Bonner County flush with elections

SANDPOINT — Bonner County is conducting 11 elections on Tuesday, Nov. 5.

The elections will take place in all nine of the county’s incorporated cities, in addition to a fire protection district and a proposed recreation district in Sagle.

The polls will be open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Voters can cast ballots absentee or by going to their regular polling precincts.

Here is rundown of the contests:

• Clark Fork — The city has one candidate, Chris Riggins, for the open mayor’s seat. Glenn Geignetter, Russell Schenck, Steven Spanski, Lynn Reese and Sharon Jeffers are running for the two open seats on the City Council. Voters must reside within the city limits and the Clark Fork Precinct in order to cast ballots.

• Dover — William C. Strand, David Darling and Neal Hewitt are running for the two seats on the City Council. Voters must reside within the city limits to cast ballots. The precincts in this election include the Baldy, Dover and part of Washington.

• East Hope — The city has one open seat for mayor and two open seats for City Council. Vernon Ray Fleisher is running for mayor, while Tom Grimm, Ronald L. Seay and Eileen Klatt are running for the council seats. Residents inside city limits and who vote at the Hope and East Hope City precincts will cast ballots.

• Hope — Joe Dean is running for the open mayor’s seat. Carolyn Guldberg and Robert A. Lizotte are running for the two open City Council seats. Voters from the Hope precinct who reside in the city limits will cast ballots.

n Kootenai — The city has two open seats on its City Council. David Sundquist is in the hunt for seat 1, while Crystal Closson is running for seat 3. Voters in the Kootenai Precinct who reside within the city limits are eligible to vote.

• Oldtown — Anna M. Burns and Bobby K. Jones are running for the two open seats on the City Council. City residents in the Oldtown Precinct will cast ballots.

• Ponderay — Steve R. Geiger, John E. Darling and Karen Engel are vying for the two open seats on the council. Voters from the Kootenai Precinct who live within city limits are eligible to cast ballots.

• Priest River — James L. Martin is running for the open mayor’s seat. Peggy S. George and Jeff Connolly are running for the two open seats on the council. City residents who vote at the East Priest River and Priest River West City precincts will cast ballots.

• Sagle — Some voters in this unincorporated area of Bonner County will be asked to approve the formation of a new taxing district called the Bay Drive Recreation District. The proposed district falls within the Gamlin Precinct.

• Sandpoint — Nine candidates are running for three open seats on the council. The candidates include Frank “Christian” Schwab, Mark Remmetter, Shelby Rognstad, Mose “Mo” Dunkel, Bryan E. Dillon, Shannon Joy Williamson, Bill Aitken, Robert Camp and Bill Litsinger. Residents in the city limits and who vote at the Airport, Baldy, Humbird, Sandpoint and Washington precincts are eligible to cast ballots.

• Westside Fire Protection District — The fire district is asking voters to authorize raising the current levy by $100,000 for the purpose of providing minimum daytime staffing by hiring three firefighters. The levy increase would also cover the purchase of safety equipment and minimal operational funding. Precincts open for this election will be Airport, Baldy, Dover, Laclede, Washington and Wrenco.

Absentee voting is already under way at the Bonner County Elections Office, located in the county administration building at the corner of U.S. Highway 2 and Division Avenue. Absentee voting ends on Friday, Nov. 1.

The elections office is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. It will be closed on Monday, Nov. 14 in observance of Columbus Day.

Unofficial election results will be posted to the county website (www.co.bonner.id.us).