Bonner County races too close to call

Early returns Tuesday night showed two of Bonner County’s commissioners trailing slightly in their re-election bids. But the Republican primary races were still too close to call, with 12 of 33 precincts reporting at 10:30 p.m.

District 1 Commissioner Marcia Phillips had 41 percent of the vote, former Commissioner Bud Mueller 39 percent and Lance Lane, an appraiser with the assessor’s office, 17 percent.

The winner will face Democrat Todd Crossett in November.

In the District 3 commissioner’s race, challenger Lewis Rich was neck-and-neck with incumbent Karl Dye. Rich, a volunteer firefighter and 26-year Bonner County resident, had 754 votes to Dye’s 736.

The winner will face Independent candidate Wayne Stotts in November.

Phillips said in her campaign she has much left to accomplish in office. In a second term, she said, she would tackle growth problems.

“The overriding issue is growth,” she said. “Underneath that heading come a number of other issues that can bring us to some projects.”

Mueller served as a commissioner from 1997 to 2001. At 10 p.m., with just six of 33 precincts counted, he was leading the three-way contest with 48 percent of the vote.

Mueller said he returned to the commissioner’s race because he doesn’t like what he sees. He may have been best known for his move to abolish the county building department upon taking office. He stands by that decision – and other controversial stances.

He said he sought the office because the county’s $39 million budget spiked by $6 million and because he believes the road maintenance department isn’t getting its fair share.

In the other commission race, Dye, a former marketing director for Sandpoint’s Litehouse Foods, said his first term has taught him that fighting growth is futile and that the role of county government in a new era is to guide and encourage appropriate expansion.

“We get a very, very vocal minority that seems to be anti-government,” he said. “They want things to stop changing. They don’t want the growth.”

Rich, who has lived in Bonner County for 26 years, said he believes that managing growth includes plans to make those who benefit pay their share.

“Every time we get large developments, it costs me more to live here,” said Rich, who believes developers should bear the costs of improvements.

Rich, a volunteer firefighter, also believes that current county commissioners conduct too much of their business out of public sight.