BoCo Republican Central Committee accepts resignation of Spirit Valley P.C.

By Zach Hagadone
Reader Staff

The local Republican Party has experienced another resignation, with Spirit Valley Precinct Committeeman Steve Rezac relinquishing his seat on the Bonner County Republican Central Committee amid revelations of multiple past felonies.

Both Dist. 1B Republican Rep. Sage Dixon and Dist. 3 Republican Bonner County Commissioner Luke Omodt resigned effective in September. Dixon had not sought reelection in the May GOP primary and Omodt lost his primary bid to Ron Korn, who is now serving on the BOCC following his nomination by the BCRCC and acceptance by Idaho Gov. Brad Little.

According to an Oct. 2 email sent to BCRCC members by Chair Scott Herndon and obtained by the Reader, Herndon received information about Rezac’s felony convictions in California from an undisclosed source on Sept. 22. 

Stephen Rezac’s mugshot. Courtesy of the California Department of Corrections.

Herndon noted to committee members that past felonies do not disqualify individuals from serving on the BCRCC, with the only requirement being that a precinct committeeman is a qualified elector, a resident of their precinct for an established period of time and affiliated with the party. What’s more, Herndon wrote, “Those who have been convicted of crimes in other states are eligible to vote in Idaho when their sentences have been satisfied.”

According to the email to BCRCC members, Herndon contacted Rezac in an effort at rumor control to ask whether he had past felonies on his record. 

“I called Steve to ask him about the information and whether he had ‘criminal convictions’ in California. He denied to me that he had,” Herndon wrote. “Minutes after my phone call though, he submitted the below resignation email, and he also deleted his social media accounts.”

Pasted into the body of Herndon’s Oct. 2 email to BCRCC members, Rezac’s resignation stated:

“My wife listened in to the conversation we had. To say she is upset about this is an understatement…she knows the truth and is not standing for rumor and conjecture. Neither am I. I’ve never lived in Fresno.

“The bottom line is, this cannot bring harm or distraction to BCRCC. And for that reason I resign as Precinct Committeeman effective immediately.

“Life is too short to put up with that kind of thing. I’m not sure where or how this was created. I’m baffled.”

Herndon confirmed the substance of those communications to the Reader. Rezac did not respond to a request for comment.

Though Rezac tendered his resignation on Sept. 22, it wasn’t until Oct. 2 that Herndon accepted it — not wanting him to give up his seat “based on misinformation.” Herndon then performed his own investigation, receiving confirmation via court records that Rezac had been convicted in a jury trial of four felonies and a misdemeanor in California in October 2011, for which he was sentenced to seven years and eight months with the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.

Rezac made parole in January 2017 and satisfied the terms of his sentence in January 2020. He registered to vote in Idaho in October 2020. He ran for the Spirit Valley precinct committeeman seat in the May 2024 Republican primary against Jonathan Welch, of Oldtown.

Herndon shared a link with BCRCC members to the court case from which the felonies stemmed.

The jury found Rezac guilty of “inflicting corporal injury on a cohabitant; battery resulting in serious bodily injury; assault by means of force likely to produce great bodily injury; false imprisonment; and destroying a wireless communication device.”

Though Rezac appealed the judgment on several grounds, the court denied those appeals, finding “no grounds for reversal under any of these claims” and affirming the judgment “in its entirety.”

The incident that led to the charges occurred in July 2010, when Rezac contacted the Fresno County Sheriff’s Department to report a domestic dispute and request an ambulance. 

According to court documents, Rezac and his then-girlfriend, identified only by initials, had been living together though their relationship had deteriorated to the point of hostility.

Trial records describe an argument over Rezac spending time with another woman, which escalated into an altercation that left the victim’s eyes “purple and swollen shut,” according to records citing a Fresno County sheriff’s deputy report. “She was bleeding, hysterical and appeared to be in pain.” At the same time, “Rezac had no visible injuries except for red marks around one of his elbows,” the records stated.

Inside the house, the deputy “found blood splattered on multiple surfaces throughout the home and smeared next to a hole in the wall at the end of the hallways. A broken cell phone was located in the kitchen.”

Injuries sustained by the victim included clinical signs of a skull fracture, two spinal fractures, a nasal bone fracture, lacerations on her face and ear, and “bruises all over her body.” She wore a neck brace for six weeks after the incident, and had three surgeries to repair a detached retina and other injuries to one of her eyes.

In his defense, Rezac testified that she instigated the altercation, and her injuries were sustained in large part by a series of falls and trips throughout the house during two hours of fighting, after which he called the authorities. In that call, Rezac admitted to hitting her, but it was “each of our fault.” Yet, he said, “She got the end of it.” 

At one point, he claimed to have feared that the unidentified female was going to shoot him with a shotgun, which he unloaded prior to her being able to access it. However, she testified that it was Rezac who held the shotgun, aiming it at her for as many as five minutes before removing the shells, stating, “I’m going to unload it for your sake and for mine,” then punching her several more times. 

The prosecution contended that Rezac’s retelling of the events was inconsistent both with the evidence and the statements given by the victim immediately after the incident. The jury agreed.

Herndon told BCRCC members in the Oct. 2 email that he had cross-referenced and confirmed evidence that “our Steve Rezac is the same as convicted in California,” noting that his full name and date of birth all matched the records.

The process for replacing a BCRCC precinct committeeman begins on the date that the seat is officially vacant, with the chair giving 14 days notice before a meeting at which nominations to fill the seat may be made.

Following that, the committee members will vote on the replacement at the regular meeting. In this case, Herndon told the Reader that nominations will be made at the regular Nov. 19 meeting of the BCRCC, with a vote at the December meeting.