Leslie Duncan - 2024 Kootenai County Commissioner Seat 3 Primary Candidate
Leslie Duncan, a Republican and current County Commissioner, is running for the position in Kootenai County's District 3. With a BA in Criminal Justice and a 25-year residency in the county, Duncan brings substantial local experience to her candidacy. Previously, she managed a small business and served in local and state government law enforcement, alongside volunteering in her church communities. Over the past five years as Commissioner, Duncan focused on engaging deeply with county issues through expert consultations and community interaction.
Duncan emphasizes the need for civility in county government, critiquing the current adversarial nature which often leads to unprofessional behavior. She advocates for a respectful, ego-free approach to governance that prioritizes public service over personal interest. Regarding federal funds, Duncan is cautious, advocating for a prudent assessment of the benefits and strings attached, citing current federal contributions to airport, transit, and sheriff's operations as examples.
She commits to maintaining active communication with constituents, aiming to respond to inquiries within 48 hours. Duncan champions Republican principles, crediting them for enhancing quality of life and asserting her alignment with these values, evidenced by her recognition as an Outstanding Administrative Official by the Idaho State Republican Party in 2022. Her campaign focuses on defending individual and property rights, advocating for minimal but effective government, and fostering respect and professionalism within county operations.
May 9, 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 - 00:00:19:10
Tyrel Stevenson
Well. Good evening. Next we're going to hear from the incumbent in Kootenai County, Commissioner seat three, as well as the challenger for that seat later. And our first candidate that we're going to talk to is the incumbent Commissioner Leslie Duncan. Leslie, please take a minute to introduce yourself and let our audience know, why you're running for this seat again.
00:00:19:12 - 00:00:44:14
Leslie Duncan
All right. Leslie Duncan and I've been in the office over five years. I really love the job. being available for the people, protecting rights is very important to me. So I've been married 26 years to adult kids, and, we all serve. We're all serving the community. So I've made over 6000 decisions, and, when looking for reelection, you know what you have with me.
00:00:44:16 - 00:01:12:02
Leslie Duncan
And I just plan on doing the same thing after the next four year term that I've done already. Just representing the people, listening and coming up with common sense solutions with, our citizens there.
Tyrel Stevenson
All right. Well, since you've been in office for a bit, name one thing that, the commissioners could do that you'd like to, to do in their next term to improve the quality of life for Kootenai County.
00:01:12:04 - 00:01:38:01
Leslie Duncan
Mostly listen, just continue to listen to the public. growth is a huge issue. And so I want to come up with solutions that the community can support and that they're happy with, because it's not my ideas that win. At the end of the day, it's the citizens in the community that need to come together and figure out what is it that, will maintain our quality of life in the midst of this growth?
00:01:38:03 - 00:01:59:06
Tyrel Stevenson
Yeah, we hear a lot about growth. And, and we'll probably hear a lot more about it in the next few years. You know, this is a primary election. And, you know, in a contested primary race, you have members of the same party running against each other for the same seat. And people may think, well, there might not be a lot of difference between those candidates.
00:01:59:08 - 00:02:25:21
Tyrel Stevenson
But what are some of the differences that set you apart from your opponent, in this race?
Leslie Duncan
Well, I've been doing the job for five years, so I've proven that I will stand in the gap for citizens rights. I've proven that I can make good decisions based on the information. And I've proven that I will listen. And if new information comes forward, that I will change, you know, direction.
00:02:25:23 - 00:02:46:07
Leslie Duncan
So it's all about making decisions, the best decisions on the information you have. And if you get new information, I think it's very important to be able to, address that. You know, I've been here over 25 years, and I just love this community. I didn't have the privilege of growing up here, but I know what it's like to be from somewhere else.
00:02:46:07 - 00:03:14:14
Leslie Duncan
And I fight to protect our values, to protect our way of life here. And I think that has a lot to do with, community. I've been serving the community, my whole life, whether it's been to my church or through our aquifer protection district. you know, just different UGM auxiliary and different avenues of life where I can, meet people and talk to them and just serve.
