On Twitter, I had a brief discussion with Councilman Dan Gookin, Bjorn Handeen and Jennifer Locke re: the City Council elections this fall. Gookin mentioned that the Rally Right group tried and failed to field a candidate to run against him. Handeen and Locke are excited about the candidacy of newcomer Toby Schindelbeck. Then, Gookin wondered what would be the key issue for the fall campaign. I said, "urban renewal," because a 140-word tweet limit hampers discussion. If I had the room, I would have said that the continuing transformation of downtown Coeur d'Alene and the waterfront -- and how urban renewal affects that -- would be a key issue. And whether the city goes ahead with any ideas to relinguish any more of the downtown for the Hagadone Hospitality expansion (think: Independence Point parking lot). It would also be interesting to hear the candidates discuss capital projects that they would endorse, rather than the same old monotonous opposition to all things LCDC (er, ignite cda).

Question: What issue(s) do you think will be most important in the Coeur d'Alene council election?