BCRCC censure vote against commissioners fails

The Bonner County Republican Central Committee voted Tuesday night to not censure Bonner County commissioners Luke Omodt and Steve Bradshaw.

The vote followed over an hour of discussion from committee member Dan Rose, Omodt and multiple public commenters.

In July, Omodt and Bradshaw received notice that the BCRCC had received a petition with over 30% of the committee members’ signatures requesting a censure of the two commissioners. Both were invited to the committee’s Tuesday meeting to hear the allegations against them and present a defense.

The petitions for censure alleged the pair committed Republican platform, Idaho and U.S. Constitution violations, which Rose laid out in a presentation. Rose brought up the fact that for a few months, public comments were banned during the Tuesday morning commissioners meetings due to hostile comments and constant disruption happening during the business meeting.

Omodt denied all the allegations against him. Bradshaw was not present at the meeting as it was alleged he was on vacation at the time. No one spoke on his behalf.

“I gave my oath to God, family and country, and it will never go away,” said Omodt, a U.S. Army veteran. “When we raise our right hand, there is no expiration date on our service to our country.”

While Rose seemed to center the allegations on the public comment issue, some committee members claimed that while they did not agree with Omodt and Bradshaw’s conduct at the commissioner meetings, the denial of public comment technically was not a platform, U.S. or State Constitution violation — which is the only thing they were supposed to be considering for the censure.

The audience had mixed feelings about Omodt and Bradshaw’s conduct; some applauded them for their efforts while others said they are turning the county into a socialist state.

“What you’re witnessing is communism in action,” one commenter said. “As soon as they don’t like what we’re talking about, they go to recess.”

Another commenter said “you just can’t debate with stupid,” implying it was a waste of time for residents to attempt to speak with the commissioners, as they are done listening to the public.

However, not all audience members seemed to agree with that sentiment, with a few speaking favorably of how the commissioners are handling such a tumultuous time in the county.

“There are some people that sit in that oval right there that come to every meeting and just stir the [crap] up,” one commenter said. “I think it's an error to try to censor [these two commissioners].”

Committee members seemed to also have differing levels of conviction on the matter. Some said they wished the two commissioners would resign immediately to avoid further conflict while others felt that there were other avenues to fix the issues at hand.

“Do I think it's wise of them to suspend public comment?” one committee member asked. “No. Is it against the law? No. Censuring a public official is a serious matter. I don't believe this is the appropriate forum.”

Another committee member agreed, saying she did not believe this was the way to go about things. If the BCRCC wanted to see change, she advised they begin the process of recalling the commissioners or working to vote them out of office when the next election comes.

“The voting box is where the process starts,” Rose said. “But if you can't listen to the people who put you there and allow them to say stuff … if you don't want your First Amendment right, vote that way.”

Scott Herndon, BCRCC Chair and Idaho state senator, stepped down from the chair to voice his opinion on the matter, stating he did not believe the commissioners were in violation of any of the platforms the petition claimed. He also mentioned his experience as a senator, saying that the public is extremely limited in when they can and cannot speak during meetings as well as what they are allowed to say.

“In the Senate — you cannot go onto the senate floor and direct the representatives,” he said.

After roughly eight minutes of deliberation, the BCRCC cast their final votes. Seven committee members voted to censure Omodt, while 22 voted against the censure. Eleven members voted to censure Bradshaw; 18 voted against it.

As such, both attempts to censure the commissioners failed and at this time, no consequences will be given to either commissioner.