Lawsuit on hold - for now

COEUR d’ALENE — Before the lawsuit goes any further, attorney Starr Kelso wants to talk.

City Attorney Mike Gridley agreed, but where the two might find common ground in the disputed Coeur d’Alene City Council election is hard to say.

Both sides said they may meet Thursday to determine where they stand on the political suit before heading to court, should it go that far. Kelso represents Jim Brannon, who lost to incumbent Mike Kennedy by 5 votes on Nov. 3.

“I think most good lawyers recognize there’s value in sitting down and being as frank and candid as you can with the facts and case law,” Gridley said.

But the legal teams might have their hands tied when it comes to settling without a judge’s decision.

First District Judge Charles Hosack has been assigned the case. Should he rule in favor of Brannon, it would be up to Hosack what would happen next with the election results.

Gridley said Monday he hasn’t seen any evidence of election wrongdoing in the suit, which Brannon filed on Nov. 30, and then re-filed an amended version on Thursday.

“I haven’t seen any facts that would change the election,” Gridley said.

Kelso, of Kelso Law Office, delivered a letter Thursday addressed to Gridley and Kennedy, suggesting the legal teams meet to see if the two sides can avoid going to court.

The letter states that “the fundamental issue which we are presented with is not who ultimately wins, now or after a new election. The issues presented by the contest are focused on ensuring that all future elections, not just ones that turn on razor-thin margins, are run with precision.”

But Brannon said Monday a meeting between the sides shouldn’t be taken that he is conceding the election. He also filed an injunction preventing the city from installing the winning City Council members at its first meeting in January since the election process isn’t completely resolved.

He said he wants to sit down and see where the two sides stand on pending litigation.

The suit alleges that inadmissible ballots were counted in Brannon’s five-vote loss to Kennedy, and that “proper safeguards” during the voting process didn’t prevent that from happening. Some of those include names of several voters who allegedly don’t live in Coeur d’Alene.

Thursday’s amended complaint removed Kootenai County, its clerk Dan English, and Election Manager Deedie Beard as defendants.

Kelso said he removed them from the suit after he had more time to deliberate on the case since it was due 20 days after the city’s canvass. He said he erred on the side of “inclusion” while facing a tight timeline for submittal.

The county’s contracted position in the Nov. 3 election didn’t make them liable, he said, but they would still be a part of the suit as potential witnesses.

English said news of the county removal was “confusing,” and that it didn’t change the county’s role in the process.

“Most of the issues that have been brought up fall squarely on the election, which wasn’t conducted by the city but conducted by the county,” he said. “I can’t speak in pure legal terms, but I guess all I can say is it’s some part of the process, the formal process, that removes us in one aspect but the reality is if it ever went to court we’re still center stage.”