Wise Choices Will Serve People Well

North Idaho Republicans, primary candidates and voters should give themselves a big hand. Republicans in Kootenai and Bonner counties provided the region with the hardest fought primary campaign in recent memory. And, on Tuesday, voters chose wisely among the candidates and issues.

In Bonner County, voters rid North Idaho of a black eye by rejecting two scorched-earth conservatives in favor of political newcomers who value human rights and economic development. In Kootenai County, they shrewdly backed a half-cent sales tax increase, which will tap visitors to help pay for needed jail expansion. In heavily taxed Post Falls, voters saw the need and gave overwhelming approval to a $2 million bond to build two more fire stations.

No races were more crucial for the image of the Inland Northwest than the two GOP primaries for Bonner County commissioner. The far right lost its last foothold in the Bonner County Courthouse when voters overwhelmingly rejected Republican Commissioner Bud Mueller and his ally, Tom Clark. Tom Suttmeier outpolled Mueller by more than 2-to-1 and Clark finished a distant third to Jerry Clemons in a three-way race. Significantly, Suttmeier and Clemons won while making human rights a key element of their campaigns. Clemons was one of the hundreds who publicly sided with Sandpoint Mayor Paul Graves and human rights activist Gretchen Hellar when they were attacked by name in a racist flier.

That loud voice in support of basic human rights has been sadly missing at the Bonner County Courthouse. Instead, Mueller helped give Bonner County government an extremist image nationwide by catering to the far right. Immediately after being sworn into office four years ago, he led the move to fire the entire building department. In spring 1998, the Southern Poverty Law Center described anti-government rule in Bonner County this way: “Unchecked development, rising costs and general confusion as county departments are abolished, buildings and roads go uninspected, county insurance rates double and lawsuits pile up in the courthouse.”

This region doesn’t want to carry that image into the new millennium. It’s one thing to fight an unfair stereotype caused by the presence of a few racists. It’s quite another to embrace that image by electing extremists to office. In Bonner County, far-right ideologues have won office since 1992 by playing on partisan politics, anti-government sentiment and, above all, voter apathy.

Now, Bonner County residents have seized back control of local government by setting aside political differences. As a result, voters can expect good races this fall featuring quality candidates from both major parties.