Incumbents win out in city elections

SANDPOINT — Incumbents across the county won out in Tuesday’s city elections, save for a tie in the Ponderay City Council race.

Three candidates vied for the two seats available on the Ponderay council, with incumbent Brenda Thompson taking the lead with 102 votes. Incumbent Gary Kunzeman and challenger Brad Mitton each garnered 83 votes in the unofficial results.

Ponderay city clerk Su Warren said they will be canvassing the results during a special meeting at City Hall on Friday and if the official results are the same, according to state law, Mitton and Kunzeman will toss a coin to see who wins.

Also in Ponderay, incumbent Mayor Steve Geiger won re-election over his opponent Tara Tribbett with 137 votes to Tribbett’s 35.

“I just want to say thank you to everybody for their support,” Geiger said on Wednesday. “I look forward to the next four years serving the city of Ponderay.”

Tribbett did not respond to a request for comment as of deadline on Wednesday.

Ponderay voters also approved the city’s five-year, 1-percent local option tax with 109 yes votes to 72 no votes. Because the tax requires a 60-percent majority to pass, it was just one vote away from not making the cut. The additional tax will apply to goods and services within the city, though it would not apply to hotels or purchases larger than $999.99. Geiger said there is “big stuff” on the horizon with the passing of the tax, as it is slated to fund the city’s Field of Dreams recreation project and a safe public access to the lake via a railroad underpass.

“This is very big for our city,” Geiger said. “We are going to take things slow and make sure the steps that we take with the city will be a benefit to our community. We are going to take our time and see how things work out with how much money the city will actually receive this next year. I just want everybody to know that we have a really great team working for us here at City Hall, the police department, City Council and our Planning and Zoning Commission.”

Out of 471 registered voters in Ponderay, 183 ballots were cast for a turnout percentage of 38.85. The overall turnout for elections across the county was nearly identical at 38.57 percent.

The city of Sandpoint saw the highest turnout percentage at 57.3 with 2,562 total ballots cast. In the largest race in the county for both mayor and council seats, incumbent Shelby Rognstad won the three-way race for Sandpoint mayor with 1,234 votes in the unofficial results. Challengers Ken Lawrence and Shannon Williamson garnered 771 and 498 votes respectively.

“I want to thank everyone that has supported me throughout my mayoral campaign,” Williamson said. “I appreciate each and every one of you. Congratulations to Shelby on his victory — it will be an honor to work with him, and the rest of the council and our amazing staff over the next two years in more collaborative and productive ways to achieve great outcomes for the city together. I look forward to continuing to work hard on behalf of our residents, business owners, and visitors.”

In the five-way race for the three council seats, incumbent Deb Ruehle will be joined by Kate McAlister and Andy Groat. McAlister and Groat will replace current council members Thomas Eddy and Bill Aitken, who did not seek re-election. Ruehle had 1,418 votes, Kate McAlister had 1,644 votes, Andy Groat had 1,257 votes. Shannon Mitchell finished the night with 960 votes and Jacque Guinan had 801 votes.

“I would like to thank my supporters and everyone who got out to vote,” Ruehle said. “I look forward to representing everyone over the next four years.”

Mitchell responded on Wednesday with a quote by author Garth Stein who wrote, “There is no dishonor in losing the race. There is only dishonor in not racing because you are afraid to lose.” The quote, she said, sums up how she felt after the results were in.

“Just running was a win for me,” Mitchell said. “It pushed my limits and pressured me to be courageous in front of my daughters and step up for what I believe in. It was a valuable experience I do not regret. There are worse things than having 960 new friends. I congratulate the candidates who won and wish them luck in their new positions. They may see my name again in the future.”

Guinan also offered “many thanks” to all who supported her campaign for City Council.

“We had an amazing team and overcame many obstacles,” Guinan said. “I appreciate all who took the initiative to vote — this is a sacred right afforded to us and it is always good to see that people take that right seriously. Our love for the Sandpoint community is what we all have in common and I hope moving forward we can work together to heal divisions and retain the true heart of this city.”

No other Sandpoint candidates responded to a request for comment on Wednesday.

In the city of Dover — the only other city with a contested race for mayor — Mike Davis won the election with 196 votes to Freda King’s 47. Current mayor Annie Shaha, and council members Woody Goodvin and Diane Brockway, did not run for re-election. Dan Parkin and Tom Williams were elected to the two council seats with 174 and 170 votes respectively. Dover saw a 55.5-percent turnout with 272 of 490 registered voters casting their ballots.

In Kootenai, current Mayor Nancy Lewis ran unopposed, garnering 137 votes. Seat 4 council member Daniel Schock also ran unopposed with 128 votes. Margaret Mjelde will take over council seat 2, being vacated by James Macha, as she received 69 votes. Mjelde’s opponents Bryan Black and Fabiola Ferris received 41 and 25 votes respectively.

In Hope and East Hope, current mayors William Breen and Vern Fleisher ran unopposed, garnering 44 and 60 votes respectively. In Hope, Bill Percy and Bruce Stutzke ran unopposed for the two open seats on council, and received 40 and 43 votes respectively. In East Hope, incumbents Deborah Field and Ian Barrett will continue in their positions after each received 48 votes. Challenger Phil Kuranz received 30 votes. In Clark Fork, incumbents Sharon Banning and Stanley Spanski ran unopposed, garnering 46 and 56 votes respectively.

On the west side of the county, incumbents Doug Wagner and Greg Edwards were re-elected for the two four-year seats on Priest River City Council.

“I appreciate everyone that voted, and I am very happy and excited to be able to continue to work for the city of Priest River and its residents,” Edwards said.

According to the unofficial results, Edwards took the lead with 112 votes, Wagner received 83, and challengers Sean Schneider and Billy Mullaley had garnered 70 and 40 votes respectively.

“First, I want to congratulate the elected council members,” Schneider said. “I really appreciate the support that I got from the community. Just because I didn’t get elected, doesn’t mean I won’t be involved or help the community in every possible way. I will continue to get my name out there and what I stand for — making Priest River great again. You have not seen the last of me.”

Mullaley said while the election didn’t turn out the way he hoped, he is hoping the next election will be in his favor.

“I would like to thank all those who voted yesterday,” Mullaley said. “... With only 305 people voting out of 1,700 means people really don’t know what it going on in their town.”

According to the unofficial results, 185 of the 820 registered voters in Priest River cast a total of 305 votes for the council positions — a 22.56-percent turnout.

Kevin Wylie was the sole candidate for the two-year position vacated by Gary Stewart in July when he moved outside of city limits. Wylie was recently appointed as an interim council member as well. He received 157 votes.

The city of Oldtown saw the smallest voter turnout for its mayor and council election, as both candidates ran unopposed. Mayor Lonnie Orr and council candidate Gary Stovall each received five votes, for a turnout of 10.42 percent.

Mary Malone can be reached by email at mmalone@bonnercountydailybee.com and follow her on Twitter @MaryDailyBee.