SANDPOINT — Candidates for Bonner County assessor played up their experience and pledged to improve the office’s standing in the public eye on Tuesday.

Dennis Engelhardt and Donna Gow, both of whom are seeking the Republican nomination for the post, took part in the Selkirk Association of Realtors’ candidate forum at Sandpoint Community Hall. A third contender in the primary election, Richard Miller, did not attend the forum.

Engelhardt told the capacity crowd that he would bring to the office 20 years of experience in the development and management of public agency budgets, in addition to leadership skills.

“The office of assessor is too important overall to the county to be a leadership training program,” said Engelhardt.

Engelhardt said he would improve transparency and efficiency in the department, which he contends has a degree of internal strife within it.

“There’s a division in the office that’s been there a long time,” said Engelhardt, who hopes to restore harmony within the department.

Gow, meanwhile, pointed to her 27 years of appraisal experience and 500 hours of appraisal education she accumulated working in the assessor’s office.

“I have an open door/open ear policy,” Gow, the lead commercial appraiser, said of her approach to the job if elected.

When asked about some of the changes they would implement Gow said she would look to improve relations with local real estate professionals and sharpen the focus on new construction, while Engelhardt said he would implement a five-year business plan for the department, reallocate staffing resources to address new construction and urban renewal districts.

Both candidates also expressed a desire to restore the public’s trust in the assessor’s office.

“People still think the assessor is the tax man. There is an air of distrust,” said Engelhardt.

Gow said the assessor’s office would work to improve its collaboration with real estate groups through quid pro quo information sharing.

“That would be one of the policies that I would change,” Gow said, referring to the office’s adversarial relationship with the real estate community.

Neither candidate seemed to express an interest in disturbing agriculture and forestry exemptions, which was met with relief by forum attendees.

“Those are pretty much state programs. They have a pretty good lobby,” said Gow.

Keith Kinnaird can be reached by email at kkinnaird@bonnercountydailybee.com and follow him on Twitter @KeithDailyBee.