Clerk
Election Results
| Candidate | Votes | Pct |
|---|---|---|
| Cliff Hayes (R) | 24,935 | 60.49% |
| Dan English (D) | 16,290 | 39.51% |
* Race percentages are calculated with data from the Secretary of State's Office, which omits write-in votes from its calculations when there are too few to affect the outcome. The Spokane County Auditor's Office may have slightly different percentages than are reflected here because its figures include any write-in votes.
The Candidates
Dan English
- Party:
- Democratic
- Age:
- 73
- City:
- Coeur d'Alene
- Occupation:
- Incumbent councilman, retired nonprofit board member and former Kootenai County clerk.
His words: "I take my time and look at different angles on the issues. I feel like I’ve got a whole lot of experience. … I've still got the desire, and energy and more time to focus. We’ve got a couple of projects that we’re in the middle of, that I certainly would like to keep working on."
His pitch: Coeur d'Alene's booming growth has led to several exciting development projects in town, English said, and he wants to stay on city government to help guide the returns on those investments. The city needs to continue to plan for the influx of retirees due to its national recognition as a top destination. A career working in nonprofits, criminal justice and in public service as the elected Kootenai County clerk have prepared English to continue serving a diverse cross-section of Coeur d'Alene's population.
Education: Graduated from Coeur d'Alene High School. Received a bacehlor's degree in criminal justice from San Jose State University in the mid-1970s. Received a master's degree in the mid-1980s from Gonzaga University.
Political experience: Kootenai County Clerk, 1995-2010; Coeur d’Alene City Council, 1993-95; Coeur d’Alene School Board, 1985-89.
Work experience: Worked for three decades as a licensed counselor. Former executive director of Habitat for Humanity of North Idaho and director of North Idaho College's Area Agency on Aging.
Family: Married to Cory English. Four children, eight grandchildren and one great-grandchild.
Neighborhood: Bluegrass Park
Complete Coverage
$139,000 missing
None
Alleged embezzlement drew from account that wasn’t audited
Kootenai County’s former chief deputy clerk is suspected of embezzling $138,905 over 10 years, ending in October, the month before she retired, Coeur d’Alene police said Wednesday. Sandy Martinson, 62, has not been charged or arrested. Coeur d’Alene police, however, sent a formal request for charges to the Bonner County prosecutor, who is handling the case because Martinson worked for Kootenai County. Bonner County Prosecutor Louis Marshall said he hopes to make a decision by late next week. Potential charges include grand theft and felony misuse of public funds, Marshall said.
Keeping seasonal beliefs aloft
My son, Seth, is a 31-year-old doctor today, in his first year of neurosurgery residency at the University of Florida. But 26 years ago, he was a kindergartner suffering a crisis of faith in Post Falls. (Spoiler alert: Don’t allow small children star-struck by Santa Claus to read further.) In September 1984, we moved from Lewiston to Post Falls, after I accepted a job as a government reporter in the Coeur d’Alene office of The Spokesman-Review. Sometime that fall, Ben Clark, the precocious son of friends Doug and Sherry Clark, had spilled the beans to Seth. Ben had alleged there was no Santa Claus. The revelation hit Junior hard. He moped around much of the holiday season, challenging Mrs. O and I, whenever we mentioned the Jolly Old Elf. We were wondering how to lift Junior’s spirits when Santa and his reindeer appeared to do the heavy lifting for us. Junior was questioning the existence of St. Nick again when I pointed out the window one evening and said: “Well, if Santa Claus doesn’t exist, who’s that up in the sky?” I still cherish the look on Junior’s face as he saw Santa & Co. flying overhead. Thanks to those old Tidyman’s Santa helicopter flyovers, we gained one more Christmas of cherished memories as Junior again believed. Who knows? Maybe he still does. Why me, Lord?
Last Democratic official in Kootenai County loses job
Kootenai County, already among the most conservative regions of the country, is about to lose its sole surviving Democratic elected county official. Longtime Kootenai County Clerk Dan English was defeated 60 percent to 40 percent by Cliff Hayes, the former Post Falls police chief. English had been Kootenai County’s clerk for 15 years.