TGIF Wild Card — 10.9.09

I’m not sure whether you can describe the layoff/firing/whatever of council candidate Jim Brannon as “a bombshell.” But it certainly adds another element of drama to one of the most interesting municipal elections in my quarter century in Coeur d’Alene. I missed the 1981 election in which the Save Our Shoreline ticket of Jim Fromm (for mayor) and Steve McCrea, Jim Michaud and Bob Brown swept into office and held a veto-proof edge for four years. I don’t think urban renewal has the traction to boost an informal ticket of newcomers into office, especially since Joe Kunka doesn’t pose that big of a threat to Mayor Sandi Bloem. But the economy and possibly and anti-incumbent mood could play a factor in an upset or two. It’s hard to say how Brannon’s situation will play into things. Rather than speculate, I’ll play the Wild Card …