Kootenai County sheriff re-elected, Bingham will join board of commissioners

Kootenai County Sheriff Ben Wolfinger cruised to re-election Tuesday with 81 percent of the vote, besting challenger Tina Kunishige of Coeur d’Alene.

Wolfinger, a Republican, has spent his law enforcement career with the sheriff’s office and was elected sheriff four years ago. Kunishige, who ran as a Democrat without the support of the county’s Democratic Central Committee, ran on a “constitutional sheriff” platform. She has no law enforcement experience and is a member of several “patriot” organizations, including Oath Keepers, the Constitutional Sheriffs and Peace Officers Association, and Liberty First Brigade.

The three-member Kootenai County Board of Commissioners will have two new members. Bob Bingham, a Republican, won a two-year term on the board representing District 3 by capturing 72 percent of the vote. He defeated Russell McLain, a Republican who ran as an independent.

Bingham, a retiree who lives near Athol, is founder of the North West Property Owners Alliance, a conservative property and privacy rights group. He has spent years poring over county land-use regulations and the budgets of local taxing districts, and posts his analysis online.

Also, Republican Chris Fillios was elected to the District 2 seat, for a four-year term, without opposition in the general election. Bingham and Fillios will join Commissioner Marc Eberlein on the board.

Todd Banducci, with 61 percent of the vote, will keep his seat on the North Idaho College Board of Trustees. His challenger was Greg Gfeller, an administrator at Avista Utilities. The nonpartisan Zone 3 seat represents Post Falls.

Banducci, who works in the investments and insurance industry, was seeking a second four-year term on the NIC board.

In a second contested NIC board race on the ballot, Trustee Brad Murray of Rathdrum won his re-election race with 72 percent of the vote. His opponent, Geri Wile of Post Falls, dropped out of the race for health reasons but missed the deadline to have her name removed from the ballot.