Write-in race slows counting

Bonner County election results were trickling in Tuesday night as election workers hand-counted thousands of ballots because of write-in votes in the county’s Board of Commissioner races.

As of 10:10 p.m., Republican Lewis Rich had received 47 percent of the vote and was leading write-in candidate and current Commissioner Karl Dye in the race for the District 3 commission seat. Very early results showed Dye receiving 32 percent and independent Wayne Stotts with 21 percent of the vote.

The majority of ballots cast in the county hadn’t been counted.

Democrat Todd Crossett was leading the District 1 commission race with 63 percent of the vote ahead of Republican challenger Bud Mueller, a controversial former commissioner.

Mueller and Rich have espoused similar hard-edged conservative views, calling for less government, taxes and regulation. After Mueller indicated in a news article that he and Rich would form a voting bloc, Republican Commissioner Joe Young – whose seat is not up for re-election – publicly endorsed their opponents.

Prior to Tuesday’s election, Bonner County Clerk Marie Scott characterized Republican Dye’s write-in effort to retain his seat as perhaps “the most active write-in race the state of Idaho has ever seen.” She warned election workers could still be tallying votes today because of the number of write-in votes expected.

Scott’s opponent in the clerk’s race, Republican Kathrynn Feist, had an early lead with 53 percent of the vote.

In the Bonner County assessor’s race, incumbent Judie Conlan was trailing Republican challenger Jerry Clemons, who had 54 percent of the vote.

Property values in Bonner County increased an average 69 percent in the past year, resulting in a record number of appeals. The typically quiet race for assessor drew more interest than usual because of the escalating property values and controversy over how the office arrived at the figures.