Illegal ‘Push Poll’ Tied To Term Limits Group Telemarketer Identifies Cda Committee As Client In Campaign Against Silak

A Coeur d’Alene term limits committee has been identified as the source of an illegal campaign to sway voters in the Idaho Supreme Court race.

Roland Almgren of Coeur d’Alene is chairman of the Term Limits Campaign Fund, a committee within Citizens for Term Limits Idaho Campaign, according to documents filed with the secretary of state.

Almgren’s committee, which accepted a $50,000 donation May 12 from a South Carolina man, funded a “push poll,” intending to discredit Idaho Supreme Court Justice Cathy Silak and help her opponent, Daniel Eismann.

During a hearing Tuesday, 4th District Judge Duff McKee ordered TeleSpectrum Worldwide of Philadelphia to stop making phone calls to Idaho voters. TeleSpectrum attorneys, handling the court hearing by telephone, identified the company’s client as the term limits campaign.

It’s unclear whether those responsible will face misdemeanor charges.

McKee ruled that the firm violated a state “push poll” law because it had failed to disclose who was paying for the calls.

Asked Wednesday if he was chairman of the committee that had hired the telemarketing firm, Almgren said, “I’m not sure what you are referring to. I’m just going to say, `No comment.”’

Don Morgan, chairman of Citizens for Term Limits Idaho Campaign and an Eismann supporter, said his attorney advised him not to comment. But Morgan confirmed that Almgren is chairman of the committee that paid for the push poll.

“It’s a parallel committee set up for political work,” said Morgan, who showed up at a Coeur d’Alene rally May 9 to protest an appearance by Silak. “My goal is to get all the facts out as quickly as possible.”

Eismann, also a 4th District judge, has denied any involvement in the push poll and said anyone doing it should stop. The winner of Tuesday’s primary race - a nonpartisan contest - will win the Supreme Court seat.

Under the guise of taking a poll, push pollsters call voters to convey negative information about a candidate without explaining their intentions.

A new Idaho law requires anyone conducting a “persuasive poll by telephone concerning a candidate” to disclose who is paying for the calls. A “persuasive poll” is defined as one that is “designed to provide information that is negative or derogatory about the candidate or his family.”

According to campaign finance disclosure records filed with the state, the Term Limits Campaign Fund accepted a $50,000 contribution from the Democracy Fund, based in Aiken, S.C., just as reports of the telemarketing effort began to surface.

Lyle Alan Coggan, the 62-year-old retiree who serves as trustee for the fund, refused to discuss why he decided to contribute such a large amount. Term limits are not on the Idaho ballot, nor are they an issue in the Supreme Court race. He acknowledged that he had never been to Idaho.

Paul Jacob, head of U.S. Term Limits in Washington, D.C., said he did not know of the Idaho push poll.

“We’re not at all involved,” Jacob said. “I don’t know anything about this particular group or any poll they’ve done. … Term limits has been much more geared to the executive and legislative branch than the judicial branch.”

Almgren, who lives on East Lakeshore Drive, has been in the news over the years regarding the public-use wars waged over Sanders Beach.

Coeur d’Alene attorney Scott Reed said Almgren has a good reason to try to influence the race for Idaho Supreme Court. Almgren has a case pending before the high court seeking to gain approval for his plan to build a dock in Lake Coeur d’Alene, Reed said.

“It’s very clearly an attempt to have an influence on court cases before the Supreme Court in the future,” Reed said.

In essence, the campaign to hurt Silak is “let’s bet on a different judge,” said Reed, a Silak supporter.

Silak initially brought the com plaint alleging that the pollster’s questions were phrased in a way to damage her chances of winning the election.

Almgren also contributed $1,000 - the maximum allowed - to the campaign of Dennis Mansfield, a term limits advocate who is running against Lt. Gov. Butch Otter and six others to replace U.S. Rep. Helen Chenoweth-Hage.

Christy Oetken, Mansfield’s campaign manager, said Mansfield had no knowledge of Almgren’s involvement in the push poll controversy. “We wouldn’t advocate anything illegal,” Oetken said. “Roland has been a fine supporter of ours in the past.”

She also said Mansfield would not have accepted the donation if he knew Almgren was doing something illegal.

Morgan, a Coeur d’Alene stock broker and outspoken Mansfield supporter, said he had a statement prepared Wednesday but did not get clearance from his attorney to release it.

“I have never run from a fight before,” Morgan said, “and I’m not going to now.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.