Bonner County residents choose the direction of their city and fire districts at the polls during Tuesday’s election.

The race with the most votes was for three at-large spots on the Sandpoint City Council. Incumbent Joel Aispuro won a third term, pulling in the most votes at 1,398, while newcomer Joe Tate took second place with 1,216 votes. 

"For me, being in those administrations with some of the controversial decisions, it’s very comforting and encouraging to win and to be up there,” Aispuro said. “It encourages me to be better and get better every time.” 

A slim 18-vote margin separated Joshua Torrez and Rick Howarth for the final seat, which ultimately ended up going to Torrez at 1,091 votes. Howarth, who was appointed to the council by Mayor Jeremy Grimm in 2024, ended the night with 1,073. 

"I’d say I was probably disappointed from a human perspective when I saw the results, but when I woke up this morning, funny enough, the sun came up, my dogs were hungry, I went to my morning bible study,” Howarth said. “I’m very thankful that I got to run, ultimately it’s the choice of the people and the people spoke.”

Tate said that while he won't be waiting until he takes the dais to get to work catching up on the issues that matter to residents. He said his goal is to mend the relationship between the city and residents and lead with integrity.

"It was kind of like, 'Alright now this is for sure, it's real' and now I've got to hit the ground running," Tate said. "Just because I was elected yesterday, doesn't mean that I won't start working until January."

Howarth, who will serve the rest of his term, said he will continue focusing on the wastewater treatment plan renovation plan and encourage people to get involved. 

All four candidates said that the tight margins of the race showed why voting in local elections is important. Torrez said that he was proud of himself for sticking in the race and said he’ll be focusing on opening communication lines with the public.  

"In my brain I was sitting there thinking, ‘God, you should have knocked on 10 more doors, bro,’” Torrez said. “I am a ski tech, who was elected to City Council in Sandpoint, Idaho. I feel super proud that I can represent the working class in this community." 

With two at-large seats on the ballot in Dover, incumbent Kim Bledsoe received the most votes at 144 while newcomer Jerry Heaps won the second seat with 111 votes. Both said they ran because of their love of the Dover community and thanked residents for their support. 

“In a way I finally feel like I have my feet under me," Bledsoe said. “I was surprised and happy to see that, you always know when you’re not doing a good job, but you don’t always know when you’re doing a great job, so I was honored.” 

Bledsoe said she’ll continue working on Dover’s comprehensive plan and ensuring Dover’s urban renewal sunsets properly. Heaps said he wants to help raise the city’s revenue stream by taking advantage of tourism. 

“I’ve been here for seven years and there’s a lot of issues that have always been there and haven’t been addressed,” Heaps said. “These issues need to be addressed, ignoring them and kicking the can down the road isn’t going to make them go away.” 

In Clark Fork, the mayoral race between Tanya Becker and incumbent Russell Schenck was decided by 19 votes. Becker received 65 votes or 44%, while Schenck won a third term with 83 votes or 56%. 

"I couldn’t believe the love I got from this community, the support of ‘Hey girl you tried’ or things like ‘Do it again in four years,’” Becker said. “It was quite the experience, I'm glad I did it and I’d do it all over again.” 

Becker said she resigned from the Clark Fork City Council on Wednesday and looks forward to serving the community as a volunteer for the fire station and EMS. Schenck declined to comment. 

Seat 1 on the Kootenai City Council was the lone contested race in the city. Danelle Baumgarten-Pickett received 32 votes or 33%, while Robert Dressel won the seat with 64 votes or 66%. 

In the Timberlake Fire District, Oden Olson won election to the Subdistrict 2 seat with 605 votes or 55.81% and Matt Church won re-election to the Subdistrict 4 seat with 290 votes or 72.68%. 

In Priest River, David A. Van Natter defeated Nigel Cave to win a commissioner seat on the West Pend Oreille Fire District in Subdistrict 1. Van Natter received 445 votes, or 61.72%, while Nigel Cave received 276 votes, or 38.28%.