State and local election forum recap

By Zach Hagadone
and Soncirey Mitchell
Reader Staff

About 60 people gathered Oct. 15 at the Sandpoint High School auditorium to hear contenders for the District 1 Bonner County commissioner position and Legislative District 1 Senate, and House 1A and 1B seats.

Participating in the forum were Dist. 1 BOCC candidates Brian Domke, Republican, and Steve Johnson, Democrat. 

Dist. 3 BOCC Republican candidate Ron Korn and Independent candidate Glenn Lefebvre did not attend, though Korn submitted a written opening statement read by supporter Steven McKnight. Korn will appear on the Tuesday, Nov. 5 ballot as an incumbent, while he serves out former-Commissioner Luke Omodt’s term following his resignation in September.

Candidates for Dist. 1 Senate Jim Woodward, Republican, and Dan Rose, Independent, also participated, along with Dist. 1A House contenders Karen Matthee, Democrat, and Republican incumbent Mark Sauter. Dist. 1B Democratic candidate Kathryn Larson also took part in the forum, though Republican Cornel Rasor was absent. Rasor will also appear on the ballot as an incumbent for the House 1B seat, finishing the term left open by former-Rep. Sage Dixon, R-Ponderay, who stepped down in September.

Though he is running unopposed, Bonner County Assessor Dennis Engelhardt delivered an opening statement — promising to make the local assessor’s office the best run in the state, providing an update on the work of his staff to bring more properties on the tax rolls and with lower assessments. Uncontested incumbents Sheriff Daryl Wheeler and Prosecutor Louis Marshall did not attend. 

Office seekers spoke for nearly two hours at the forum, hosted by 88.5 FM KRFY Panhandle Community Radio, sandpointonline.com and the Sandpoint Reader, with Reader Publisher Ben Olson serving as moderator and presenting questions submitted by the audience.

Find candidate questionnaires for contested state and local races starting on Page 13 and listen to a recording of the entire forum at krfy.org.

Candidates on stage at the candidates’ forum Oct. 15 at Sandpoint High School. Photo by Soncirey Mitchell.

Opening statements

Domke kicked off the event by saying he’s “been really taken aback by the impact of growth” in the year’s he’s lived in the area with his family, and expressed the opinion that the county budget can’t bear the increased strain on its infrastructure. In his opening statement, Domke promised to use his background and professional experience to “make better choices that are thorough, well thought out, objective decisions” while treating citizens and fellow elected officials with respect.

He later emphasized his experience on the Natural Resource Committee and Priest River Planning and Zoning Subcommittee, as well as his time as a landscape architect, where he worked with federal, state and local agencies to construct K-12 and university campuses, managing budgets that exceeded $100 million.

Johnson stressed his deep roots in the area from his childhood in Sagle to his later work for the local school district managing employees and large budgets. He pledged to bring back “common sense” to government while planning for growth and affordable housing and representing “the best interests of all Bonner County residents.” He added that he finds it “very troublesome” that “some candidates on the stage have been asked to sign a loyalty oath” pledging their adherence to the ultra-conservative platform planks of the Idaho GOP.

According to his written statement, Korn is alarmed that the county government has been “consistently taking from the residents” — citing that when he came to the county, there were no permits required to make changes to private property, but now there are more than two pages of necessary “itemized permissions.” He seeks to return to that policy, as well as bring back decorum to the commissioner office.

“We need to build bridges, not walls,” he stated, concluding by pointing out that, in his first meeting as interim commissioner, he voted to bring back public comment on each agenda item at BOCC meetings.

Rose identified his chief cultural values as, “faith in God and our savior Jesus Christ.” In addition, he cited “independence from government tax and regulation, good education — both public and private — moral health care, respect for neighbors, reliance on individual spirit and Trump populism.” He went on to list years of experience with the Bonner County Republican Central Committee, work with the Save Selle Valley group, service on the Pend Oreille Hospital District Board, his roles as VFW vice commander and an entrepreneur, all of which would enable him to “carry the torch of liberty to Boise.”

Woodward began by referencing his previous two terms representing Dist. 1 in the Senate, until his primary loss to outgoing Sen. Scott Herndon, R-Sagle, in 2022. Woodward’s keyword was “represent,” saying, “the job is really, truly about listening to everyone in the community and representing the community.” He described himself as a “traditional conservative Republican” who believes in the “light touch of government” and promoting “traditional Idaho values.”

Matthee pointed to her track record in journalism and the nonprofit sector, where she worked internationally with landmine survivors and as a marketing director for a humane society. “Service has always been important to me,” she said, going on to highlight priorities such as securing access to affordable housing, health care and long-term sustainability for school funding. She promised to study issues in depth and underscored that she’s not afraid to consult with others before voting. Finally, “I am not beholden to a rigid party platform,” she said. “I will work for all of you.”

Sauter said that during his two years in the Statehouse, “I’ve done my best to represent our whole community,” focusing on education and health care, infrastructure and public safety. “We need to have a good place for jobs, and last but not least we need to have a good business community that’s supported with our own people” — specifically, ensuring workforce training opportunities that keep young people in the community.

