Campaign ‘98
That inexplicable ‘X-Files’ vote
Superintendent of Public Instruction Anne Fox isn’t backing away from her love of UFOs. Or her belief that people have been kidnapped by aliens. But she isn’t going to push the paranormal as part of the public schools curriculum. And she doesn’t like people accusing her of being a prophet of “she-who-channels-from-the-past,” Shirley MacLaine. To prevent such rumors, we suggest Fox write the following sentence 100 times: “I will never again show my South American UFO photos around the Idaho Department of Education Office.”
Muddying political waters
The disastrous slide on U.S. Highway 95 not only snarled school bus traffic, the flow of freight and the tourists when it cut Boundary County in half, it’s also likely to make it tougher for voters to make it to the polls. That’s prompting a call to the absentee ballots, but state Sen. Shawn Keough, R-Sandpoint, isn’t sure that’s incentive enough. “I don’t know how many people will just stay away because they’re so disgusted with the state and the slide,” Keough noted. Might be a good time to raise the question of a gasoline tax increase to improve said highway?
Muddying the waters, Part II
Engineers are scrambling for ways to explain why they think it’s OK to rebuild the Highway 95 stretch on the slippery, spring-ridden slope. Sounds like part of the solution is erecting a barrier between the jittery slopes and the road bed. If there’s a lack of fill material, we’d like to offer the railroad car loads of faxes politicians have sent us this election season. Seems like the ultimate in recycling.
A la Natural
We’re talking numbers, not granola or people running around in the buff here. Note that Natural Law Party U.S. Senate candidate George Mansfeld says the only effect of third parties is bringing new ideas to the fore. But they may also bring down a near contender. Natural Law Party candidate Marion Ellis pulled down 2.5 percent of the vote in the 1996 race for the 1st Congressional District seat. Some note that margin could have cost Democrat Dan Williams (47.5 percent of the vote) victory over Republican Rep. Helen Chenoweth (49.98 percent). The numbers are there, but the logic may not be. There are far more similarities between the Natural Law Party and the Republicans than there are with the Democrats. The absence of the Natural Law candidate in ‘96 may not have been the answer to a Democratic victory.
Cut rhetoric
Ranklin’ Ron Rankin ripped off the Time magazine cover motif for his last-minute election filing and spent four fancy pages extolling the virtues of returning him to office. There are claims political notebook never expected to see - Rankin bragging about being an incumbent politician; Rankin bragging about his official English ordinance. Perhaps best of all is the tax-cutting claim, the one echoed on his campaign signs. Excuse me, Senor Rankin, but you voted to raise property taxes almost 3 percent this year. How about a “cut the rhetoric” slogan?
Follow the dollars
Those campaign finance reports for Kootenai County politicians are now on a Web site near you. Go to www.co.kootenai.id.us/elections/ and follow the instructions.