Kennedy sheds residency complaint

Newly elected Mike Kennedy will take his seat on the Coeur d’Alene City Council in January without challenge after a complaint that he didn’t live in the city limits was dropped.

Instead, Lee Shellman, who was a campaign consultant for one of Kennedy’s challengers, said he will ask the Idaho Legislature to clarify the legal definition of a resident.

“I’m not singling out Mike Kennedy,” Shellman said, who spent $666 on newspaper ads questioning Kennedy’s residency.

Shellman said he would have done the same to any other candidate “making a mockery” of the election process.

Kennedy was living in Hayden until July, when he rented a room in a Coeur d’Alene house to comply with the residency law. Council candidates must live in Coeur d’Alene for at least 30 days before declaring their candidacy. Kennedy is building a house in the city, but it won’t be finished until next year. Shellman had until Dec. 4 to officially challenge Kennedy’s victory, in which he captured 49 percent of the vote to beat out challengers Dan Yake and Mary Souza. Yake received 27 percent of the vote, and Souza 24 percent.

“So I’m safe,” Kennedy said Tuesday, adding that he never thought that Shellman, who supported Souza, would file a protest. Prior to the election, Shellman got backing from the Republican Party – and $755 from GOP members – to investigate Kennedy’s residency. City Clerk Susan Weathers threatened to fine Shellman $50 per day for violating election laws by not disclosing who paid for the newspaper ads.

The finance report sent to the city the day before the Nov. 8 election shows that the Kootenai County Republican Central Committee gave $500 while Coeur d’Alene Rep. Marge Chadderdon gave $100 and Athol Rep. Phil Hart gave $15. Sheriff Rocky Watson contributed $20, as did Republican Dick Wandrocke. Republicans Sharon Culbreth and Bob Hollingsworth each gave $50.

Shellman, chairman of the Coeur d’Alene Parks and Recreation Commission, maintains he was acting independently of Souza’s campaign, to which he donated and loaned money. Besides winning the election, Kennedy also shattered the city’s fund-raising record, collecting a total of $27,535 in his bid for an office that pays $8,400 per year. The previous record of $14,502 was set in 1997 by former Mayor Steve Judy.

In the most recent campaign finance reports for the period through Nov. 18, Kennedy spent $26,302, including money for various phone surveys. He used $1,571 of his own cash.

Souza, a Coeur d’Alene Planning Commission member, raised and spent $8,800. The report shows $900 in donations from both Coeur d’Alene Mines and Pat Wetler of Tacoma. Souza gave $1,800, while her family business, Design Events, contributed a $975 in-kind donation.

Yake, a former city employee, raised and spent $3,352, including a $250 donation from Jim Frank of Greenstone Corp.

In the mayor’s race, Mayor Sandi Bloem raised $7,715 and spent $3,511. During the period, her largest contribution was $500 from Black Rock Development.

Challenger Joe Kunka didn’t spend any money on his campaign but raised $125, including $75 of his own cash.

Councilwoman Deanna Goodlander, who won re-election, raised $8,077 and spent all but $893. Challenger Susie Snedaker raised $2,098 and spent all but $330.

Political newcomer Steven Foxx spent $400 of his own money on campaign signs in his failed bid against Councilman Woody McEvers, who raised and spent $1,970.

Kennedy, Goodlander and McEvers will be sworn into office during the Jan. 3 council meeting.