Larson opened by saying that “party bosses have taken over” the Legislature — in particular the IFF, which has “bullied our legislators into signing loyalty oaths and then tells them how to vote when they get down to Boise.” She described North Idahoans as “fiercely independent” in her call to break party power in order to focus on infrastructure, schools, health care and a sustainable, robust economy. “It’s not serving us to give our power away to the party, so I’m running to bring pragmatic leadership,” she said.

‘Exodus’ of doctors

Asked how he’d propose to fix the “exodus” of doctors from the state — which began with the enactment of Idaho’s strict abortion laws following the overturning of Roe v. Wade by the U.S. Supreme Court in 2022 — Sauter said, “The first thing we need to do is pass a women’s health exception for our abortion law. … I know we can do it; I’ve carried five other bills this year and got them all passed.”

Matthee said she agreed with creating an exception to the abortion law that protects the health of the mother — rather than only in cases of imminent death — but, “we need to go further. Politicians do not belong in our doctors’ offices.”

“We have to stop passing bills that criminalize doctors,” she added, describing the result as a “health care crisis.”

Larson said that rather than reduce the number of abortions performed in the state, the legislation has only chased away doctors.

“We need to take back this law and we need to trust doctors and women and their spiritual advisers to do the right thing,” she said. “It’s a law that’s not creating the intended outcomes but it is creating a lot of problems for us.”

In a rebuttal, Sauter cautioned pragmatism and a focused approach, noting that a majority of legislators who voted for the so-called “trigger laws” are still in power. In response, Matthee said, “We don’t know unless we try. And I’m telling you that it’s so unnerving for me that the freedoms that my mother and her generation fought so hard for are gone. In one fell swoop our GOP lawmakers have turned back the clock. We have to try; we just have to try.”

Woodward echoed Sauter’s point about the practicality of changing the legislation, though said, “It needs to be done,” and could be achieved incrementally with support from stakeholders like the Idaho Medical Association, Idaho Hospital Association and the people of Idaho.

Otherwise, he added later, “We’re going to put ourselves in a place in the state of Idaho where we don’t have a medical community to take care of us.”

Rose pushed back, saying that the comments he’d heard from other candidates “were mediocre to poor.”

“I represent the Independent Party and I have a conservative-libertarian and liberty bent. In this I will say that the current law … states specifically that there are conditions for abortion that are acceptable for the health of the mother, incest or rape,” he said, later adding, “The state has spoken, with the Republicans that run this state at the legislative level.”

He went on to propose penalties for performing abortions in violation of the law, including $25,000 and $50,000 fines for first and second misdemeanor offenses, respectively, followed by criminal charges. 

“It’s a death agenda, not health,” he said, later adding, “The bill is fine, the penalties need to be corrected.”

Finally, Sauter said that, while policymakers can talk about morals, politics and direction, “the market is showing us what they think; [doctors] are beating feet out of here. … Our medical community is leaving and we’re not having very much success bringing them back.”

LD1: Support for IFF and platform consistency

Partisan divisions — both inside and outside the Idaho GOP — have been a feature of the 2024 election season, as candidates have sought to define themselves ideologically.  

As Democrats, it was unsurprising that both Larson and Matthee were clear on their opposition to the Idaho Freedom Foundation and its influence on the Legislature. Larson went on to say that she considers herself “very much an independent” and Matthee said that her support for the Democratic platform boils down to its emphasis on human rights.

“I don’t have to sign a loyalty oath and I wouldn’t anyway if they wanted me to,” Matthee said, adding that the IFF’s “bullying” of Republican lawmakers is “dangerous” — particularly for public schools, which she said the organization is trying to undermine in order to the clear the way for legislation redirecting funding to vouchers for private religious schools.

Sauter told forum attendees that he’s not only “not beholden” to the IFF or the party, “I’m censured. Many of you know last year I was censured by our local Bonner County Republican Committee and that one even went to the state GOP. I’ve pushed back [on the party] to say the least.”

What’s more, he said he disregards IFF’s legislative ranking system and “I’ve cared less about talking to the IFF-ers in the hallway [of the Statehouse].”

“I am conservative in how I look at everything, but I vote for our community and I do what I believe we need to, to be a sustainable community,” Sauter said.

Rose cited his long service with the BCRCC and reminded audience members that Woodward, too, ran afoul of the committee in 2021, when members “voted almost unanimously — if not unanimously — to remove Woodward from the Republican Party because he didn’t follow the platform or meet IFF’s rankings.”

What’s more, Rose expressed his support for IFF, which he said stands for limited government and low taxes, and “that should be welcome to you that you’re seeing a ranking system that measures that stuff.” Both IFF and the Idaho Freedom Caucus —- which includes the most conservative lawmakers in the Capitol — “keep liberty-conservative agendas on the table,” Rose said.

Woodward said plainly, “I don’t have a relationship with the IFF. That went astray in the very first year that I served there in Boise.”

“I’m a lifelong Republican,” he added, going on to point out that despite Rose’s former affiliation with the Republican Party, he’s now running as an Independent cannot be endorsed by the party (though Rose said that he has the support of many members of the BCRCC).

