School Board Now In Partisan Hands

The conservative Republican takeover of the Coeur d’Alene School Board has taken 13 months to complete. It began with the elections of Tom Hamilton and Terri Seymour to the board in May 2011. And gathered steam when those two successfully sued to prevent appointee Wanda Quinn from continuing to hold office. The appointment of another conservative hardliner to the board by the County Commission swung the balance of power on the board to the new faction. Then, the other dominoes fell. Diane Zipperer quit and was replaced by Ann Seddon. The resignation of Sid Frederickson from the board last night removed the last moderating influence for discussion purposes. The remaining four board members will appoint Frederickson’s successort. They likely will appoint someone who is like-minded. Soon, the majority of the School Board will be peopled by appointees. The same thing might have happened had the Souza-Orzell-Sims faction succeeded in gaining enough signatures to force a recall election against Mayor Sandi Bloem and three council members. The local Reagan Republican faction has introduced partisan politics to nonpartisan offices in Kootenai County, such as the school boards and municipal elections. It is organized and has succeeded in helping partisans win keys spots. The takeover of the school board is an example of what will happen unless the community awakens to the partisan politics that has pushed good public servants like Quinn and former Councilman John Bruning to the sidelines — DFO.

Question: Is it a source of strength of weakness to have an elected board share the same political bent?