Campaign ‘96
Suing v. pursuing
Another barely declared candidate for office in North Idaho dropped out before there was even an echo from the starting gun. Christa Manis, who was to run as a Republican against incumbent Tom Dorr in the primary, undeclared herself last week. She’s found something more lucrative: law school at the University of Idaho. The week before, Gregg Raugust, sole Democratic candidate for Kootenai County commissioner, dropped out without a sound, much less a speech.
Who’s next?
On deck, however…
Chuck Sheroke, meanwhile, is stepping up to help fill the thin ranks of Democratic candidates. The populist lawyer is going to replace Raugust in the county commissioner’s race.
Eco Logical
U.S. Rep. Helen Chenoweth bestowed the “Eco-Lunatic” Award on the Sierra Club Tuesday after the club’s members voted to call for an end to logging on public lands. “Idahoans who favor a healthy environment and respect Idaho’s resource-based economy should not have anything to do with this group,” Chenoweth said, calling the club a “left-wing fringe group.” Chenoweth’s salvo was in the spirit of earlier Sierra Club namecalling. The club named her Eco-Thug of the Month for her anti-environmental stances.
The minimum blast
Democratic Congress hopeful Dan Williams, meanwhile, blasted Chenoweth for opposing increases in the minimum wage and for voting to cut the earned income tax credit for the working poor. In the Senate race, Democrat Walt Minnick took verbal umbrage with U.S. Sen. Larry Craig’s opposition to raising the minimum wage. Craig voted to raise his own pay $11.06 an hour in 1991 but opposes a 45-cent-an-hour increase for the working folks, Minnick said.
In triple time, no less
Ten days ago, Sen. Craig notified this newspaper three times that his barbershop quartet was going to yodel in the halls of Congress with the Oak Ridge Boys. Now his staff has made triplicate notification that it happened. If there is news of a music video of the event, it no doubt will come in triplicate.
Make like a tree and leaf…
In between singing sets, Sen. Craig had time to criticize Minnick for the timing of Minnick’s departure from the board of a British Columbia timber company. MacMillan-Bloedel Ltd. is under fire by shareholders and the environmental community, campaign manager Mike Reynoldson said. Minnick said he was scheduled to leave the board for quite some time.
Campaign Calendar
On Wednesday, Sens. Craig and Dirk Kempthorne will hold a town hall meeting via television. It will air on Channel 13 in Coeur d’Alene, Channel 5 in Sandpoint and Channel 3 in Osburn. Home satellite television users can tune in by satellite Telstar 402, transponder 21 vertical, downlink frequency 4120 and audio channel 6.2 and 6.8.
Friday is the deadline to register to vote in the Idaho primary, although voters can register at the polls on election day with proof of residence.
May 28 is the primary election in Idaho.
, DataTimes MEMO: Campaign ‘96 is published regularly during the campaign season and is compiled from staff reports. To submit information on a political event or a question you want the candidates to answer, write us c/o The Idaho Spokesman-Review, 608 Northwest Boulevard, Suite 200, Coeur d’Alene, Idaho 83814. Or call Cityline at (208) 765-8811 on a Touch-Tone phone, then press 9893 to leave a message, your name and phone number.