Bloem has shown she deserves a second term

Sandi Bloem didn’t get off to a good start after being elected Coeur d’Alene mayor almost four years ago.

Steve Judy, the previous mayor, was partly to blame for Bloem’s slow start. Judy concluded four years of controversy with a special meeting on New Year’s Eve in which the council voted to dismiss Steve Badraun from the planning commission allegedly for his actions and a statement made during his unsuccessful mayoral race against Bloem. Then, a month into her term, Bloem was embarrassed when a committee selected to oversee the upgrade of the McEuen Field met privately with representatives of resort owner Duane Hagadone, who wanted to close the Third Street boat launch and convert McEuen Field into a garden and lawns.

News of the meeting fueled rumors that Bloem was tied too closely with downtown interests.

As a downtown business owner, Bloem was the guiding light for the upgrade of city streets, sidewalks and building fronts. But her vision hasn’t been limited to the waterfront. Her administration has fostered major developments along the waterfront and Northwest Boulevard, pride of ownership in old neighborhoods, passage of the library and public safety bonds, and the prospect of a $29 million community center, funded by a private foundation.

Not only is Bloem Coeur d’Alene’s first female mayor, she may go down in history as among its best.

Challenger Joe Kunka is a well-meaning candidate who was motivated to run by a frustration many Coeur d’Alene residents share – the little guy is being forced out of his piece of the local paradise by escalating housing costs and seemingly frozen wages. Kunka can identify the problems, mostly associated with growth in a beautiful resort area, but he has few solutions.

Bloem has continued the work begun by her predecessors to revitalize the city entrance along Northwest Boulevard, to develop Cherry Hill into a major new park, and to use the urban renewal agency to attract upscale development. Significantly, the Bloem administration has overseen a construction boom while remaining focused on the need to ensure that middle- and lower-income families aren’t forced out of town and to involve newcomers in the political process. Bloem remains committed to establishing a crucial education corridor along the Spokane River from North Idaho College northward and revitalizing the Mid-Town section of Coeur d’Alene.

Bloem’s first term of office has been one of major accomplishment. She’s earned a second.