Three families have combined to give $20,497 to mayoral candidate Mary Souza and support the candidacies of three allied council members -- Noel Adam, Chris Fillios and Sharon Hebert. The three families are: the Damianos ($9,000), Regans ($6,500), and Sims ($3,400). Phil Damiano and his wife, Leslie, (shown in Duane Rasmussen file photo) have given $2,000 to Souza and $1,000 apiece to the three council candidates. On Sept. 11, 2009, Mary Souza was singing the praise of Phil Damiano in her Coeur d'Alene Press column, Heart of the Matter:

Phil Damiano, owner of Coeur d’Alene Garbage Service, gave a passionate and informative presentation on the city’s garbage contract.  I never knew garbage could be so interesting! Phil documented, in great detail, his background and expertise in the waste collection industry.  He went on to question why the City of CdA has not put their garbage contract out for competitive bid since 1988...that’s nearly 22 years without a bid.  The contract is up for renewal next year, and Phil was quite unhappy that the city’s General Services Committee, made up of three city council members, recently voted to bypass the open bid process. Full column here.

Also: In June, the Damianos told the Republican women's group how the IRS intimidated them into dissolving the local Tea Party Patriots. Huckleberries coverage here. Leslie Damiano is president of the Republican women's group in Coeur d'Alene.