DFO: Goodlander’s Not Out, Yet

I don’t know what to make of the campaign finance reports provided by the challengers for Coeur d’Alene City Council races, especially Dan Gookin’s. Conventional wisdom says that a good war chest with many contributors underscores a candidate’s strength — and electability. Incumbent Mike Kennedy had a warchest of $27,000 four years ago as he won a three-way race for a first term, a race that included Mary Souza, who never forgave him for defeating her. Conventional wisdom also says that Gookin and Jim Brannon can’t be taken for granted. And that Councilwoman Deanna Goodlander is the most vulnerable incumbent. Both Gookin and Brannon closed hard two years ago and gained a respectable percentage of the vote. However, the informal alliance of outsiders this time doesn’t have Mary Souza directly and the Coeur d’Alene Press indirectly bolstering their campaigns with print support. Also, try as they might, the challengers just can’t seem to get a broad swath of the public interested in the Lake City Development Corp. Add that together and the fact that Gookin raised only $1911 in cash from outside donations, and you have to come to the conclusion that Councilwoman Deanna Goodlander has a decent shot to keep her council seat — DFO .

Question: If the anti-LCDCers fail to win a seat on the Coeur d’Alene City Council this time, are they done as a minority force in this community?