County candidates outline platforms

PONDERAY — Voters won’t be short of choices when they cast ballots in contested primary election races for the District 1 and 2 seats on the Bonner County commission later this month.

Candidates Patty Palmer and Brian Orr are competing for the Democrat nomination for the District 2 position, while Cornel Rasor and John Reuter are going head to head for the Republican bid for the District 1 spot.

Incumbent District 2 Commissioner Joe Young, Republican, is unopposed in the primary, as is incumbent District 1 Commissioner Todd Crossett, a Democrat.

The candidates compared and contrasted their stances on a variety of issues at a candidate forum at the Bonner Mall Tuesday, which was hosted by the Ponderay Community Development Corporation and The Bonner County Daily Bee.

Land use regulation and fiscal attitude continue to take a good share of the spotlight in the match-up between Reuter and Rasor.

Rasor contends land use regulation in Bonner County is overdone and currently resembles codes found in the country’s larger cities. He was questioned whether he would do away with land use rules and county staff which oversee them.

“My plan is to bring to the table a moderating influence,” Rasor answered, explaining that the spirit of the laws have become diluted through over-regulation.

Reuter (pronounced ROY-ter) is a vocal proponent of land use laws, but feels they should be concentrated in populous areas where growth is desired and used to protect the open spaces people come to Bonner County for.

Both believe the regulations have become unnecessarily onerous for people who want to do relatively minor projects on their property, such as adding a deck or relocating an outbuilding.

Both candidates also bill themselves as fiscal conservatives who propose a more stringent method of budgeting which require each expense to be reasonable and solidly justified.

Reuter was quizzed on his experience with handing multi-million dollar budget and a large workforce. Reuter, publisher of The Sandpoint Reader newspaper, said his budgeting experience, plus his work with the Downtown Sandpoint Business Association and arts organizations, have equipped him with the necessary budgetary prowess.

“The ideas are the same,” he said. “You better believe I’m watching pretty closely where our costs go.”

Orr is coming into the race with six years of on-the-job experience as a commissioner, and Palmer is coming in to clean up what she considers a pattern of corruption and outright disregard for the public’s wishes.

As a commissioner, Orr helped form the ambulance taxing district following the abrupt withdrawal of two private companies. Palmer said the tax district was formed under the guise of an emergency, but does not believe one truly existed.

“I am the voice of change,” said Palmer, one of the current EMS system’s most staunch critics.

Orr made no apologies for jump-starting the EMS system. Rasor is advocating for a privatized EMS system and Reuter has voiced support for publicly funded EMS.

Orr, who recently underwent a quadruple bypass, was asked if his health issues would give him enough stamina to fulfill the job duties. He answered that his strength is returning and emphasized that the issues at play in this race are the same issues he dealt with on the job.

Hampering the county’s progress on issues, Orr said, is the frequent changing of the guard on the commission. Orr wants commissioners to have longer terms, with one seat up for election every two years.

“It takes some time to learn how this process works,” he said.