November 2025 election results

Voters elect new Sandpoint City Council members, approve wastewater bond by wide margin

By Zach Hagadone
Reader Staff

Bonner County voters went to the polls Nov. 4 to cast their ballots in a number of local political races, as well as on Sandpoint’s wastewater treatment bond, a local option tax in Ponderay, and tax levies in East Hope and the Northside Fire District.

Turnout was light, with 27% of registered voters participating, casting 4,693 ballots out of 17,506 electors.

The highest-profile results came in Sandpoint, Ponderay and at the Northside Fire District. Four candidates vied for three seats on the Sandpoint City Council, with incumbent Councilor Joel Aispuro coming out as the highest vote-getter with 1,398, amounting to 29.26%.

First-time candidates Joe Tate and Joshua Torrez also won their contests, with 1,216 and 1,091 votes, respectively, amounting to 25.45% and 22.83%. 

Torrez’s campaign bested incumbent Councilor Rick Howarth by a razor-thin margin of 18 votes, with Howarth gathering 1,073, or 22.46%.

Aispuro noted the narrow margins in the race during an interview with the Reader, saying it felt “humbling” to win his third election.

“You don’t want to take that for granted, so it’s very humbling and you don’t want to presume you know exactly what everybody’s feeling or thinking,” he said. “You do your best and you hope for the best, and thankfully, it turned out for the best for me, so I’m thankful for that.”

Aispuro will go into the upcoming term in January as one of the most senior members of the council, next to President Deb Ruehle, and said the Nov. 4 results were “very reassuring and really, it just encourages me to want to do better this next term and try to get better as a person, and as a council member as well.”

He also extended his congratulations to Tate and Torrez, adding, “they campaigned very hard and they did a very good job and kudos to them. They deserved it. They earned it, and I look forward to the next four years.”

Asked for comment on Nov. 5, Torrez told the Reader, “I’m a ski tech on the Sandpoint City Council. I’m super proud of myself and grateful to the voters for trusting me with their voice.”

Tate told the Reader in a post-election text that he is “deeply honored and humbled that the people of Sandpoint have trusted me to represent them on City Council. I’ll work hard to make our community proud and to be an effective, homegrown voice for Sandpoint.”

The Sandpoint City Council seats under consideration Nov. 4 all carried a term of four years, and are “at large,” meaning there are no specific districts or seats representing those districts. Rather, those who won the most votes across all of Sandpoint’s voting precincts won the seats.

Sandpoint’s wastewater treatment bond measure, which asked residents whether the city should have the authority to seek upward of $130 million to undertake a rebuild of the obsolete sewer facility, succeeded beyond even supporters’ expectations.

Just shy of 90% of those who cast ballots supported issuing up to $130 million of revenue bonds, repayable over the course of no more than 40 years, amounting to 1,749 votes in favor to 216 against for a total of 89.01% to 10.99%. The measure needed a simple majority to pass.

City officials have pledged to seek grants or low-interest loans to help finance the project, with debt also repaid from sewer service rates — not property taxes. 

“This authorization would also allow the city to apply for state and federal grants and low-interest loans, reducing overall costs to ratepayers,” City Hall stated ahead of the vote.

Sandpoint Mayor Jeremy Grimm told the Reader in a post-election statement that City Hall is “deeply grateful to Sandpoint residents for engaging in this process and taking the time to understand the importance of this investment.

“This was and remains my No. 1 priority as mayor — ensuring that Sandpoint has reliable, environmentally responsible wastewater infrastructure for decades to come,” he added. “The resounding approval of this bond is a success for the future of Sandpoint, for clean water and for generations to come. This issue has been kicked down the road for far too long, and I’m proud that our community has finally stepped up to address it.”

Despite the overwhelming win at the polls, Grimm noted that, “There’s still much work ahead as we continue to pursue state and federal partnerships to secure grant funding and reduce the local burden of this major infrastructure investment. I want to thank our residents, staff and partners for their trust, engagement and hard work in getting us to this milestone moment.”

It has been estimated that even with the full $130 million bond in place, sewer rates could increase by upward of 106% over the course of five years to pay for the project.

In Ponderay, 77.71% of participating voters turned out in favor of a 1% local option tax on all sales other than hotel and motel stays and any sales exceeding $999.99 over the course of 10 years. That funding is intended to support continued development of public access to Lake Pend Oreille and the Pend d’Oreille Bay Trail, including a railroad underpass; ongoing construction at the Field of Dreams recreational complex; creation of a Field of Dreams Endowment Fund for future maintenance at the facility; and support for streets and stormwater projects, with $500,000 designated on top of the existing streets budget.

Ponderay’s LOT needed 60% to pass, while only 22.29% — or 35 voters — were opposed.

Ponderay Mayor Steve Geiger did not respond to a request for comment by press time.

The Northside Fire District’s special permanent tax levy didn’t fare as well at the ballot box, falling short of the necessary 66.67% to pass with 50.91% in favor (or 784 votes) and 49.09% against (amounting to 756 votes).

The district has struggled to maintain adequate funding, exacerbated by the failure of another levy in the spring election. The permanent levy on the Nov. 4 ballot sought an increase in revenue gathered from property tax of $684,339 for a total of $1,345,410, intended to defray expenses related to staffing, equipment and maintaining the fire district’s operations. 

If it had been approved, the measure would have resulted in an estimated increase of $20.20 per $100,000 of taxable assessed value per year.

Selkirk Fire Chief Jeff Armstrong, who leads the North Side, Sagle and Westside fire districts, did not respond to a request for comment by press time.

Elsewhere in the county, incumbent Clark Fork Mayor Russell Schenck retained his seat with 56.08% of the vote to challenger Tanya Becker’s 43.92%, while voters returned incumbent Dover City Council President Kim Bledsoe to office with 40.22% of the vote, followed by Jerry Heaps, who bested both incumbent Councilor Merlin Glass and challenger Hans Steidl with 31.01% to Glass’ 14.53% and Steidl’s 14.25%.

Robert Dressel will join the Kootenai City Council after winning his race against Danelle Baumgarten-Pickett with 66.67% to 33.33%.

In the Timberlake Fire District, Jason Charter won his race for Sub-District 2 commissioner, while Matt Church prevailed for Sub-District 4 commissioner.

Meanwhile, David A. Van Natter won his bid to serve as Sub-District 1 commissioner in the West Pend Oreille Fire District.

Though voters in both Ponderay and Sandpoint approved their ballot measures, East Hope residents rejected a permanent  override property tax levy, estimated to cost $20.89 per $100,000 of taxable assessed property value per year in order to fund street maintenance and capital improvements.

Though it needed 66.67% to pass, that measure drew 34.84% in favor to 63.16% against.

For full election results — including precinct breakdowns and statewide outcomes — go to voteidaho.gov. All results are unofficial until canvassed.