Dye plans write-in campaign

Bonner County Commissioner Karl Dye announced Thursday that he’ll run as a Republican write-in candidate for re-election to the position, four months after he lost the GOP primary to fellow Sandpoint resident Lewis Rich.

Rich, a volunteer firefighter, beat Dye with 54 percent of the vote in May, something Dye attributes to his own lack of campaigning.

“We really determined that I was too focused on being a commissioner and was trying too hard to do a good job for the people of the county and didn’t campaign hard enough,” Dye said.

He said he wants to remain in office so he can continue working on issues such as the property tax problem.

He and commissioners Joe Young and Marcia Phillips, who was also defeated in her primary bid for re-election, ordered the county assessor to roll back the 2006 property tax assessments to what they were in 2005, prompting an inquiry from the Idaho State Tax Commission.

The state and county reached a compromise last week that will increase property values from what they were in 2005 but will still make them less than the original 2006 assessments. Dye argued the county’s case before the Tax Commission earlier this month and cited that as a reason he should remain in office.

“The biggest issue facing us today in the county is property taxes,” Dye said. “While other people talk about solutions, I’ve actually taken the bull by the horns and done something about it.”

Dye’s announcement won’t change Rich’s campaign as the official GOP candidate, Rich said.

Rich said that, as an American, he believes everyone has the right to run for public office, but he’s not happy about Dye’s decision.

“I was elected in that primary by the electorate for the office of commissioner – I am the GOP candidate for this office,” he said.

But, he said, “We have not run any kind of mudslinging campaign to this day, and I do not intend to start one. … I’m not throwing any rocks.”

Though write-in candidates rarely see success, Dye is confident that with just 27 percent voter turnout in the primary, a well-fought campaign can bring out the votes needed.

“It’s a long shot, no doubt,” he said. “But I felt that, with the right organization and the commitment that we’ve shown and continue to show, we can be successful.”

Rich said he isn’t worried that Dye will split the Republican vote and cause his other opponent, independent candidate Wayne Stotts, to win.

“I believe that the electorate will elect me when they hear about my plans,” he said.

Dye said his write-in candidacy is in response to the support he’s been receiving from the community. People all over have been urging him to run, he said.

Mindy Cameron, a retired Seattle Times editorial writer living in Sandpoint, issued a news release announcing Dye’s decision.

Cameron said she’s doing volunteer campaign work like writing press releases for both Dye and Todd Crossett, the Democratic candidate for the other seat up for bid, currently held by Phillips.

Dye has until Oct. 24 to file his official declaration of a write-in candidacy.