Prosecution of officials spurs unease

SANDPOINT — Some county officials and employees have privately expressed unease with the prosecution of Bonner County Clerk Ann Dutson-Sater and Deputy Clerk Charlie Wurm.

In the days leading up to the Wednesday’s joint preliminary hearing on allegations that they committed official malfeasance in their handling of a Lake Pend Oreille School District recall election, some confided that they find prosecution worrisome.

They view the mishandling as honest errors by relatively inexperienced officials and are concerned that they too could be subject to prosecution for making a mistake on the job. Those sympathetic to Dutson-Sater and Wurm’s predicament are also concerned that the prosecution could have a chilling effect on those seeking employment in the public sector.

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