Campaign ‘96

Not your run-of-the-mill candidate

Karl Thompson, a juvenile probation officer who is running as a Democrat against Sheriff Pierce Clegg, isn’t content with making his maiden race for elected office. Thompson seems to have dedicated his year to pain and exercise - a half marathon, the area “Spring Dash” and this weekend, he’s doing the footwork for a team in the Coeur d’Alene Triathlon. No report yet on which kind of race is most taxing.

Would that be regular recipe or extra-gullible?

Hayden Lake’s Donna Weaver, head of the Citizens for Term Limits initiative campaign, said Friday that “expecting Congress to term-limit itself is like expecting a bunch of chickens to deliver themselves to Col. Sanders.” That may be true. On the other hand, voters seem to still expect that a president can single-handedly fix the economy, win all wars, end welfare and put a chicken in every pot in four short years.

Now starring in “Losing with Dignity” …

Kootenai County Commissioner Bob Macdonald cleared up questions about why his post-election spending reports - those detailing how he paid for his primary loss to inveterate tax wolf Ron Rankin - were wrong three times. The answer: He wasn’t paying attention. In a letter to County Clerk Dan English this week, Macdonald flogged himself dutifully and came away with his head held high. “I may have been disappointed in losing to someone I do not respect, and embarrassed at having spent nearly three times as much money, but the public deserves a correct report and I offer them my apology.” Touche.

This just in from the Committee on Committees

Meanwhile, commissioners Dick Compton and Dick Panabaker appeared trapped in a political hole this week. In their 1994 election campaigns, both flogged the county for proposing erosion control regulations, rules the development community was overwhelmingly against. When the pair took office, they agreed new rules should be forged with more community involvement. After 18 months and 42 meetings with 43 community leaders, that was accomplished. And last week the development community - the same folks who helped elect them - came out against the new plan. Compton was lucky enough to be out of town. So what did his co-champions of efficiency do? Created a committee to study it some more. Ahhhhh, politics.

And the traditional Thanksgiving turkey is threatened by saving bald eagles

Puppeteers were on hand for a rally for U.S. Rep. Helen Chenoweth in Lewiston last week. One feature was emphasizing Chenoweth’s distaste for using Canadian wolves to re-establish El Lobo populations in Idaho. One of the puppets remarked that with the Canadian to America wolf transfer, “it seems America’s history is being repeated in that 200 years ago, you kidnapped African people, ripping them away from their families for monetary gain.” Does that say anything about North Idaho’s reputation for sensitivity?

Crooning for votes?

Along with all of the other important business of Washington, U.S. Sen. Larry Craig’s office is notifying reporters that Craig is both speaking and singing at the Republican National Convention in San Diego next week. The tunes, of course, come as part of his regular gig with the “Singing Senators.” No doubt a CD, music video and cover story in Rolling Stone are sure to follow. Now about that nuclear waste issue, senator …

Web Site of the week

Want to get a feel for being a congressperson without having to run for office or take PAC money? Play Reinventing America II, a new interactive game sponsored by the Markle Foundation that gives web wanderers a chance to study and vote on everything the federal government spends more than $1 billion on … Sign up and play for free by typing http://pathfinder.com/ @@T15aHwcAfQDMVI*A/ reinventing/

, 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.