Candidates’ records not squeaky-clean

A few have drunken driving charges. Another was arrested for having cocaine and later became a drug informant. A jury found another guilty for hitting his neighbor with a rake, while the neighbor held a baby.

Yet these people aren’t the typical bad boys – they are local lawmakers seeking re-election.

Most candidates cringe when reporters bring up the topic, but most also agree it’s fair game to let voters know of their history.

But when it comes to marking the ballot, does it really matter to a voter whether a candidate has had a brush with the law?

Boise State University political science professor Jim Weatherby said it does matter, but it usually depends on how long ago the arrest occurred and how the person responded.

“The key thing is how does it affect their ability to serve in office and how does it reflect on their character,” Weatherby said. “How have they handled themselves in the wake of their offense, admitting error and taking responsibility?”

Weatherby said character review is legitimate because it tells more about a person than their stance on issues such as taxes, jobs and education, which can change with the political climate.

“After all, they vote on our behalf and represent us,” Weatherby said.

The Spokesman-Review ran the names of all the candidates in Kootenai County through the Idaho Statewide Trial Court Automated Record System at the county courthouse, which shows citations, civil suits and criminal cases just in Kootenai County. The checks included the six candidates in the two Kootenai County Commission races and all the candidates running for the Idaho Legislature in Districts 3, 4 and 5.

Kootenai County Commission Chairman Dick Panabaker and Rep. Jim Clark, R-Hayden, both have been arrested for drunken driving.

A jury found Rep. Charles Eberle, R-Post Falls, guilty of misdemeanor battery in 2000 for hitting neighbor Marvin Standley with a rake, puncturing his skin below his left knee, all while Standley held his 11-month-old daughter. Eberle, a former Post Falls School Board trustee, adamantly denies the incident ever happened and accuses Standley of fabricating the story. He was put on probation, paid $573.50 in restitution and spent 16 hours in the sheriff’s work program raking an Athol park and helping out at the Post Falls Food Bank.

Kootenai County Republican Central Committee Chairman Bob Nonini, who is vying for a District 5 House seat, was arrested in 1983 on a drug offense. The arrest was dismissed because of an illegal search and no charges were ever filed, but Nonini went on to become a drug informant.

Clark said nobody ever comments on his 1999 drunken driving arrest, which resulted in one year of probation, 20 hours community service and one day in jail, other than when it’s mentioned in election stories in local newspapers. He thinks it’s had no impact on his legislative career.

“The only people who talk about it are reporters,” Clark said. “It’s always going to be a sentence or two in an article. It’s fair to the public. They should know it. It’s part of my record.”

The day before his sentencing in 2000, House Speaker Bruce Newcomb appointed Clark to the powerful Joint Finance Appropriations Committee that doles out state money.

“I know that he had some other problems, but as far as I’m concerned that’s his personal business,” Newcomb said in an interview with The Spokesman-Review at the time. “As long as he’s capable of doing good work in the Legislature, that’s all I’m concerned about.”

Panabaker, who was arrested in 2000 and served 16 hours in the sheriff’s labor program along with one year of probation, said his drunken driving arrest is not a concern to most voters. When he was arrested, the commissioner noted that former lieutenant governor and current U.S. Rep. Butch Otter had the same problem and still won his elections.

“I don’t know if you are going to find anyone, particularly around here, that hasn’t been in some kind of trouble,” Panabaker joked earlier this month.

He often makes light of the offense and even made a crack during a candidate forum this week about how he sat in coffee shops – and taverns – griping about things before he got involved in politics.

Panabaker said he always takes responsibility for his actions and that’s why he pleaded guilty to having a blood-alcohol content of .18, which is more than twice the legal limit of .08 percent.

Eberle isn’t so relaxed about his battery conviction and thinks the media have painted a distorted picture of him. He maintains the rake incident never happened.

“I was guilty of one thing – I was too stupid to want to spend the money to hire a lawyer,” said Eberle, who represented himself during the trial. “It never happened. But I got it on my record and I have to live with that.”

He argues that the media are against him and that repeated inaccurate reporting has made a difference in how people perceive him.

“What’s the motivation of the press?” Eberle asked. “I get bad press about things that are not even true.”

He claims he’s never been in a fist-fight, drunk or used drugs.

“I’m a low-key guy,” he said. “I’m studious and I have a lot to offer and that’s why I’m running for office.”

Kootenai County Deputy Prosecutor Ken Brooks prosecuted the battery case against Eberle. In a 2002 interview, Brooks questioned having Eberle in the Legislature.

“I guess I would be a little skeptical if we would elect anyone to public office that is on probation for battery,” Brooks said. “As a prosecutor I would see that as a sad state of affairs that it’s OK to have him out there writing laws.”

Eberle said the media are to blame for scaring off potential candidates.

“You can see why people don’t run for office when the press puts a big target on your back and tries to knock you down,” Eberle said.

Nonini is also uncomfortable with the press dwelling on his past, especially when no charges were ever filed and the offense happened two decades ago.

“People make mistakes and I believe people deserve a second chance,” Nonini said.

He said voters will focus on his leadership skills instead of his past. He’s quick to point out all of his supporters, from Rep. Hilde Kellogg, R-Post Falls, to Secretary of State Ben Ysursa, who gave $100 to his campaign.

Ysursa didn’t return calls this week to comment on what difference it makes to voters when candidates have had brushes with the law. Nonini was a leading candidate in 2001 to replace Coeur d’Alene state Sen. Jack Riggs, who had been appointed lieutenant governor.

At the time, Nonini said changes in his work had convinced him to withdraw as a candidate. During the same time, however, questions arose about the 1983 arrest for possession of cocaine with intent to deliver.

Nonini disputes earlier news accounts, based on information from the National Crime Information Center, that he was arrested for possession of cocaine with intent to deliver – a more serious charge than simple possession. He’s currently trying to clear up the NCIC records.

In the late 1980s, Nonini acted as a confidential informant, posing as a drug buyer, for a major undercover drug operation involving federal, state and local officials. Nonini said dismissal of the charge was not connected to his decision to become an informant.

Nonini’s challenger, former Rep. Ron Vieselmeyer, said many people have asked him about Nonini’s arrest but that he refuses to make it part of his campaign.

“It’s not me to run a mud-slinging campaign,” Vieselmeyer said.

He said it may make a difference to some voters but probably not everybody.

“Take a look at the national scene a few years ago when President Clinton was caught with an affair,” said Vieselmeyer, who is a Coeur d’Alene marriage counselor and ordained minister. “That situation made a difference to a lot of voters but not others.”

Former Kootenai County Commissioner and Post Falls Mayor Frank Henderson, who is running against Eberle in the Republican primary, said he campaigns door-to-door every day and nobody has ever brought up Eberle’s conviction. He also hasn’t heard anything about Nonini’s arrest.

“People talk about positive things,” Henderson said. “It’s a very personal decision on how people react to that information.”