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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Huckleberries Online

Nonini-Whalen Race Hits Nasty Patch

That Facebook post by state Sen. Bob Nonini, R-Coeur d’Alene, didn’t stay up long – you know, the one in which he blasted opponent Pat Whalen for picking on Nonini’s wife, Cathyanne. It read: “My opponent took a cheap shot at my wife (Thursday night) at the NIC Candidate Forum – what type of person attacks a wife? Not a reputable or credible person.” At the forum, Whalen raised the fact that he had received a DUI in 2006, according to the Coeur d’Alene Press. That was a shocker. So was his subsequent comment that Cathyanne Nonini was trying to use the old DUI conviction to get Whalen dumped as chairman of the Boys & Girls Club of Kootenai County. Nonini pulled his Facebook post Friday after Huckleberries Online published the text of an email that Cathyanne Nonini sent to regional director Steve Ratto of Boys & Girls Clubs of America. At 10:57 a.m. Wednesday, she emailed Ratto: “This is per my conversation with Tony in your National Office. This gentleman is currently the Board President for our local B&G Club. We do not feel it is a good example for a person with a DUI conviction to be serving on a B&G Club Board, Peace and Blessings, Cathyanne.” On Friday, Whalen offered to resign as chairman of the Boys & Girls Club. But the board rejected the notion from its hard-working chairman. Some indignant Whalen supporters noted that Bob Nonini had been arrested – but not convicted – on a cocaine charge in 1983. What’s that they say about glass houses?/DFO, SR Sunday Huckleberries. Rest of the column here.



D.F. Oliveria
D.F. (Dave) Oliveria joined The Spokesman-Review in 1984. He currently is a columnist and compiles the Huckleberries Online blog and writes about North Idaho in his Huckleberries column.

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