Filing Errors Thin Rathdrum Ballot

Rathdrum officials have crossed two challengers off the November ballot, citing election form errors.

The two can still run as write-in candidates, said City Clerk Judy Hollenbeck.

The city’s decision leaves only three people on the ballot, all of them already in office. It also leaves no one running for an empty two-year council seat.

Hollenbeck said mayoral challenger Sharon Bateman, an artist and full-time mother, needed 20 signatures from people living within city limits. Bateman said she collected 28. But Hollenbeck said Bateman was disqualified because only 17 lived within the city.

Bateman said it’s unlikely she’ll run as a write-in. Her arthritis, she said, would make it difficult to go door-to-door in the cold. She said she’ll continue to watch city officials and encourage public input.

Council candidate Mark Worthen also was disqualified, Hollenbeck said, because he didn’t indicate whether he was running for a two-or four-year council seat.

The decision leaves Mayor Tawnda Bromley and councilmen Chuck Holt and Joe Hassell on the ballot.

, DataTimes