Recently appointed County Clerk, Jim Brannon, spent more than three years and cost the taxpayers hundreds of thousands of dollars by suing Kootenai County, the city of Coeur d’Alene, and Mike Kennedy personally, all the way to the Supreme Court of Idaho just because he lost a close election. He attacked the reputations of honorable people at the county and the city. He lost at every single turn in the courts, and the good folks he was targeting were totally vindicated, even while he continued appealing and appealing.

And now we read that just months after he was nominated to an important job of public trust by a small group of ultra-conservative political partisans to fill a vacant position, Jim Brannon single-handedly changed the candidate filing rules without notifying the public or clearing it with the Secretary of State. In doing this he exposed county taxpayers to potential liability for unfair practices by candidates his office blocked from filing for office.

Make a safer and smart change by voting for Don Pischner in the Republican primary on Tuesday, May 20th. As a former legislator and a conservative businessman and accountant, Don has proven himself to be a fair man and a good public servant over the years, and won’t play political games or get the county sued.

MARY SANDERSON

Coeur d’Alene