6 pols fail CdA Press ‘courage test’

In an explainer in today’s Coeur d’Alene Press, Managing Editor Mike Patrick slammed six candidates who refused to fill out a list of 12 yes and no questions provided to them by his newspapers. Patrick columnized that his newspaper had gone a step further than usual in this year’s voter guide. The Press compiled the questionnaire, rather than simply run profiles that allowed candidates to dodge hard questions. Patrick writes: “Six of the 21 candidates did not answer the questions. They did soknowing that the penalty for refusing to participate in the difficult portion of the publican mean that they would forfeit free publicity in the easy portion of the publication. The six have not merely failed a political courage test, in our opinion. They have failed you, voters, by declining to clearly identify where they stand on some of the most important and controversial issues confronting our state.” The six? District 2 Republicans: Rep. Vito Barbieri and Sen. Steve Vick; District 3 Republicans: Reps. Ron Mendive and Don Cheatham; District 4 Republican: Rep. Kathy Sims; and District 4 Democratic challenger: Kristi Milan. Full comment by Mike Patrick here.

• Coeur d’Alene Press voters guide