Coeur d'Alene Mayor Sandi Bloem addresses small crowd on hand for the dedication of Phase 1B (infrastructure) of future Education Corridor Wednesday afternoon at Military & River, north of North Idaho College. The project was a cooperative effort between NIC and the Lake City Development Corporation. Ribbon-cutting photograph here.

Item: The road to opportunity: Second phase of Education Corridor opens/Tom Hasslinger, Press

JohnA: What a difference a week makes. From the division of the recall we have the unity of the city and NIC completing this great project. None of it could have happened without visionaries at each entity finding a way to make this happen. And, the best part is they make it look so easy, when in reality it is far from that, as I’m sure Christie can attest. I’m also pleased that DanG attended, giving action to his words that it is time to heal the rifts and get back to making Coeur d’Alene the greatest city in Idaho.

Question: I agree with JohnA. That was a good gesture by Councilman Dan Gookin to be present at the ribbon cutting for Phase 1B of the Education Corridor. Such steps are needed to bring healing to this community. Thoughts?

If you thought that OpenCDA-dot-Com was going to leave the failed recall attempt alone, you need to think again. Mr. Bill was busy spinning a City Council encounter between Mayor Sandi Bloem and audience member Charlotte Gherke, whom I thought was borderline rude in her statement to Bloem and the council at the last City Council election. Mr. Bill, of course, dumps everything on Mayor Bloem: “Let’s play make-believe that Coeur d’Alene Mayor Sandi Bloem has changed her ways since the recall effort and has begun being honest with the citizens.  We have to make believe, because it certainly isn’t reality.” You can read the rest of Mr. Bill's trip through the Looking Glass here. Someone should tell Mr. Bill that his side failed to trigger a recall election despite one of the most intense political campaigns I've seen in almost 30 years in Coeur d'Alene. He's acting as though he represents the majority. Which, fortunately,, he does not.

Question: Isn't it time Mayor Bloem & the council quit listening to the bellyachers who couldn't get enough signatures to recall 4 of them — and move boldly ahead with their agenda?

Mary Souza, thrice denied by Coeur d'Alene voters (loss to Mike Kennedy in 2005, Brannon's loss to Kennedy at polls and court 2009, and now RecallCDA loss), has emerged to denounce Secretary of State Ben Ysursa for recall failure. Seems Mary (shown in Phantom Photographer photo setting up for a Tea Party event at Greyhound Park) thinks Ysursa affected recall effort by shortening petition process & by declaring “that any person signing the Recall petition must have their petition city address match their Voter Registration city address exactly.” Seems Mary thinks that Ysursa's “second pivotal interpretation” cost Recallers 200 signatures. You can read her 10:01 post under today's editorial by Coeur d'Alene Press at Press Online here. You'll notice that Meesterbox & Timeless are engaged in thread, trying to match facts with fiction provided by Mary & her entourage (MisterD, LTRLTR, DeNiles, etc.) Don't be afraid to join the online party.

• Talking points to counter Mary & Co. at Press Online: Ysursa has forgotten more about election law than they'll ever know; hundreds of signatures were accepted before voter registration cards were turned in; signature gatherer Rod Bitterman's petitions were accepted and counted; and get over it.

Thoughts?

I agree with the Recallers licking their wounds this morning that they sent a message to Mayor Sandi Bloem and the three Coeur d'Alene City Council members targeted for recall. But it's not the message they think they sent. The Recallers don't represent a majority of this community. That was evident in their inability to gain the required 4311 valid signatures after trolling Hard Right (Tea Party, Reagan Republicans, anti-property tax) precincts early and then beating every bush in Coeur d'Alene. The Recallers were unavoidable. I'd guess almost all of the registered voters in Coeur d'Alene saw them hanging out with their signs in high-visibility sidewalks and street corners, as well as Primary Election Day polling places. Yet, they didn't get the necessary signatures. They failed because the community didn't support the recall. On the other hand, Mayor Sandi Bloem & targeted council members know now that the Recallers aren't going away. Backed by the well-organized Reagan Republicans, they'll be back next fall to try to capture at least one more seat to take control of the council (now the Ron Edinger has thrown in his lot with Councilmen Dan Gookin and Steve Adams). Hard Right Republican partisans have already captured the Coeur d'Alene School Board (including two seats held by Trustees, Terri Seymour and James Purtee, who supported the recall). The message Mayor Bloem, the recall targets and their supporters must learn from this is … the 2013 municipal election campaign begins today. The Bloem administration and them must  communicate its message of accomplishment much better. They need to stop being bullied by political opponents and confront propaganda and quarter truths with fact. Every time. In every venue — print, online or over the air. They need to start promoting new candidates, if any of them are certain now that they won't run for re-election in 2013. They should celebrate the defeat of the recall effort Wednesday night — and then get busy with their 2013 campaigns. I'm sure the other side has already began discussing Plan B — DFO

