No action taken after affidavits issued
SANDPOINT — No action will be taken following a pair of complaints issued last month regarding Bonner County commissioners Luke Omodt and Steve Bradshaw’s oaths of office.
The complaints, included in affidavits of maladministration, were presented to the commissioners by Dan Rose at the Feb. 27 business meeting. In the affidavits, Rose and other complainant Richard Gray claim that the phrase “and laws” was added during Omodt and Bradshaw’s oaths when they were sworn into office.
During Tuesday’s meeting, Rose again spoke on the matter, claiming that any oath that includes the words “and laws” is unlawful, and therefore, void.
“It’s not in the code and it’s not in the Constitution,” he said.
Rose demanded that Omodt and Bonner County Clerk Mike Rosedale address the issue immediately so his questions can be answered at the next business meeting — what year was “and laws” added to the official oath and when will the county “mandate compliance” for everyone in office to take the “lawful oath?”
“Let it be recognized that with the individual knowledge and authority to correct the matter, you all have intentionally forfeited the voters’ trust in the most arrogant and egregious manner by remaining willfully complicit in the maladministration of your elected duty,” he said.
Rose claimed that all current elected officials should have to restate their oath to exclude the phrase “and laws.” Additionally, all future elected officials should not be allowed to say that phrase during the swear-in process, he added.
“You can’t say you’re enforcing and adhering to the code, when you’re violating the code,” he said.
However, Bradshaw said that he was sworn in by Judge Barbara Buchanan, while Omodt and Commissioner Asia Williams were sworn in by Judge Lamont Berecz. Any complaints should be directed to the two judges, added the commissioner.
“If you have an issue with our oath, you need to file that with the district court,” Bradshaw said. “I find that your statement has no merit.”
Rosedale joined the discussion, saying that he sought clarification from Bonner County Deputy Prosecutor Bill Wilson three weeks ago, who relayed his legal counsel to both Rosedale and Williams, saying the entire case seemed to revolve around the phrase “and laws.”
“It’s not something we can, or should, address,” Rosedale said, quoting an email response from Wilson.
The clerk referenced a case in federal district court that also looked at the sufficiency of the oath of office with the phrase “and laws” in it, and the court found that oath to be fully sufficient. To double check, Rosedale sought an opinion on the matter from the Secretary of State’s office.
“And they said, quote, ‘We agree with your conclusion,’” Rosedale read. “‘In fact, ‘So help me, God,’ is added frequently in the conclusion of the oaths, and adding it does not then contradict or void the oath.’”