New candidates for BoCo commissioner, Dist. 1A House

By Zach Hagadone
Reader Staff

The slate of Republican candidates for the 2024 election is getting longer with the recent announcement that Clark Fork resident Dimitry Borisov intends to seek the Bonner County commissioner seat for District 3 and Cornel Rasor’s apparent intention to run for the District 1A position in the Idaho House of Representatives.

The deadline for candidates to file for the Tuesday, May 21 primary election is Friday, March 15. 

Borisov’s announcement came Feb. 15, in which his campaign stated that “his view of the current commission is similar to that of many residents who attend the meetings but seasoned with the experience he brings from living in Communist Soviet Union.” 

Borisov spent the first 21 years of his life in Russia before emigrating to the United States 24 years ago. 

Dimitry Borisov. File photo.

Cornel Rasor. File photo.

He is seeking the position currently held by BOCC Chair Luke Omodt, who is also seeking reelection, setting up a faceoff in the May 21 GOP primary.

“Watching elected officials hijack the public process of government is a horrifying event,” stated Borisov. “I am running with the intention of restoring collaboration, civility and respect to this office. Political leaders should understand the purpose of people-driven government. Shutting down public comment and literally expelling old political rivals with the thinnest margin of reason is reminiscent of the darkest times in history. It can’t be tolerated for even a short season. I intend to be a voice for the rights of the people who pay the commissioners’ salary.”

Borisov is currently Bonner County Republican Central Committee precinct committeeman for Clark Fork, served as a volunteer firefighter from 2007 to 2014 and since 2009 has been involved with the Clark Fork Valley Ambulance Service, which he currently serves as chief. He is self-employed by the masonry business he started in 2007.

Borisov is a frequent attendee of and commentator during BOCC business meetings, where he has pressed for conducting an wide-ranging audit of the Bonner County Fairgrounds — an issue that his campaign highlighted in the Feb. 15 announcement — and what his campaign referred to as the “ongoing participation discussion,” related to the contentious issue of when, how and whether to manage public comment during BOCC meetings.

“[T]he business of the commissioners must not be mired down in a theatrical production of what amounts to grandstanding and bully tactics,” Borisov’s campaign stated, adding that he “asserts that his immigration to America and subsequent citizenship show the depth of his conviction to see the American political process flourish as designed.”

“Without the legal process and the will to act in accordance with the Constitution and local laws, we’re no better than a gang of loudmouth bullies wearing suits,” he wrote. “My platform of ‘Honesty, Integrity and Transparency’ is not the mantra of the political new guy; it is the only platform to defend and the only platform to strive for.”

Visit dimitry47b.org for more information.

Though Rasor declined to provide the Reader with an official campaign announcement press release — writing in an email that he would confirm his candidacy after the filing date in early March — he has an active campaign website at cornelforidaho.com in which he pledges to “fight for you in Boise” and “humbly ask[s] for your vote in May of 2024.” He also filed a certificate appointing a political treasurer for his Dist. 1A candidacy in December 2023. Rasor would face Rep. Mark Sauter, R-Sandpoint, who is seeking a second term in the May primary. 

Rasor is no stranger to local Republican politics, having served as a Bonner County commissioner from 2008 to 2012 — including as chair — until his narrow primary defeat by former-Sagle Republican Sen. Joyce Broadsword. 

Rasor has meanwhile been politically active locally for decades, including in District 1, District 7 and the state Republican Party. He served as chair of the Bonner County Republican Central Committee from 2008-2012, then chair of the District 7 Republican Central Committee until redistricting following the 2020 census resulted in the precinct where he resides being included in District 1. The new boundary lines were approved in 2021 and went into effect for the 2022 election. 

Prior to that, Rasor ran an unsuccessful primary campaign for the District 7B House seat in 2020 and has served as state parliamentarian at Idaho GOP conventions and meetings. First elected as a precinct committeeman in 1996, Rasor currently represents Southside at the BCRCC.  

Though born in California, Rasor grew up in Bonner County where he attended local schools and raised a family that includes three children and 16 grandchildren while managing the Sandpoint Army Surplus 1 store for 41 years, which he has owned for the past two years.

According to his campaign website, Rasor’s platform is: “Truly pro-life; Control budget by returning decisions to the private sector; Advocate for citizens’ right to bear arms; The best interests of children’s education is with the parents; State and counties are best suited to manage lands; By reducing regulations we limit government and give citizens a voice; Will keep his oath to protect the constitutions of the United States and Idaho; A strong advocate for adhering to our founding principles.”

For more info, visit cornelforidaho.com.