Bee endorses local, state candidates

The Daily Bee concludes our endorsements of candidates for this year's races today. Endorsing one candidate over others by no means should be interpreted as if we feel the candidate we endorse will win.

The editorial board of David Keyes, Bee publisher; Caroline Lobsinger, Bee managing editor and Bee new editor Keith Kinnaird carefully weighed campaign literature, candidate histories and performances at forums to help us reach an informed decision.

It is difficult to recommend candidates in some races, especially when we admire the courage and pluck it takes to put one's name on a ballot.

We remind voters to think for themselves, learn more about the issues and candidates and cast an informed vote on Tuesday.

Commissioner, Third District

Karl Dye: Political newcomer Karl Dye gets our nod because of his realization that Bonner County needs to seriously address growth issues from the commission level.

Dye's willingness to work hard, to listen and to not be tied to the past, is the reason he has earned our endorsement for county commissioner for District 3. It's been the Bee's observance that Dye wants the job a bit more than Dale Van Stone does and has campaigned harder.

It's commendable that Dye is willing to give up an influential job at Litehouse to be commissioner. His grasp on the many topics facing the county is also refreshing.

Van Stone, on the other hand, is trying to have it both ways. While previous experience as a county commissioner for six years would usually be an asset, his time on a testy, ineffective commission was largely wasted on infighting and turf wars. Battles with the planning and zoning board, disbanding the airport board and an ill-conceived variance on a boathouse that is still in court and costing taxpayers money are just a few of the reasons.

While we admire Van Stone's commitment to the county through his participation on many boards, we think Dye deserves a chance to bring a fresh perspective to county government.

Commissioner, Second District

Joe Young: There is a certain risk by not having Brian Orr as a county commissioner. He's a good listener, brings experience as five years commissioner as well as nine years as Oldtown's mayor and is likable. In ordinary times, those attributes would make a person a commissioner for life.

But these are extraordinary times in Bonner County. Growth is just starting to pick up here and all indicators point to the fact the population floodgates are just opening.

Joe Young brings impeccable business and leadership credentials to the job. Twenty-five years in the military, seven years as a deputy sheriff here and his own business experiences bring a lot to the commission table.

He has also proven himself to be a good listener and has clarity in his thinking and speaking. He is a good communicator.

We would be well served with either gentleman in office. Young's leadership qualities and business acumen give him the nod. If this new EMS system is going to run effectively, Young's experiences as a deputy will come in very handy.

Assessor

Judie Conlan. Conlan has had years of experience in the office and was named Jim Boatright's successor last year. She has been very active and has stressed training as well as raising the standards in the office. Challenger Steven Carter also might be a good fit. We believe Conlan needs a full term to be able to judge her effectiveness. We like what we have seen so far, so the nod goes to Conlan.

Sheriff

Elaine Savage. This has been a heated race with charges and countercharges being thrown at each of the candidates.

Savage, who has been the de-facto sheriff since Phil Jarvis stepped out of the spotlight 18 months ago after a domestic dispute, has taken all the blame for any complaint leveled at the BCSO, but has been essentially powerless to do anything about it. This has led to a breakdown in communications as well as an erosion of a cohesive command structure.

As sheriff, she won't be handcuffed by being second in command.

She has more than ample training to be sheriff. It is also obvious she has listened to the litany of complaints about heavy handed law enforcement as well morale issues at the many forums she has attended.

As the first female undersheriff, she has developed a management style that is gender neutral. She would be the county's first female sheriff, but that shouldn't be a deciding factor in this race. The only reason it is, is because challenger Tony Lamanna's comment on his election information reminds voters to support the best man in the race.

Lamanna has a good chance of winning the race because of a promise to elevate popular Harvey Thompson as undersheriff if elected. Lamanna is also acutely aware of his perceived shortcomings in the office. Lamanna didn't answer about his opinion on the Sand Creek Byway in a recent questionnaire. We feel it is important to know where our next sheriff stands on an important public safety issue. Savage supports the Sand Creek route, while challenger "Bean" Johnston supports a west side route.

"Bean" Johnston is running as an independent peoples' candidate. He makes sense on many topics. He campaigned on the fact that people don't like law enforcement when it appears to be excessive.

Johnston is also a good reminder of why the office of sheriff should be nonpartisan. This is an interesting race. Johnston has chosen Republican Cal Wylie to be his undersheriff and Democrat Tony Lamanna has chosen Republican Harvey Thompson to be his undersheriff.

While most of what Johnston states is noteworthy and has attracted attention, we feel it would be impossible for him to build up the sheriff's office and deputies after he has torn them down through the campaign. He has spent as much time talking about what is wrong with the Sandpoint Police Department than the BCSO.

It's popular to point a finger at law enforcement and say something is wrong. It's nearly impossible to put the pieces back together after several months of lobbing handgrenades at the SPD and BCSD.

Because of her law enforcement background, her ability to withstand body blows and her desire to make BCSO better than it is now, we support Elaine Savage and want to see what she can do as sheriff.

State Representative. Position A

Steve Elgar is an extremely bright man who has knocked on hundreds of doors and has paved the way for Democrats for years to come about how to get people out to vote.

Eric Anderson is equally bright, equally up on the issues and equally involved with his community.

It's a tie. Sort of.

We, as an editorial board, are split on this one.

Elect Elgar and we have a great representative in the very minority party in very Republican Idaho. His committee assignments would be limited as would his influence.

Elect Anderson and he goes to Boise and he gets the fast-track to the most influential committees because Shawn Keough and George Eskridge know everyone in town — mostly because they are all Republicans.

Who's more effective?

Both have spent a lot of money on this race and truly want to represent our best interests.

We haven't been real happy to see the mudslinging coming out of the Republican Central Committee aimed at Elgar. Yes, he has received out-of-state money … the vast majority of which came from his relatives. He has also outraised Anderson in in-state money.

The only major disagreement we have with Elgar, is his lack of commitment to the Sand Creek Byway. He won't answer yes or no. When pressed, he says it isn't a legislative decision. He told a forum audience he would support whatever the community decides. When asked how would he know the public consensus, he replied he didn't know and that maybe the community has already decided.

He did say if Sand Creek is the site of the byway he would be a watchdog to make sure everything was done as promised.

Anderson, on the other hand, has vigorously supported the Sand Creek Byway. He claims to have spent hours researching it and we have no reason to doubt him.

The only real knock we have against Anderson, is his claim to not know what his Republican party is up to with his advertising. We find it hard to believe he doesn't have knowledge of the incendiary radio ads and the inaccurate mailings sent out in his behalf.

If he didn't know about these ads, shouldn't he?

We know we'll have a free thinker and a hardworker if we elect Elgar. We know we will have a hardworker with connections if we elect Anderson.

These are both fine men and either will do a good job in Boise.