Why Organizer Was Removed…

Dear Editor,

Bonner and Boundary County Democrats teamed with the Idaho Democratic Party to hire a young Brigham Young University student who has an active interest in how government works and the election process. He was hired for three months as a party organizer. His first task was to identify people in our area who believe in principles of the Democratic Party. Removing our party organizer was something we definitely did not want to do. He was and would have been an important part of our campaign. He was removed when campaigns were moving to persuade voters to support our candidates and to vote.North Idaho Democrats run ethical campaigns. We respect the electoral process; play fairly and by the rules.  We do not resort to dirty tricks and intimidation. We will speak out if they occur.

There are some aggressive ultra-conservatives in our area. If you attended the first Sandpoint City Council discussion at City Hall on a resolution to welcome refugees you saw this aggressiveness first-hand. To enter you had to pass by men loitering outside the hall with holstered guns (something we do not want on Election Day). Inside, the public discussion against the resolution increased in intensity to the point where it was getting out of hand. Had the council not tabled the vote it could have been really ugly.

I am Chair of the Bonner County Democrats Central Committee. The following really did happen. As our party organizer began identifying potential voters he had several encounters that began with a single person in a local grocery store letting him know “they” knew who he was and that he should watch his back. The confrontation then escalated with him being confronted by a group as he went to his car after work. They were around his car, some leaning on it. Some members of the group had on or wore clothing items indicating they supported Heather Scott. After this incident we were worried about the organizer’s safety and moved him to new housing in a remote location outside Sandpoint. Late at night a vehicle drove down this driveway and photographed the location, the organizer’s car and license plate. Incidents were reported to the Bonner County Sheriff.

He was removed because the confrontations were escalating in severity, and we were not able to ensure the organizer’s safety. Republicans should stop efforts to cloud events by promoting unreasonable conspiracy theories and discrediting the organizer.

Ken Meyers

Sandpoint