00:03:14:14 - 00:03:52:21
Leslie Duncan
Really? I just really enjoy that. And that's what I like about my job so much. And I think there's more life left in me to to continue in the same realm. And since becoming chairman, I really feel that. I mean, I've seen these civility come back at our public hearings so they can tend to get very rowdy. We've seen that with multiple governmental agencies recently, and I just give the audience and out, let them know that I am listening to them, and I give them a way to, connect with me during a hearing without having to cheer or yell or disrupt.
00:03:52:23 - 00:04:13:19
Leslie Duncan
So I think, bringing civility back to local governments is very important to me.
Tyrel Stevenson
Well, you already touched on it once. And of course, a huge topic in the community right now is growth. And, probably will be for a while. but what, what specific things would you like to do as commissioner, going forward to manage growth?
00:04:13:21 - 00:04:39:11
Leslie Duncan
Well, continuing to have the conversation with the citizens, because once again, it's I'm here to protect and to listen to the citizens for these, different things that we may do to help with the growth. Right? Infrastructure is a big deal. And I want to have that conversation with the community. All right. You know, I use the example of, motor vehicle licensing.
00:04:39:11 - 00:05:05:03
Leslie Duncan
If you are okay with waiting 90 days for your license plate, we don't need to make a whole lot of changes, but if you would like Same-day service, then we're going to need to hire six full time people. It's going to cost it, you know, to raise taxes and that. So having that level of service conversation, having the, different aspects and, you know, it'd be nice to boil it down to, okay, what's our number one priority?
00:05:05:03 - 00:05:24:02
Leslie Duncan
Let's go after that priority then what's our number two priority. And kind of have that continue to have that conversation with the public to find out, you know, are they having trouble, in the court system or are they having trouble on the roads? And obviously the county doesn't do the roads, but we can still help facilitate that conversation.
00:05:24:04 - 00:05:45:13
Leslie Duncan
And, you know, subdivisions are a big deal. We there's a lot of stuff that we really need to continue to look at because we're looking at it now, but continue that conversation and look at what what does that look like for the overall, plan, especially when new people move in here and they don't understand the lack of service that they're used to from where they came from.
00:05:45:15 - 00:06:08:23
Leslie Duncan
So that's a conversation to I, the county gets questions every winter. Why aren't you plowing my road? Well, number one, we don't plow. Number two, it's your road. So it's a private road. So you, better go look for a plow. but, you know, having just continuing the conversation, and it's might sound cliche, but that's what I'm here to do, is to serve.
00:06:08:23 - 00:06:29:14
Leslie Duncan
Because what might work, you know, in one area is not going to work in another area. So having that conversation, which, you know, I think my relationships with the different entities around helps that.
Tyrel Stevenson
Right. Well, we really appreciate you coming down and taking the time to let the voters get to know you a little bit. in a in a minute.
00:06:29:14 - 00:06:53:14
Tyrel Stevenson
Do you have any final thoughts you'd like to leave us with?
Leslie Duncan
You know, I love my job. I work really hard. I've, in the last 12 months, I think I've sent and received about 15,000 emails, which is over even the other two commissioners combined don't don't reach that number. So I'm very responsive. I want to hear from constituents in the community.
00:06:53:16 - 00:07:23:01
Leslie Duncan
You know, what you get with me? There's no surprises. There's no, you know. I guess guesswork, right? You just see what you got. And I've proven myself that I will stand up. And, you know, I came out against the shutdowns because this community wasn't experiencing some of the stuff that other places were. And I think that we should have been able to make different decisions than we did and might have proven some better outcomes for some people.
00:07:23:03 - 00:07:38:09
Leslie Duncan
So mostly I'm just I want to serve the people. And, I love it here, and it's where I want to be,
Tyrel Stevenson
All right. But we really appreciate the time. And and like I said, getting the opportunity for the voters to get to know you. So thank you very much.
Leslie Duncan
Thank you appreciate it.