All those who helped incumbent Ron Edinger and candidate Dan English tromp two conservative hardliners for Coeur d'Alene City Council seats Tuesday deserve to take bows. And to take breathers. Many civic and community minded individuals have worked over the last two off-year election cycles to move Coeur d'Alene's nonpartisan politics back to center from the radical right.

Now, it's time to address partisan politics. Coeur d'Alene is represented in the Idaho Legislature by one superb office holder -- Rep. Luke Malek -- and two elected officials who are actively working to dismantle the urban renewal engine that has transformed Coeur d'Alene. State Sen. Mary Souza and Rep. Kathy Sims were also instrumental in the failed, divisive recall attempt against then mayor Sandi Bloem and three council members: Mike Kennedy, Woody McEvers and Deanna Goodlander. The two represent the values of conservative hardliners. But it's obvious from the election results last night that they don't represent the values of Coeur d'Alene, esp. Sims, who couldn't bring herself to vote for such a common-sense issue as a mental health center for North Idaho.

I suspect that the conservative hardliners who supported the candidacies of Steve Adams and Toby Schindelbeck for Coeur d'Alene council will return again in the spring, confident that they can use the depressed voter turnout from a closed Republican primary to force Sims and Souza on us again -- and possibly snag the seat now held by Malek. It's time to figure out how to prevent the noisy minority GOTP activists in our fine community from forcing their candidates and ideas on us in partisan races.

We need legislative representatives who can work with our fine mayor and council to continue the progress on our waterfront and community. It's time to start pushing to develop the Education Corridor, for example. We won't get any help in this area from Sims, who fought the purchase of the old mill site for an Education Corridor. It's past time to push back against those who have set the dialogue parameters over the last decade or so by distorting and diminishing the value of urban renewal in our community.

Coeur d'Alene is a beacon of center-right politics in a sea of Far Right activity in North Idaho. We need to extend the string of political victories in nonpartisan races into the GOPrimary and general election next year. It's time for this community to be represented by partisan office holders who reflect our values and not those of interlopers who have, any too many instances, moved her to force their version of utopia and their candidates on us.

DFO

 

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