Character Program Faced With Resistance ‘Evil Stuff,’ City Council Member Says Of Proposal

Supporters of a character-building program approved by two Kootenai County cities will face strong opposition in Hayden tonight, one council member says.

“I don’t need one more battle, but by golly, this is evil stuff,” said Nancy Taylor, a council member. “I don’t believe in accepting the unacceptable.”

A resolution promoting character endorses a religious group that behaves much like a cult, Taylor said. She’s not opposed to character itself, she said, but its messenger.

This summer, Rathdrum and Worley city councils passed character resolutions after Dan Pinkerton, an area businessman and founder of the Idaho Character Foundation, visited each city and asked for their participation.

Participation means supporting a national group called the International Association of Character Cities. On Thursday, every house in Worley will receive a 75-page hardback book published by the IACC, and paid for by Pinkerton’s foundation.

The book instructs families how to develop 49 character traits such as resourcefulness, self-control and orderliness.

IACC is a group closely aligned with Bill Gothard, an evangelical Christian whose Institute of Basic Life Principles has conducted Bible-based seminars for adults and teenagers since the 1970s.

In the past, Gothard’s “chain of command” teachings have been based on his religious ideals, including that specific people deserve authority over others, such as husbands over wives.

Those ideas “lead me to believe this program in particular is not a good thing for our community,” Taylor said.

Talk of IACC and character began in April, after Pinkerton’s foundation sponsored a trip to Indianapolis for 12 North Idaho leaders to attend a conference. Once there, leaders learned about character and a city’s role in developing it.

Chris Beck, another Hayden council member, has read the resolution passed by Rathdrum and he’s spoken with Pinkerton. Beck doesn’t see anything questionable about it.

“What I read in the resolution is not specific to any religious group,” Beck said. “If it were, I’d be concerned about it.”

Soon, Rathdrum residents will receive a certificate for the book on character. People will be able to redeem the certificates at Super 1 Foods, Stein’s IGA or First Security Bank. The foundation has also donated 500 books to Idaho Drug Free Youth.

Tonight Pinkerton hopes Hayden will agree to follow the lead of Worley and Rathdrum.

The only hurdle seems to be avoiding Gothard’s name.

“I think there’s been a lot of misinformation in terms of Bill Gothard,” Pinkerton said. “People think this is a fundamentalist, right-winged approach to taking over the government. There’s no basis to it.”

Pinkerton said Gothard isn’t associated with AICC.

But Taylor said she noticed his presence at the conference in April. When asked to talk to a leader of the group, she was taken to Gothard’s office.

“He’s really the driving force,” she said, adding she hasn’t had a positive feeling about the group since.

“The minute (Pinkerton) steps on my territory, I’m going to blow the whistle on it,” Taylor said.

Last June, the Spokane Human Rights Commission voted not to endorse a character program sponsored by IACC. Yet some Spokane schools, businesses and Spokane County’s juvenile detention center are using the group’s materials.

The character books, written for people of all faiths, don’t include Christian literature, Pinkerton said.

The resolution states the city will strive to “promote character building in its schools, businesses, homes, churches, city government, media and community programs.”

Taylor, who attended the conference in Indianapolis, was appalled by the overt religious talk that began soon after she arrived. She plans to present fellow council members with the facts about her spring trip and her fears of sponsoring this type of organization.

“Other than my experience, I want people to be open and aware,” Taylor said of IACC. “This is one step that you don’t know what you’re allowing. I don’t know what the ripple effect will be.”

Coeur d’Alene City Councilman Chris Copstead also attended the Indianapolis meeting. After returning, Copstead said he felt held against his will there. He plans to speak against the program at the Hayden meeting tonight.

“It was my idea and I think more input from outside sources will be beneficial,” Copstead said.

Taylor will include a letter written by Athol Mayor Lanny Spurlock, another city leader who attended the conference and who doesn’t support the strong religious ties to the IACC.

Spurlock, who believes Athol is already a city of character, said religion and government should be kept separate - a notion that IACC ignores.

“If you go on the Internet, there’s a lot on Bill Gothard there, good or bad,” Spurlock said.

“It reverts back to religion - I think it would be a mistake if Hayden signed on to it.”

Pinkerton admitted that signing on the city of Hayden won’t be as easy as Worley or Rathdrum. Yet he’s not giving up on the idea. And he’s taking his character resolution to other cities in Kootenai County.

“People who know me best know I don’t give up,” he said. “Let (the program) stand on its own and put it up for a vote.”

This sidebar appeared with the story: IF YOU GO Meeting

Hayden’s City Council meeting begins at 5:30 p.m. in city chambers, 8930 N. Government Way