Kellie Wood refuses to let go of the past. The former Coeur d'Alene resident has launched a viral campaign advocating Kootenai County residents to vote Sheriff Rocky Watson out of office in 2012, on account of allegations brought against him more than 30 years ago.

Kellie Wood refuses to let go of the past.

The former Coeur d'Alene resident has launched a viral campaign advocating Kootenai County residents to vote Sheriff Rocky Watson out of office in 2012, on account of allegations brought against him more than 30 years ago.

Wood, who no longer lives in the area but would not reveal her current location, has been re-circulating a petition from 1977 that called to remove Watson from his position as sheriff.

The petition, which garnered 30 signatures that year, pushed for the sheriff to be recalled because of allegations the county Merit Commission raised against him in '77 for perjury, extortion, extreme and gross mismanagement concerning termination of an employee.

"He has a history that the public is not aware of," said Wood, who is running the campaign under an organization she created called Citizens of Kootenai County. "We think they need to be aware of his past behaviors and his current report card and what he's done."

Kootenai County departments could not track down records of the allegations on Thursday, but the county had two more days to respond to a public information request.

Watson said he isn't worried.

"It's just old-time politics," he said of the campaign.

No legal charges were ever brought against him during the single term he served in the '70s, he said, adding that the Merit Commission's allegations concerned Watson's termination of four deputies for illegal activities.

The petition for his recall never got close to enough signatures, he added.

"It never got any traction," he said.

Still, Wood has posted the petition on her organization's website, votesmart2012.webs.com, and has e-mailed it to other organizations in the community like the Coeur d'Alene Chamber of Commerce.

She has also mailed the petition to County Commissioner Rick Currie, and she said her organization is going to groom candidates to run against Watson.

"He's got all this experience, but we also have other candidates who have experience who don't have this background," she said, adding that the group hasn't approached the potential candidates yet.

Wood, a registered nurse who was inspired by Glenn Beck's 9/12 Project to get new leaders into office, said her group is also concerned about Watson's recent leadership as sheriff, which he was appointed to in 1999 and has been re-elected to every race since.

The group website cites the recent incident when the department was investigated for employees stealing narcotics. The investigation resulted in the termination of three employees and no criminal charges, which she thinks was not stringent enough.

"If you let a narcotic thief go, they will re-offend," she wrote in an e-mail.

Watson said he couldn't speak on the matter because it concerns personnel issues.

In a letter Wood wrote to Currie, she asked the commissioner to look further into the allegations brought up against Watson three decades ago.

The website also calls for the three county commissioners to force Watson's resignation.

Currie said he discussed the letter with Watson but sees no reason to look further into the matter unless the group has new complaints that can be verified.

"If they want to bring allegations forward then we would have to investigate," Currie said. "This letter (about a petition) from how many years ago - that was then, and he's been elected since then."

Currie didn't consider Wood's letter to be evidence of misconduct, he added.

"That was just a statement," he said. "There's got to be a reason (to discipline an official)."

Wood said that other members of the organization - many of whom are related to her - would not speak on the record about their involvement in the group. Many of the members live in Kootenai County, she said, and she hopes to move back to the area before the 2012 election.

Watson said he will allow his success during his many years in office to speak for itself.

"I'm very happy to stand on my record. We've accomplished a lot," he said, giving an example of how the department has 300 volunteers, including those in the new Citizens on Patrol program. "We have really connected and interacted through the community and public safety organizations to provide a better service."