Batt Steps Up To Plate For Sandpoint Many Of City’s Good Features Lost In Media Glare, Governor Says

When former Los Angeles detective Mark Fuhrman moved to Sandpoint last summer, the national media followed.

Before reporters and television cameras left, they attached a scarlet letter to this town - a capital “R” for racists.

Since then, a coalition of residents have fought the undeserved label and Tuesday enlisted the help of Idaho Gov. Phil Batt.

He gave a pep talk to about 130 people, saying the best way to restore Sandpoint’s image is to focus on the “real facts” of this popular tourist town.

“Put in the simplest terms … this is not about the issues the media chooses to make, it is about a community that offers a variety of people and lifestyles,” Batt said.

Batt touted the area’s clean air and water, its quality schools, burgeoning arts community and outdoor recreation such as skiing and fishing in Idaho’s largest lake.

He also noted Idaho has one of the lowest crime rates in the country, a low percentage of people on welfare and a high literacy rate.

“We are among the least deserving of any states to receive negative national reviews,” Batt said. “Why then is there so much interest in your image? It is because a handful of high-profile people - whose views espouse bizarre causes - have chosen to make Bonner County their home.”

The Sandpoint Human Rights Coalition said the media focused on those people when they visited. The town was linked with the Aryan Nations, white separatist Randy Weaver and Ruby Ridge and earmarked as a bastion for bigots.

That negative image hurt the town financially. The coalition said real estate deals fell through and some tourists avoided the area, believing it to be a hotbed of hate.

“We felt we had to do something about that,” said Debbie Ferguson, president of the coalition. “We are asking media to come back and meet a wider variety of people in this community.”

Others doubt Sandpoint has suffered economically because of the negative attention. In an interview with “The Inlander,” a Spokane-based publication, Mayor Ron Chaney said the theory was “hogwash.”

“People tend to look for other reasons for their (own) failure,” the mayor was quoted as saying.

Restaurant owner John Klager tends to agree.

“It’s been a hard economic year, especially in Sandpoint, and some people are looking for a scapegoat,” he said.

“Racism isn’t it. It’s because there is no money. Racism is just the easy one to grasp at right now.”

Batt said a recent survey by the Idaho Tourism Council also shows the economic fallout for Idaho has been minimal.

About 1,900 people in Sacramento, Calif., Seattle, Salt Lake City, Portland, Las Vegas and Minneapolis were asked about their perception of Idaho and why they would not visit.

Of 1,246 who said they wouldn’t come here, not one mentioned Ruby Ridge, the Aryan Nations, militias or Mark Fuhrman as the reason. About 13 percent said negative news coverage would prevent them from visiting Idaho.

“We do not have widespread problems in Idaho,” Batt said. “Yes, there are a few malcontents … just as there are in any other state.”

Fuhrman has actually become an unwilling tourist attraction. Visitors often ask where his house is so they can drive by. Some even snap a few souvenir photos of his place.

One San Diego couple learned Fuhrman had eaten a few times at the Whistle Stop Cafe, so they decided to eat there, too.

The governor encouraged people to be tolerant of the wide range of beliefs here, but emphasized his “strong distaste for bigotry and violent acts.”

“Our best approach is to show what we really are instead of what others say we are,” he said.

, DataTimes