Minority report: Once again into the BCRCC

By Dave Britton
Reader Contributor

Yikes! The Bonner County Republican Central Committee is still dominated by authoritarian meanness. Immediately after convening for its post-election reorganization meeting on May 29, Precinct Committeeman for Clark Fork Jensen Heisel — duly elected in the May 19 Republican primary election — was attacked by Scott Herndon with his usual technique of waving aside the core issue while shrieking about some extremely detailed fine print that purportedly supports his position. 

Some larger context is called for: The dominant majority of the committee still acts in concert with Herndon, making it appear as if he was its leader, just as it has been for the past two years since I was first elected to the Beach Precinct committeeman position. (I ran at the suggestion of Jim Woodward, as part of a statewide effort to improve the Idaho Republican Party.) We moderate Republican P.C.s were able to recruit several more candidates from other precincts to run in this primary, including Heisel, and we did win a few more seats, but not enough to gain a majority. 

This was the first meeting after the election, at which by statute the committee must be reorganized, voting in a new slate of officers and delegates to the statewide Republican Party convention, where the party platform is created for the next two years’ legislative sessions. 

There will be more to say about that later, but let’s get back to Heisel.

Matt Macdonald, the Humbird P.C., was Herndon’s choice for pro-tem chairman at the end of last year’s session, when Herndon resigned the chair to focus on his senatorial campaign, so Macdonald chaired this initial reorganization meeting May 29, which was supposed to begin with election of a new chairperson. Instead, Herndon took control, immediately moving to unseat Heisel by declaring him to be “unqualified” as an elector, and therefore ineligible to be a P.C. 

(To be a P.C., you have to be a “qualified elector,” which means a registered voter, residing in the precinct you are representing for at least six months prior to the election, and continuing to maintain residency in the precinct during your term.) 

Whoa! Macdonald chairs, and Herndon has the floor with his motion.

Herndon proclaims that he has evidence that Heisel was not continuously living in the precinct of Clark Fork, so he is not a “qualified elector” and that the committee is therefore required by Idaho statute to vacate him from that position and not seat him on the committee. 

He passes out a page detailing his arguments. Nothing substantiates his allegation that Heisel resided outside of Clark Fork. He speed-talks us through the complex jargon of Idaho statues,  finishing with the instruction that we must now vote to instruct the chair to declare Heisel “unqualified” and therefore removed from his seat on the committee. Note: He has the majority of the votes. If this vote is taken, Heisel is out.

A noisy debate ensues. Several key points are raised, including that the committee would be committing a felony by interfering with an elected official’s ability to perform their function. Also, the decision about Heisel’s “qualification” as a voting elector is not the power of the committee, but of the county clerk, who permitted him to enter the race, which decision could have been challenged during the following 14 days, but was not, so it is now unchallengeable. Further, Heisel denies ever living anywhere outside of the Clark Fork precinct for at least the six months required before the election.

Someone moves to end debate — “call the question” — and take the vote.

It turns out that a vote to end debate requires a two-thirds majority, and lo and behold, our valiant and slightly expanded band of moderates now has enough votes to block that move, so at least we can debate and discuss the facts and get everything on the record. 

But oops, they don’t want to be on the record defending this indefensible power-grabbing nonsense, so Herndon calls for going into executive session. That means kicking out the public observers and taking no minutes and keeping the contents of the session in confidence. That only requires a majority vote, so it passes.

I can’t write about what happened in the executive session, which took more than an hour. I don’t recall any actual blood being spilled. When it ended, the public was let in to see the committee vote to instruct the chairman to declare Heisel “unqualified,” and removed from the committee. 

I’m hoping Heisel will be able to mount a lawsuit to have this reversed. After the executive session he told me that he never stopped residing in Clark Fork Precinct, he moved back and forth between two places he owns — both within the precinct — due to family and business circumstances. 

What I can write about is that I personally find it disgusting that Herndon would feel so confident about high-handedly throwing out a duly elected representative of an important Bonner County precinct. I like Heisel, and I think he will be a fine P.C. for Clark Fork. He’s no California import, he’s a genuine native son. He doesn’t deserve the disrespect and mean-spirited authoritarian attack he’s had to endure from Herndon. I hope the voters in Clark Fork remember this insult to one of their own when Herndon runs in the general election in November and wants their votes.  

I hope all the moderate Republicans, RINOs, Independents, unaffiliated voters and currently-underage-but-soon-to-be-able-to-vote youth will turn out in massive numbers to help us get out from under this scourge in the next election.

By the way, the BCRCC elected Roger Rudd, the GOP-nominated county clerk, to be its new chairman since Herndon can’t serve in that capacity if he is elected as District 1 senator in November. All eyes will be on Rudd as he takes on two new helms. Will he be a Herndon stalking horse for Christian nationalism, or an independent voice for common sense, good government and rational politics? 

Sadly, Rudd has since issued what I consider to be a grossly distorted statement that rationalizes the BCRCC’s attack on Heisel while violating the executive session requirement of confidentiality, and arrogating power to the committee that correctly belongs to the Judiciary Branch of government, while falsely interpreting Heisel’s words. 

It’s not a good start for government integrity — just Herndon creating more costs for the county if Rudd can’t get the committee to back off.

Dave Britton serves as Beach Precinct Republican committeeman.