Bonner County Commission

It’s been a tough couple of years for Dale Van Stone and Larry Allen.

But the two Bonner County commissioners aren’t quitters and are running for re-election in races that may sometimes trigger deja vu.

Allen is being challenged by Oldtown Mayor Brian Orr, who unsuccessfully ran against Allen two years ago. Orr only lost by 155 votes, however, and has a formidable war chest this election.

Orr also doesn’t have the controversial history that Allen’s acquired since coming into office. One of Allen’s first acts as commissioner was to vote for abolishing the building department.

Now he says some functions of the department should be reestablished. He also wants to see the Planning and Zoning Department streamlined, a division of government that he once advocated eliminating.

Allen has gained some friends by softening what were once hard-line positions, but he’s lost support among the county’s biggest critics who would like to see more severe downsizing.

Orr has been a local government junkie since he was a little kid who hung out at Oldtown council meetings. A bachelor, Orr says he’s married to his job as mayor. Now he wants to be a 24-hour commissioner.

While Allen gets excited about issues involving public access to federal lands, Orr gets his kicks out of the nuts and bolts of governing.

Van Stone, meanwhile, is finding himself campaigning on a platform that first helped bring him into office - bringing respectability to county government.

He touted that goal four years ago when he successfully challenged Gene Brown for the commissioner’s seat. And he’s resurrected it as he tries to hold off challenger Tom Clark.

Van Stone found himself in the minority in many decisions affecting the county after Allen and Bud Mueller were elected two years ago.

That’s not always the case now that Allen and Mueller have parted ideological ways.

But Van Stone worries that if his opponent gains office, Clark and Mueller will wreak havoc on county government.

“I’ve lived here all my life,” Van Stone says. “I don’t want to see it thrown to the dogs.”

Clark, a local property tax watchdog, has the support of residents who believe in abolishing many regulatory functions of county government.

“We’ve seen taxes triple and haven’t gotten anything for it,” Clark says.

While Clark agreed with abolishing the building department, Van Stone argues that the move was expensive for the taxpayers; from increased insurance premiums, the loss of the revenue the department brought in and a six-figure settlement with former employees.