“Whether the current local group thinks that or not, I’m an Idaho Republican,” Woodward said.

Stance on Proposition 1

Candidates’ responses were especially nuanced on the topic of Prop. 1 — the Idahoans for Open Primaries initiative, which would create a single primary election accessible to all voters regardless of political affiliation, and a ranked-choice method for selecting winners in the general. 

Sauter said that it’s not the business of elected officials to tell voters where to stand on a citizens’ initiative. 

“It sounds like we like the open primary part … but there’s questions about ranked-choice voting,” he added.

Matthee reiterated many of proponents’ points about the initiative, including that it would expand participation for the 250,000 independent voters in the state. 

Woodward said that he “grew up in an Idaho that had open primaries,” and since that changed in 2011 — when the Idaho GOP closed its primary — “we’ve veered off course.” As for ranked-choice voting, he said, “it would still work and probably do just what it’s intended to do” — that is, reward candidates who have broad support and run “under the bell curve, not out on the fringes.”

“How can we cut out 27-28% of the voters and say that we’re getting an election that really represents the people of idaho?” Woodward added.

Rose was strident in his opposition to Prop. 1, saying his “liberty and conservative principles tell me that this is not something to vote for,” as it would “turn Idaho ‘blue.’”

Specifically, he referred to Reclaim Idaho — which is among the groups in the coalition supporting Prop. 1 — as a “left-of-center organization” and said that the “civilian petition” isn’t fully understood.

“There’s no auditability and the county cost is going to be something that we don’t know about,” he added, later saying, “Integrity is at issue when you consider the vote that’s going to be counted in Boise.”

Larson said she supported the initiative and that ranked-choice voting would give Idahoans the opportunity to support who they think would do the best job, rather than cast ballots “based on the calculus of who is most likely to win.”

Domke stated that his opposition to Prop. 1 stems from the fact that, if elected, it would be his duty as a commissioner to certify the integrity of local elections, and he would “have no level of confidence that I could confirm, quantify and clearly audit the outcome of that type of system.” He further indicated that, though he had no official statistics, he believed that the county would incur unforeseen costs and hardships under the new system.

Johnson has no reservations regarding the validity of ranked-choice elections.

“We, as a group, are every bit as smart as those fine folks in Maine and in Alaska,” he said, referencing states that have already implemented ranked-choice voting. “It’s not like rocket science.”

Johnson called himself a “strong supporter of Prop. 1,” as he believes it would make room for positive and communicative candidates to rise above the current divisive political climate.

“We don’t need culture wars, attacks and putting people down, and I think that Prop. 1 will be a big addition to a positive and productive election cycle,” he added.

BOCC: Acceptance of federal funds, avoidance of lawsuits and improved civility

In a political landscape that favors small government, the BOCC candidates were asked whether they would accept federal funds like the kind used by the previous board to replace seven local bridges. Domke vowed to consider the use of federal financing; however, his overall goal would be to “thoughtfully” reduce the county’s use of outside funding.

“The reality is that any time you accept outside funding there are conditions attached. We need to understand what those conditions are,” he said, adding that some requirements could add cost and complexity to a project or reduce local political autonomy.

In contrast, Johnson stated he would be “very, very reluctant not to entertain” federal funds to bankroll better county infrastructure and that federal conditions are usually “better safety requirements” or the like.

“I think we send plenty of money to the state — to Boise — and we send plenty of money to Washington, D.C. and we deserve to get as much of that money back as we can,” he added.

The issue of the county budget is complicated by the record-breaking number of lawsuits incurred in recent years. Domke believes these lawsuits are caused by “three types of reasons… commissioners violating constitutionally protected rights of citizens, county commissioners as a board choosing not to go through a thorough process of deliberation before reaching a decision, and then not applying the law equally or correctly.”

His proposed antidote included listening to citizens’ opinions, thoroughly discussing issues before making decisions and abiding by the law.

Johnson additionally pointed to the 2019 lawsuit that the county filed against Sandpoint and the Festival at Sandpoint regarding gun restrictions at the summer music series as an indication that extremism in local politics has led to unnecessary legal battles.

“They’re extremists out on the edge, and they’ve somehow wound up in power and I think if we shoot for consensus then that will be the biggest single thing we can do to avoid costly lawsuits,” he said.

Both candidates furth reached a “consensus,” in Domke’s words, regarding the necessity of civility among county elected officials, staff and citizens.

“I believe we have two ears and one mouth, and that’s a pretty good indication of how we should be getting along with other people. We should be listening twice as much as talking,” said Johnson, adding that so long as people stick to the facts, no one will have any reason to be offended.

Domke agreed that “we should all be quick to listen and slow to speak,” emphasizing the importance of asking questions and keeping an open mind.

“To me, if you’re electing a public servant, you want them to be willing to be challenged in any idea that they bring forward and they should be able to defend that idea and not do so in a way that they’re taking it personally,” he added.

Listen to the full broadcast of the Oct. 15 forum at krfy.org.