Huckleberries Online

Trustee Brooks Loses Dozens Of Signs

Posted by DFO

May 18, 2009 5:05 p.m. • 14 comments

Veteran school board member Edie Brooks reports to Coeur d’Alene police that 60 of her yard signs were taken without her permission from locations along 15th Street Friday and Saturday. Brooks, who has served on the Coeur d’Alene School Board for 11 years, told Huckleberries a short while ago that former Republican legislative candidate Jim Hollingsworth called her Friday evening to say that she had put her signs up illegally and that he was going to have her arrested. She reportedly thanked Hollingsworth for the information and told him that she would obtain a necessary permit the following day. Which she did. However, she noticed signs missing Saturday. According to a police report, Hollingsworth told an officer who called about the signs: “I think I might know someone who may have removed them.” When Hollingsworth was asked who that was, he told the officer: “I’m not at liberty to say.” Later, Brooks was told by phone that her signs would be at the school district office or City Hall. Some were at the district office while others were thrown in bushes. She’s still missing 27 of the 100 signs she obtained to promote her candidacy against challenger James Purtee. Brooks’ Zone One runs south of Hayden Lake and east of 15th Street. The school board election is Tuesday.

14 comments on this post so far. Add yours!

Sisyphus on May 18 at 4:47 p.m.
What a petty, petty thing to do.
DFO on May 18 at 4:59 p.m.
Sisyphus; you could toss in a coupla more “petties” into your equation without hurting my feelings. If Hollingsworth is involved in this, it might be a good indication that the conservative Elephants in town are pushing Purtee’s election to the board. Dunno a thing about Purtee. He’s not in my Zone. Anyone out there who does?
Sisyphus on May 18 at 5:03 p.m.
What gets me is the mentality that sinks this low. I’ve never known yard signs to win an election. I have known tactics like this that lose them however.
DFO on May 18 at 5:07 p.m.
Edie told me that she’s never had to campaign before. So she didn’t know much re: the psychology of yard signs. She ordered them late in the game after she saw Purtee’s signs. She got them only Friday and immediately began putting them up. Some near Purtee signs. She was acting in good faith, it seems. And at least one conservative R was playing gotcha. I agree with you re: yard signs. They don’t amount to much of a hill of beans, particularly in this Internet era. But foolin’ around with someone’s yards signs and getting caught … well, that’s another matter.
spokelooneh on May 18 at 5:10 p.m.
“Her opponent, James Purtee, who just moved here from Texas, is being backed by Jim Hollingsworth and the group that wants to ban books in our schools.”

-KC Democratic Party site.
http://www.kootenaidemocrats.org/

If Hollingsworth is involved, you know it’s gonna be mean, nasty, and down-right dirty.
PatrickH on May 18 at 5:23 p.m.
I don’t understand why anyone is even shocked by this. Purtee and his supporters have run a textbook stealth campaign. This is part of that playbook, and should come as no surprise. FIrst they file late so that they don’t have to answer questions or face the public eye, then the night before the election they do something to try and draw their opponent away from the actual issues. Brooks fell for one of their tactics and hopefully it doesn’t play into Purtee’s favor. The last thing we need is the bon fire at homecoming games to be a book burning.
MamaJD on May 18 at 6:26 p.m.
Perhaps she put signage in swale areas that looked like they were public but is really personal property? Our neighborhood is inundated with Purtee signs. If she didn’t ask the homeowner inside the fenceline if she could place the sign on the property outside the fenceline then the homeowner should be able to remove them.
jimhollingsworth on May 18 at 6:36 p.m.
It is really nice to know that you are appreciated. Someone said you ought to be concerned when all speak well of you. So, when the Democrats call you “Dirty, Rotten Skum” then you know you are on the right track. Just note this comment:

KC Democratic Party site.
http://www.kootenaidemocrats.org/

If Hollingsworth is involved, you know it’s gonna be mean, nasty, and down-right dirty.

You can ask anyone who knows me if that really fits. Maybe I am missing something.

As far as the missing signs you need to know the whole story. Maybe Ms Brooks and Mr. Hemenway are totally innocent, but you have to see the other side of the story.

First off, Mr. Hemenway told me that he put up the signs for Ms Brooks, not herself.

