COEUR d'ALENE - Jail expansion, unionization, deputy retention and gun rights.

Three of the four Republican candidates for Kootenai County sheriff fired off reasons Thursday why they are the best officer for the job.

Bob Foster, Keith Hutcheson and Ben Wolfinger each have decades of law enforcement experience and each is vying for the department's top post.

Something should be done with increasing the jail if the demand calls for it, the candidates said, though they differed on what option they would support.

"I'm not opposed to tents," said Foster, a code enforcement officer with the Coeur d'Alene Police Department, who began his law enforcement career in 1967 in California.

Exploring cheaper options, if they meet regulations, should be the first choice, he said, referring to the tents Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio set up in Arizona.

"Sheriff Joe is giving us some good examples," he added.

With taxpayers twice defeating proposals to fund an expansion, Hutcheson agreed other avenues should be explored for overflow. His idea would be to explore the extra bed space at the county's work release building, which has more than 100 empty beds at times.

"It's thinking outside the box," said Hutcheson, a six-year Coeur d'Alene Tribe Police Chief and former Kootenai County deputy. "I don't think we should do it on the back of the taxpayer."

Wolfinger, a major in the sheriff's office, pointed to the need for jail expansion. Currently, 77 percent of inmates are felons, a far larger number than when he started 28 years ago. Additionally, the population is growing and so are the number of visitors here, who sometimes end up on the wrong side of the law.

"We're going to have to have infrastructure to support that," he said. "And that includes jails."

The candidates answered questions from the 75 people who attended the forum, hosted by the Kootenai County Reagan Republicans at Fedora Pub and Grille in Coeur d'Alene.

The candidates agreed on several issues. All three support citizens' rights, the right to bear arms, and partnerships with other communities, agencies and drug prevention programs can help attack crime as a preventative step. They all said the sheriff should help retain deputies by rewarding their service - although the commissioners have the final say on pay - but unionization wasn't necessarily the direction to ensure that.

"If you have a strong leader, you don't need union representation," Hutcheson said.

Wolfinger pointed to the $100,000 it costs the department when a position turns over. It would be a better investment, he said, to put that money into the deputy to keep him or her in North Idaho.

Foster, a former police association member in California, said he favors associations for deputies, but not unionizing, which can require membership.

All agreed cross-deputizing deputies makes for better law enforcement, and good training and discipline are key to maintaining an effective deputy force.

John Green, who is also running for sheriff, did not attend.

Sheriff Rocky Watson is retiring this year.