Election Day is here and with it, a few readers shared issues they see impacting the area and the hopes they have for future leaders in North Idaho. 

David Espinoza said property taxes on unrealized property gains pose a problem for residents. 

“Growth needs to pay for growth in Kootenai County,” Espinoza said. 

Mike Henggeler of Coeur d’Alene said that how to handle growth remains a key issue.

"The loudest voices, not that they necessarily constitute a majority, would like to stop growth dead in its tracks. This is impractical at best. Idaho is a state renowned for upholding the rights of property owners," Henggeler said. "Imagine trying to restrict people so that they could neither sell nor develop the land they own for a profit — that they had to keep it as-is and forego traditional capitalist opportunities."

He pointed out that often, people are OK with that as long as the restriction is happening to others, “but their enthusiasm dampens quickly when they are the ones put to a disadvantage,” and stated that “the problem with growth here is that so little has been done to mitigate its painfulness.” 

Part of this also manifests in traffic compared to the existing infrastructure for Henggeler. 

“This is a regional failure and now the price is being paid — actually, it has been for several years now and it’s only going to get worse,” Henggeler said.   

When faced with issues related to growth, traffic, housing, schools and crime, Henggeler said rather than reaching for the most logical solutions, underlying issues go unaddressed. 

“I don't think this region can get healthy trying to treat symptoms alone,” Henggeler said. “The root causes must be addressed.” 

With an eye to Coeur d’Alene’s political races, Damon Darakjy expressed a hope that the winners “will be an ambassador for the city of Coeur d’Alene and continue the wonderful work of the development in our community with regard to art and other social engagements that happen downtown.” 

Darakjy wants elected leaders to continue to protect the beauty of the region and ensure “everyone is treated with dignity and respect in our county.” 

Polls are open 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. today. Depending on where you live, ballots will have choices for mayor, city council, school board, fire districts and a fire district levy.