1. The signs were put up late Friday, when it was too late to take any legal action.
2. The candidates did not get a sign permit.
3. The signs were placed on City Property, which is illegal.
4. The candidates did not get permission from the associated resident address.
5. The Coeur d’Alene Police Department said they cannot, would not enforce the law, that only the City Clerk could enforce the law, and she could not be reached until Monday.
6. Finding good sign locations and getting property owner permission to put them up is a very time consuming task. So, if you can put up a bunch of signs, with high visibility, with no concern about being in trouble, then what is to stop you? As a result, they got about three days exposure in locations that were off limits to the rest of us.

Some of these signs were picked up by neighbors who were very concerned to have those signs in front of their houses, since they planned to vote for Purtee. Other signs were picked up by concerned neighbors who knew that their neighbor did not want any political signs in their yard. All those signs have been returned to their rightful owners. Again, the Police Department does not enforce the sign code, so there was not much point in filing a police complaint.

No one seems to be very concerned about the fact that we have lost over 50 (fifty) signs since we started putting them out. Some signs have been put out at least three times, and someone is taking them. We have never had this much sign abuse in any election in the past, and it makes it clear that those who are supporting the incumbents know most of their supporting arguments are pretty hollow. As a former teacher and administrator, I know what it takes to get a good education and my hope is that new leadership will be able to provide it.

Thanks, David, for allowing us this opportunity to set the record straight.
Jim Hollingsworth jimhollingsworth@verizon.net
spokelooneh on May 18 at 7:32 p.m.
Looks like you like numbered points, Jim. Very authoritative. Good for you!

1. Summarize in two paragraphs Mr. Purtee’s platform.

2. How many Brooks signs did you personally remove, or have direct knowledge of someone who removed such?

3. There’s a gay couple with a child in the CdA school district and they want to support Texas Purtee with a big “Gays for Purtee” sign in their yard, and in front of their prominent business on Sherman. Do you give them the signs?
spokelooneh on May 18 at 7:39 p.m.
Whoops, forgot one there, Jimbo.

4. What books does Mr. Texas Purtee want to see banned at the CdA school district libraries, and or/restricted in some way?
Phaedrus on May 18 at 8:53 p.m.
. What books does Mr. Texas Purtee want to see banned at the CdA school district libraries, and or/restricted in some way?

Books with “vulgarities” in them. he does not define his understanding of vulgarity.
florined on May 18 at 9:23 p.m.
Some local candidates consider my yard prime real estate because of it’s visibility, so this thread inspired me to contact Ms. Brooks and invite her to use my yard. It took about 10 minutes for her to arrive with signs and a nifty stake installing instrument (why had I always used a sledge hammer?) I had never met her, but got the chance to talk with her and my support was reconfirmed.

I had to leave, but when I returned, I saw her signs in front of my neighbor’s house also. She called me and said the neighbor had come over to my yard to talk with her and invited her to post in front of his house too.

I wasn’t a witness to any of the alleged illegal placements or any alleged theft or alleged removal by supporters of competitors. But I have several dayglo green signs in my yard, facing several ways, and am honored to declare my support for Edie Brooks.
Fishwife on May 19 at 8:18 a.m.
When is the book burning party, Jim?
Cabbage Boy on May 19 at 8:43 a.m.
I know Mr. Hollingsworth and take exception to Spookaloon’s “mean, dirty and nasty” comment. I guess we see who the democrats are supporting in this election.

On the sign note, I have seen many Purtee/Seymour signs in yards around town. This weekend, it looked like the Hemengway/Brooks campaign got a late start with the signs, and most of them I have seen have been on the public right-of-ways along the streets. There was a big panel truck with a Hemengway sign parked in an empty lot just west of Ramsey on Kathleen.

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D.F. Oliveria is a columnist and blogger for The Spokesman-Review. Huckleberries Online was judged the best 2008 Idaho newspaper blog by the Idaho Press Club. And the best 2007 news blog in the Pacific Northwest by the Society for Professional Journalist. Print Huckleberries is a past winner of the Herb Caen Memorial Column contest by the National Association of Newspaper Columnists. The Readership Institute of Northwestern University cited this blog as a good example of online community journalism.