Coeur d’Alene Councilman Dan Gookin has baled a lot of political hay by bashing urban renewal and its local supporters.

In his re-election announcement, he cited urban renewal as one of the reasons he decided to break his pledge not to seek a third term.

A self-proclaimed watchdog, Gookin said he wants to help supervise ignite.cda revenues when the urban renewal district expires in 2021, about $3 million annually. He told the Coeur d’Alene Press last month that he is seeking re-election “to ensure that revenue goes back to the taxpayer, not pad employee salaries or have City Hall go on a spending spree.”

Gookin is ignoring the obvious. Urban renewal has accomplished its mission. The guided, quality development fostered by ignite.cda and urban renewal has increased the value of the downtown so much that the city will reap millions in new taxes annually. Such an increase should lighten the tax burden for all city residents.

And there’s more.

Riverstone, which is celebrating its 20th anniversary, wouldn’t exist without urban renewal, according to developer John Stone. Ditto for the Kroc Center and other important projects. And, without it, we would be stuck with the old, tired, underused McEuen Field on the waterfront. Gookin voted repeatedly in the 4-3 minority to stop the McEuen makeover and then showed up unabashedly at the park’s groundbreaking ceremony.

Urban renewal has been the economic engine that has transformed Coeur d’Alene for the better. Deep down, I suspect, Gookin knows this.

D.F. OLIVERIA

Coeur d’Alene