County candidates stake territories at forum

SANDPOINT — A dozen candidates seeking elected office in Bonner County took questions before a packed audience at the Farm Bureau’s forum on Thursday at St. Joseph Catholic Church.

The candidates are vying for the following offices:

Prosecutor

Incumbent Prosecutor Louis Marshall has no competition for the Republican nomination on May 15, but faces challenges in the general election from former Prosecutor Tevis Hull and Sandpoint attorney Michael Waldrup, both of whom are running as independents.

“I’m running for Bonner County prosecutor because ethics and common sense do matter,” said Waldrup, who contends taxpayers’ dollars are being wasted and wants to ease congestion by implementing new prosecutorial strategies for nonviolent offenses.

Marshall, meanwhile, played up the support he has earned from law enforcement officers and his aggressive approach when it comes to prosecuting sex offenders.

“My record is very clear,” said Marshall, explaining that he has the third-highest sex offender prosecution rate in the state.

Marshall, however, took heat during the forum for recommending a higher bail in a marijuana case than in one sex-offender case and acting as the city of Ponderay’s legal counsel on the side.

Hull, the county’s first full-time prosecutor, emphasized that some of the policies and procedures he implemented remain to this day. He pledged to be responsive to the needs of fellow elected officials and the public.

“It’s better to get it right than to be right,” said Hull.

Sheriff

Ponderay Police officer Tim Fry is challenging incumbent Daryl Wheeler for the GOP nod in May. Fry contends the sheriff’s office is losing touch with the community and said he would improve the level of service in the county by boosting the reserve corps.

Fry was accused of disparaging the administration, but he rejected the claim.

“I’m just telling people I can do it better because I can,” Fry said.

Wheeler said he has kept the campaign promises he made in 2008 to hold the line on spending, while bringing in $2.7 million in fees and increasing patrol coverage by 20 percent.

“I have been under budget for the last three years,” said Wheeler.

Paul Finman, a Vay landowner who was arrested for tearing down a home with a tractor while its residents were still inside, continues to dog Wheeler at forums. Finman asserts that Wheeler has given a pass to sovereign citizens like the ones Finman was attempting to evict, but Wheeler reminded the audience that a district judge affirmed the charges against Finman.

A third GOP candidate for sheriff, white supremacist Shaun Winkler, did not attend the forum.

The winner of the primary will face former Deputy Rocky Jordan, who bills himself as a constitutionalist reformer and accuses Wheeler of cronyism.

“He’s kept corrupt people,” said Jordan.

District 1 commissioner

Recurring themes in the county commissioner races include the board’s contemplation of reducing or halting funding to the fairgrounds and 4-H.

Incumbent Commissioner Cornel Rasor attempted a Jedi mind trick to try and convince the audience that such a move was never contemplated and that it was figment of the media’s imagination.

“It was never true. It was never true,” he said.

But it was true and served as partial motivation for former state Senator Joyce Broadsword and educator Steve Johnson to enter the race.

“Those are important assets for our community,” said Broadsword, who is trying to win the GOP nomination against Rasor.

Broadsword said her legislative experience will help achieve her goals of economic development, better roads and reasonable tax policies.

Johnson, who’s running as an independent in the general election, questioned the board’s bureaucratic expansion while contemplating cuts to the fair and 4-H.

“We certainly have to get our kids and grandkids involved in productive activities,” Johnson said.

District 3 commissioner

Another recurring theme in the commission contests is the board’s inability to get along with other elected officials.

“There’s absolutely no reason to have this amount of discord,” said Cary Kelly, one of two candidates vying to oust incumbent Republican Lewie Rich.

Kelly is campaigning on solid leadership, fiscal responsibility and limited government, but is catching flak for being seen as biased toward law enforcement.

“My leadership skills are obvious,” said Rich, who credited himself for taking a stand against the budget and its 6-percent tax increase.

Rich blamed the media for reporting on the Hatfield and McCoy saga at the Bonner County Administration Building and also suggested it was not a fact.

The third candidate in the District 3 race, Sage Dixon, said he’s running to bring balance back to the board and intends to use his private-sector business experience to offset his lack of political experience.

“I don’t have the government experience, but I have the experience in the private sector,” said Dixon.