Rasor seeks re-election

SANDPOINT — Bonner County Commission Chairman Cornel Rasor is seeking re-election to his District 1 spot on the board.

“We have made persistent, positive progress during my last term in office, and I am the right person to keep that momentum going in the right direction,” Rasor said in a statement announcing his candidacy.

Rasor, an incumbent Republican, faces former state Sen. Joyce Broadsword in the May 15 primary election. The winner of the primary will compete with Steve Johnson, an independent, in the Nov. 6 general election.

Rasor said he has led the charge in reining in federal agencies that are instituting policies that restrict residents’ freedoms and livelihoods without napalming bridges with those agencies.

For the first time in history, Rasor said, the county invoked a federal regulation which requires agencies to coordinate with local governments to help protect the social, economic and recreation interests.

Rasor contends overzealous bureaucrats are threatening those interests by designating 375,000 acres as critical habitat in order to protect four southern Selkirk Mountain caribou.

Rasor and fellow Commissioner Mike Nielsen have also heightened the board’s involvement in the county’s financial matters.

Rasor said the county has saved $115,000 and is tracking toward even greater savings by bidding employees health care insurance. It’s also the first time in recent history the board has fully accepted its responsibility and accountability for the annual external audit.

The attention to audit detail uncovered numerous accounting errors done by a private sector auditing firm and re-bid for another firm, which saved another $10,000 annually. This year’s audit uncovered more than $2 million in improperly reported accounting errors, according to Rasor.

“As a result, we will be implementing a corrective action plan to prevent this from happening in the future. We are continuing to develop a more transparent and user friendly audit that will help explain to citizens how their tax money has been used,” said Rasor, a Sandpoint business owner.

Rasor also hopes to streamline the budget process and facilitate more public involvement in the process.

Rasor founded the county’s Property Rights Council so those rights are accorded the respect the Constitution mandates.

“Too many local officials forget their oath to uphold the United States Constitution. Not only have I remembered my oath, I spend time studying that document so I can faithfully execute my local responsibilities in a manner that responds to the Constitution,” he said.