Item: Resign? Not us, targets declare: Cd'A officials plan to stay in office if election occurs/Tom Hasslinger, Coeur d'Alene Press

More Info: The four Coeur d'Alene city incumbents targeted by a recall effort said Wednesday they wouldn't resign if the measure makes it to an election. Coeur d'Alene City Council members Mike Kennedy, Woody McEvers and Deanna Goodlander and Mayor Sandi Bloem each said they would see a recall election to the end rather than surrender their seats. “I definitely will not resign,” Bloem said.

Question: Do you agree with the decisions by Mayor Sandi Bloem and the three targeted council members not to resign if this moves forward to an election?

Mary Souza dances a little jig at the weekly Real Reagan Republicans luncheon Mary 17 shortly after announcing that she'd probably get her photo on Huckleberries Online shortly. Mary was greeted warmly by her peeps. Imagine the jig Mary is dancing today now that she and her Recallers appear to have the necessary signatures to trigger a Recall election against her political foes Mayor Sandi Bloem and Councilman Mike Kennedy and two other council members (Photo Photographer photo)

Mary Souza and her Recallers are massing at the upper parking lot of City Hall as I type this, preparing to turn in petitions to recall Mayor Sandi Bloem and the three targetted City Council members: Deanna Goodlander, Woody McEvers and Mike Kennedy. Souza claims in an OpenCDA.com post that the Recallers will be delivering “well over 5,311 signatures” to City Clerk Susan Weathers. The Recallers need 4,311 valid signatures to trigger a recall election. Mary and her Recallers are planning a rally celebration in conjunction with turning in the petitions. She writes: “Please help us celebrate our hard work and effort by joining us for a Rally as the petitions are carried in.” Full post here.

Thoughts?

At RecallCDA headquarters, Mary Souza continues to whip her troops to the finish line June 11. Mary sez that she's feeling the love from the community for her crusade, claiming 80 percent of the response from the community is positive and that many motorists are responding with waves, smiles and honks to volunteers holding “Recall CdA, Sign Here” signs. But she castigates the “weird negative vibe from the few Anti-recall folks.” Some, for goodness sakes, have given the volunteer Recallers a thumbs down. Others, according to Mary, have gone even further by flipping Recallers off, including a whole family “Both parents and 3 small children…all at once as they drove by.  Great parenting from the Anti-recall group.” Now, I agree with Mary (mark your calendar) that there's no excuse for anyone flipping off the other side, if that's what really happened. However, Mary's leap to the connect-the-dot conclusion that Middle Finger Family (again, if it really exists) is associated with anti-recall organizers is over the top, too. You can read Mary's latest OpenCDA.com comment here.

DFO: BTW, I've asked the Coeur d'Alene police for that report of Mary's encounter with an anti-Recaller. 'Twill be interesting to see what each side said. I also plan to ask for the 911 recording from that incident.

Thoughts?

I know it's never news that Recall organizer Mary Souza is using her newsletter to criticize Councilman Mike Kennedy again. But it is interesting. Today, Mary blasts Mike for having the audacity to confront the Recaller who used Lake City High grounds over the weekend in an attempt to gain signatures, without permission. (You can read about that here.) Mary grouses: “Mike didn’t seem to notice the 5 cars with 'For Sale' signs parked in the school parking lot without permission. Bet he didn’t make any calls about those.” She also writes that she was confronted by a “Decline” guy named Jeffrey while she was on the sidewalk in front of Army-Navy Store on Government Way trying to attract signers. Again, Mary: “We expect the intimidation attempts to increase over these final 9 days.” Interestingly, toward the end, Mary admits that the Souza-Sims-Orzell recall attempt doesn't have enough names to cover possible fallout of invalidate signatures. You can read Mary's latest here.

Thoughts?

