I watched the "debates" featuring the three races for Coeur d'Alene City Council this evening. Dan Gookin out-talked incumbent Ron Edinger. Then, that shouldn't coe as a surprise. Edinger isn't a great orator. I wanted to hear Jerry Weaver and Jim Brannon in the four-way race against incumbent Al Hassell. Weaver sounds like an echo of Gookin with his LCDC bashing. Brannon struck me as Gookin Lite. He showed he had little understanding of CDA's struggle for a community center when he held up the lopsided 1999 vote against the center -- not realizing that Hagadone, athletic club owners and anti-taxpayers groups did a nice hatchet job to cloud people's minds re: the costs. Ditto for the 1985 vote. John Bruning and Suzie Snedaker did well discussing the issues in the race for the seat being vacated by Dixie Reid. We'll start talking about these races in earnest next week here. Now, for your Wild Card ...

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