5 Candidates Vie To Be County Clerk List Will Be Cut To 3 This Weekend; Final Decision Expected Next Month

Democrats this weekend will narrow a list of candidates to replace Kootenai County Clerk Tom Taggart.

Taggart, a Democrat, resigned less than a year through his second term to become the county’s first administrator. The move will take place next month.

A county clerk compiles the county budget and runs elections. The clerk also manages the recording office and oversees the county’s judicial system.

The county’s Democratic Central Committee will name three possible successors from a field of five. The county’s all-Republican commissioners will appoint the clerk sometime next month.

Those seeking to fill Taggart’s shoes include a former state representative, a Coeur d’Alene city councilman, a businesswoman, a former party chairwoman and full-time student and an accountant.

Speaking before residents at Democratic luncheon Friday, all five candidates applauded Taggart’s leadership and budget-slashing skills, choosing to distinguish themselves mostly by their experience and party loyalty.

Former Rep. Barbara Chamberlain, 32, who lost a Senate bid last fall, cited her frequent contribution to Democrats’ campaigns, her “electability” and her legislative experience. She said her work on judiciary and health and welfare committees in the Legislature, combined with bookkeeping experience in the publishing industry, prepared her for the job.

“This is primarily an administrative position, not a policy-making one,” said Chamberlain. “I’ve been a policy-maker. I understand the difference.”

City Councilman Dan English, founder of the Anchor House - a home for juvenile offenders - and a charter board member of Big Brothers and Sisters, said his people skills would give him an edge.

“By my training and my temperament, I’m good at working with people - even if I disagree with them,” he said.

Lewiston-born former Coeur d’Alene resident Jeanne Batson served on a county advisory board and recommended controlling county purchasing. Commissioners did so this year and expect to save $50,000.

She also has owned her own business and now manages Buell Brothers, a family-run land business in Worley.

Judyth Hanna, 44, is a child support enforcement officer and an accountant. She said her passion for public employees, her stability and her number-crunching skills prepped her for the clerk’s position.

The Independence, Mo., native said despite having campaigned for a Republican family friend, she was a Democrat to her core.

“It’s the party of heart and humanity,” she said.

Linda Payne recently resigned as chairman of the party’s central committee to take a one-year organizing job with the Idaho Conservation League. She is attending North Idaho College with hopes of attending law school someday at Gonzaga University.

She would temporarily halt her education if chosen for the position, she said.

“I will work well with the commissioners,” she said. “I had to be non-partisan to get anything done with the Conservation League.”

, DataTimes