner in their flight department.
00:06:01:17 - 00:06:26:02
Dale Gibboney
Became the chief pilot there, where I managed, 18 pilots and flight attendants. And, I wrote the, policy manual there for the, employees at the Burbank base. And also, we had, a budget there for training that was in today's dollars, about $1.2 million. So I manage that, and I think that gives me plenty of experience to be a county commissioner here.
00:06:26:08 - 00:06:36:07
Tyrel Stevenson
All right. Well, thank you very much for coming down and spending the time and and hopefully the voters will get to know you a little better.
Dale Gibboney
Thank you.
Tyrel Stevenson
Appreciate it.
Dale Gibboney
All right.