Besides national and state elections that CDA voters cannot impact, Coeur d’Alene voters will elect three NIC Trustees, vote on an amendment to the Idaho Constitution, (Prop 1), and a school district levy.
NIC Trustees
Voting for blocks of individuals in non-partisan races seems unwise and inappropriate. The official local Republican party, known as the Kootenai County Republican Central Committee (KCRCC) endorsed three candidates, including incumbent Greg McKenzie. Opposing candidates Durbin, Knudtsen, and Havercroft enjoy the support of a Political Action Committee, North Idaho Republicans. The CDA News endorses Durbin, Knudtsen, and Havercroft given the dire circumstances. Ideally, a more diverse board could be elected but KCRCC-endorsed local candidates have nearly destroyed all of the public institutions they’ve touched in the last four years.
Prop 1 (Ranked choice voting)
CDA News endorses Prop 1 to make every vote count. In addition, we will elect more moderate candidates. In theory, this will lead to greater compromise and put power back in the hands of the people. Prop 1 will give power back to voters rather than a committee conducting a backroom litmus test. In addition, it appears to be a fiscally responsible proposition.
CDA News supports and endorses the school levy.
Predictions
Prop 1 will fail. The levy will narrowly pass. Knudtsen will win by a large margin due to name recognition. Durbin and Havercroft will have tighter margins and win. Barely. While we largely avoid county races, it will be interesting to see how incumbent Kootenai County Sheriff Norris will fare after he removed “inappropriate” books from the public library. Trump will win Idaho by a large margin but lose the electoral college.