One of the wild rumors sweeping the Kootenai County Courthouse these days is that county clerk-elect Cliff Hayes might tap failed 2009 City Council candidate Jim Brannon as his chief deputy. Then, the worker bees initially were worried that he might pick Tina Jacobson. Another totally unsubstantiated rumor that was out there, even during the election campaign, is that Hayes will hold the office for a couple of years and then turn it over to whoever is his chief deputy. That he's already accomplished his job of getting the office back into Republican hands. The worker bees are nervous. But I doubt that either of the two mentioned above are on Hayes' radar. He's sharper than that.

Question: Who do you think Hayes will pick as chief deputy? Why?