COEUR d'ALENE - Balance North Idaho, a new nonpartisan political action committee, released its picks on Thursday for the upcoming Kootenai Hospital District Trustee race.

After interviewing three of the four candidates for the trustees race - Liese Razzeto, Dr. Neil Nemec and Jim Pierce - the PAC said all three were highly qualified, but chose Razzeto and Pierce for the two contested seats on the board.

The fourth candidate, Donna Montgomery, did not respond to an interview request.

"This is great news," Razzeto said, adding the BNI board conducted a very thorough interview.

"Because Balance is so new I didn't know what to expect," she said. "I personally know many of the people who interviewed me and I kind of expected it to be a little different, but they did a lot of research and really knew the issues our hospital is facing."

Razzeto is the only incumbent seeking to retain a seat on the board. She is also area president of Wells Fargo Bank in Coeur d'Alene, and holds the secretary treasurer's position on the hospital board.

She said it was refreshing to see a group truly set aside partisanship and focus on the experience and capabilities of the candidates.

"This was no rubber-stamp process," she said.

In its press release, BNI said the interviewers based their decision on the candidates' knowledge of the trustees role on the board when it comes to governance and policy. They took learning curve and time commitment into consideration, and the candidates' ability to oversee the county's largest employer with the skill sets each of the candidates already posses.

Jim Pierce, a banker for Washington Trust Bank in Coeur d'Alene, said he was impressed with the PAC's endorsement process as well.

Pierce is also an active board member of the Reagan Republicans, which has a political action committee called the Victory Fund. According to the Republican group's president, Jeff Ward, they have also endorsed Pierce and small business owner Montgomery, and they plan to release a full list of endorsements next week.

Pierce said some people may have the wrong impression of the Reagan Republicans and his association with the group.

"I never actually joined the Reagan Republicans as a dues-paying member," he said. "I am on the board as a liaison between the Reagan Republicans and NIPAC."

NIPAC, North Idaho Political Action Committee, has been dubbed by other community groups as the "Reasonable Republicans." Pierce is a board member of that PAC as well.

Despite his affiliations, Pierce said he fully intends to approach this election in a nonpartisan way.

"I have talked about running for the hospital board for about seven years now," he said. "But I never have because I wasn't going to run against anyone on the board. If Mark (Wallace) had decided to run again, I would not have run."

Pierce is an active volunteer in many civic organizations, including Rotary and the Coeur d'Alene Chamber of Commerce.

"I really love community involvement," he said. "The reason I am running for the hospital board is because this is where I can make a difference and this position is a good fit with the skill sets I posses."

Pierce said if elected he has no plans to shake up the way the board does business.

"The hospital board is not the place for a political battle," he added.

While the Reagan Republicans have now taken issue with the hospital's $150 million cash reserves, Pierce doubts the group will be surprised that he thinks the hospital is wise to keep those reserves.

"I am often in the minority when it comes to some Reagan Republican Board decisions," he said, explaining that he believes the hospital should keep its reserves healthy especially if the board intends to go to the bond market to finance an expansion.

"It is exactly the right thing to do," he said.