Commissioners again argue over protection order

SANDPOINT — Following a discussion about placing the Bonner County Human Resources Department under the authority of the Bonner County commissioners, another argument broke out regarding the civil protection order Commissioner Asia Williams has against Commissioner Steve Bradshaw for alleged threats.

One public commenter said placing HR under the board’s authority would be problematic as long as Commissioner Steve Bradshaw holds a seat since he has previously called county employees liars and perjurers.

“He is clearly incapable of handling HR-related matters when it comes to the staff,” the commenter said. “He is in fact a liability when it comes to his actions, and that’s only with the things that we’re obviously privy to as an outcome of these meetings.”

The commenter referred to a meeting a few weeks ago in which Bradshaw claimed that he had never threatened Williams and the employee who reported it had perjured himself. If that was true, the commenter asked, why had Bradshaw’s defense in the court hearing not held that posture?

“I was advised by my attorney not to speak at that hearing,” Bradshaw responded. “I took the advice of my attorney. For better or worse, I followed his directions. Did I ever make that statement? No, I did not. You base it on nothing but hearsay, and that’s exactly what it was.”

The District 1 commissioner said he doesn’t care if some residents don’t believe him, because he is telling the truth. Williams has never heard him threaten her, he said. Do they get mad at each other and yell? Yes, he said. He then asked the audience which of them hadn’t lost their temper and yelled at each other at times.

“I have never threatened this lady,” he said. “I will never threaten this lady. If somebody was to physically threaten her, I would stand in the way.”

However, these comments did not sit well with Williams, who disagreed with that statement.

“I am tired of sitting in here while you make up statements,” she said. “Why didn’t you call Louis Marshall and say, ‘Holy crap, I didn’t mean it,’ or ‘I didn’t say that.’ You said someone should have ‘taken care of me’ before.”

Williams told Bradshaw his best option from this point forward during the commissioners' meetings would be to continue taking the advice of his attorney — not speaking.