Coeur d'Alene Mayor
Election Results
| Candidate | Votes | Pct |
|---|---|---|
| Steve Widmyer | 4,719 | 56.13% |
| Mary Souza (R) | 3,556 | 42.30% |
| Joseph Kunka | 132 | 1.57% |
* Race percentages are calculated with data from the Secretary of State's Office, which omits write-in votes from its calculations when there are too few to affect the outcome. The Spokane County Auditor's Office may have slightly different percentages than are reflected here because its figures include any write-in votes.
About the Race
Longtime Mayor Sandi Bloem is stepping down, setting up a three-way race to replace her.
The Candidates
Mary Souza
- Party:
- Republican
- Age:
- 71
- City:
- Coeur d'Alene, Idaho
Education: Graduated from Holy Names Academy in Spokane, 1971. Holds bachelor’s degree in nursing from Pacific Lutheran University in Tacoma, 1976; and master’s degree in health education from Whitworth Univesity in Spokane, 1989.
Political background: Incumbent state senator, elected in 2014; seeking re-election for a second two-year term. Ran unsuccessfully for the Coeur d’Alene City Council and for mayor of Coeur d’Alene. Appointed to the city Planning and Zoning Commission for six years.
Work experience: Worked as a critical care nurse for 10 years, and also taught nursing at Spokane Community College. Worked as general manager of family business, Design Events in Coeur d’Alene, for 15 years, and continues to work there.
Family: Married. Has four for 38 years, four grown children, one grandchild
Joseph Kunka
- City:
- Coeur d'Alene, Idaho
Kunka ran unsuccessfully for mayor in 2005 and 2009, and for City Council in 2007. He’s been a longtime advocate of using targeted tax incentives to bring more “living-wage” jobs.
Complete Coverage
Huckleberries: Domino’s Pizza offer doesn’t make the grade
That flier from Domino’s Pizza seeking teachers to deliver pizzas and serve as customer reps part time received mixed reviews in the Coeur d’Alene High teachers’ lounge last week. Coeur d’Alene Domino’s wants teachers who like to make extra money delivering pizza after school while “driving around listening to their favorite music.”
Coeur d’Alene moderates victorious in election
Coeur d’Alene voters passed over a slate of hard-line conservatives and elected moderate or left-leaning candidates for mayor and City Council on Tuesday. Business owner Steve Widmyer will take over as mayor Jan. 7. He easily beat longtime City Hall critic Mary Souza 56 percent to 43 percent.
Huckleberries: Former CdA resident hardly shy about how Hawaii ranks for retirees
Major John Chamness of the Salvation Army emails a business story from Hawaii about that MoneyRates.com study claiming Idaho is a better place to retire than the islands. John has a good idea of what both states are like year round. In June 2012, he transferred to his new post as a divisional commander of Hawaii and the Pacific Islands after guiding the construction and first years of the Coeur d’Alene Kroc Center. He appreciates both places, which rank high in the poll – Idaho at No. 1, Hawaii at No. 3.
Huckleberries: Tony Stewart, Steve Widmyer linked by near-fatal river mishap
It’s hard to imagine where the long struggle for human rights in North Idaho would have been without Tony Stewart. Yet the longtime Kootenai County Task Force on Human Relations leader almost wasn’t around to battle the Aryan Nations. In spring 1979, Stewart, a North Idaho College instructor, went rafting on the North Fork of the Coeur d’Alene River with a college tennis player and a second student named Steve. The water was high and flowing rapidly.
Huckleberries: Input on arming teachers neither ‘needless’ nor ‘divisive’
First, you should know that Mindy Cameron is a Lake Pend Oreille School District (Bonner County) trustee – and former editorial page editor of the Seattle Times. When she speaks, people listen. But School Board Chairman Steve Youngdahl wouldn’t let her read a statement into the record last week, against the loopy plan to arm some teachers in Sandpoint-area schools. Cameron considers the controversy to be a “needless and divisive distraction.” The Banned-in-Bonner comment surfaced on my Huckleberries blog.
Souza at the Fair
None
Huckleberries: To Times travel writer, nowhere is a state of mine
New York Times travel writer Rachel Levin has officially pinpointed the “middle of nowhere” to be in central Idaho (despite those of you who thought it was in the greater Athol area). According to the Gray Lady reporter, the middle of nowhere is Stanley, Idaho, squeezed between the Salmon River of No Return and the Sawtooth Mountains. In a Wednesday article, Levin writes: “The ‘Entering Stanley, Idaho’ sign seemed more like a friendly warning than a welcome. ‘Population 63,’ it read, as if to say: Congratulations, you’ve made it to the middle of nowhere.
Huckleberries: Sending sky lantern aloft not welcome, on two fronts
Coeur d’Alene Councilman Dan Gookin has a message for whoever launched a sky lantern that landed, deflated, behind a rear car tire in his Fortgrounds ’hood: “Now if you and your guests don’t mind driving around Coeur d’Alene today picking up your mess, it would be appreciated.” Firefighters who battled wildland fires (known in the old days as “wildfires”) in steep terrain near Avista’s dam at Post Falls and the Mica Bay area on Lake Coeur d’Alene recently would appreciate your support, too.