Connolly, McDonald, Wheeler claim primary wins

SANDPOINT — While there will be a pair of new faces on the Bonner County Board of Commission this fall, there will be a familiar face heading the Bonner County Sheriff’s Office.

In the race for Bonner County Board of Commisioners’ District 2 seat, Republican Jeff Connolly ended the night with 2,577 votes, defeating incumbent Todd Sudick who had 1,817 votes when the final ballots were counted well after 1 a.m. In the District 3 race, Dan McDonald had 2,685 votes to claim the GOP nod over former Commissioner Lewie Rich, who had 1,630 votes.

Those races will be decided in the primary, as will the race for Bonner County sheriff. Incumbent Republican Daryl Wheeler was beating Terry Ford 2,724-1,971 as of 10:37 p.m.

In the run-up to Tuesday’s primary election, familiar themes of land use issues, a clutch of wrongful termination suits and claims of low morale among county employees.

Connolly has said partisan politics and an imperious leadership styles are clouding planning and zoning matters. During the campaign, Sudick defended the board’s streamlining of the land use appeal process and other changes that are meant to make it easier and quicker for consumers and reduce the county’s paternalistic role in P&Z.

McDonald questioned the county’s comprehensive plan during the campaign while Rich, a former commissioner, said the comp plan was always a “living document” that was to be modified and tweaked to meet the particular needs of Bonner County and its residents.

In the Bonner County sheriff’s race, challenger Terry Ford highlighted the need to improve leadership, integrity, and professionalism at the sheriff’s office while incumbent Daryl Wheeler pointed to his experience and a desire to improve conditions for his employees as well as his leadership in the constitutional carry issue.

The Northside Fire District override levy failed, 447-641.