In her latest newsletter, Mary Souza of OpenCDA.com claims that RecallCDA is more than halfway to the goal of getting signatures needed to trigger a recall election involving Mayor Sandi Bloem and council members Deanna Goodlander, Woody McEvers and Mike Kennedy. But Mary sounds a bit desperate: “The Recall effort may be down but we are NOT OUT!  We are already beyond the halfway point in both time and signatures, but we need to ramp it up and kick into high gear.  Will you help?  I’m serious.” Then, she claims that the Coeur d'Alene Press has turned against the Recallers (although I believe the Press has been extremely fair re: coverage of this divisive issue): “The Press is teetering on the brink of insanity, with overly dramatic headlines nearly  every day. Reporter Tom Hasslinger has morphed from a nice guy into a pit bull looking for blood, no accuracy or accountability required.” She goes on to say that Hasslinger has “hounded” Recall leader Frank Orzell several times each day, showed up at his house unannounced and even threatened him, saying “The road is going to get very rough for you…”  And you want Mary's friends on the council to pick the next mayor and 2 City Council members? Tsk. Tsk. Full newsletter here. (Phantom Photographer photo: Mary hanging with Gov. Otter at Post Falls Pachyderms Unity dinner)

Question: Isn't the Recall effort in big-time trouble if it is only halfway (Mary's claim not mine) to the signature goal at this point? Shouldn't the first 1000-2000 signatures be the easiest to get?

Kootenai County Clerk Cliff Hayes has filed suit against the city of Coeur d'Alene and individuals involved on both sides of the recall attempt in an effort to clarify the recall deadline, now set for June 19. Hayes, through his counsel, Prosecutor Barry McHugh, wants to clarify whether the recall process, including signature verification ends on June 19. Or whether that is the date to complete signature gathering, with verification coming afterward. Named as plaintiffs in the lawsuit besides the city of Coeur d'Alene are Mayor Sandi Bloem and the three recall targets, Councilman Deanna Goodlander, Woody McEvers and Mike Kennedy, as well as Recall CdA and recall organizer Frank Orzell. link to lawsuit here.

Thoughts?

Sometime this week, 21,000 Coeur d'Alene residents will receive a letter from Stop the Recall organizers that begins: “As you are probably aware, there is currently a select group of citizens attempting to recall Mayor Bloem and Council Members Deanna Goodlander, Mike Kennedy, and Woody McEvers. A lot of false information is being disseminated and we feel it is important for every Coeur d’Alene resident to understand the facts of the situation. Our mayor and council members being targeted for recall have done nothing wrong. They have done nothing illegal or immoral. A recall is an important part of our system of government, but it is a tool to be used in extreme circumstances, warranted by things such as criminal malfeasance or illegal activities. To attempt to recall four outstanding leaders because of an ideological disagreement is a misuse of the system.” I'll post a link to the entire letter once it's mailed out.

Thoughts?

As we approach the third anniversary of the Kroc Center, and my final days as the Kroc Administrator, I have begun to reflect on what a privilege I have had these past eight years being involved with the Kroc Center and the Coeur d’Alene community. I can still vividly recall how our community competed against cities like Seattle, Tacoma, Everett, Denver and Oakland, just to name a few, and how our city won. I recently spoke in Vancouver, B.C., to leaders from 100 municipal-run community centers across British Columbia and I was asked, like I have been asked so many times before, how did Coeur d’Alene beat out all of those other cities? The answer is simple. We have a visionary mayor and City Council members who saw a once in a lifetime opportunity and took it. They were willing to put their political careers on the line because they care more about this community and making it better than their jobs/Salvation Army Major John Chamness of the Kroc Center. More from Coeur d'Alene Press letter to the editor here. (2007 SR photo of John Chamness being interviewing by DFO)

DFO: Major Chamness's statement re: the role played by Mayor Sandi Bloem & the 3 council members targetted for recall reflects the statement made by founding Kroc member Jack Riggs. Riggs has encouraged all Kroc Center fans and users to refuse to sign recall petitions.

Thoughts?

North Idaho College art instructor Michael Horswill, whose work can be seen at The Art Spirit Gallery in downtown Coeur d'Alene, has been named winner of the Excellence in the Arts award of the 16th Annual (Coeur d'Alene) Mayor's Awards in the Arts. “Excellence in the Arts” recognizes artists who have made a significant contribution to the awareness of the arts in Coeur d'Alene. It is evaluated on community participation, previous recognition received, and the quality and originality of art work. Others winners announced by the Coeur d'Alene Arts Commission are: Roberta Larsen, Support of the Arts; David Groth, Education in the Arts; and Mike & Kim Normand, Special Recognition. The Normands are being honored for their work on the Shared Harvest Community Garden at 10th & Foster. Mayor Sandi Bloem will present the awards at 6 p.m. Monday, Oct. 10, at the Coeur d'Alene Resort. (A mixed-art sample of Horswill's work from Art Spirit)

Question: Have you ever participated in a monthly ArtWalk in downtown Coeur d'Alene?