SANDPOINT — Contested Bonner County candidates drew a crowd of approximately 50 people at Tuesday evening’s candidate forum, answering questions directly from the community related to trending concerns in the county.  

Local media companies hosted the forum at Sandpoint High School, their second political forum of the week, following a District 1 legislative candidate forum.  

Topics addressed ranged from property rights and possible voter fraud to overall solutions to infrastructure and personal experience. 

The primary race includes only one seated official, with Jeff Roberts challenging incumbent Asia Williams for the District 2 county commission seat, and Roger Rudd facing Spencer Hutchings, who are seeking the county clerk seat. 

County Commissioner, District 2 — incumbent Asia Williams vs. Jeff Roberts 

Williams and Roberts were asked questions that stemmed from a variety of topics throughout the evening, of which the two remained neutral in their agreements on several topics, differing mostly in their depth of response in confronting key issues. Property rights, a hot topic among Bonner County residents, were at the foundation of multiple questions asked.  

Roberts said that community members should be free to utilize their property how they choose, so long as it doesn’t negatively impact neighboring properties or burden county resources. Williams emphasized the importance of following the local land use planning act, the county’s comprehensive plan, and a sub-area plan when making decisions that impact both developers and community members.  

“I have paid attention to the impacts to every last one of your properties that have come through my review to ensure that one person doesn't benefit greater than another person when they're coming in requesting to do something different than what their property is zoned as. So, property rights are important, but understanding how to balance them and what dictates is the job of a county commissioner, and I have successfully done those things,” Williams said.  

Roberts was first to bring up the recent emergency moratorium on minor land divisions, citing his communication with residents and their frustration of being “extremely upset that they were cut out of that conversation.” Williams cited Idaho Statute 74-204 subsection C, stating the need to address an emergency on the abuse of MLDs and her follow-through of a legal opinion when voting on the emergency moratorium.  

Split views were evident between the opponents when MLDs were brought up once more in a question regarding opinions on land division options that bypass the subdivision process. Roberts affirmed his position that the moratorium should not have been classified as an emergency, stating a need for the public to be informed. He said that MLDs could be revised to help the community keep family members on their land. Williams disputed claims of improper use of the emergency moratorium and emphasized her collaboration with both developers and community members in addressing concerns with county code.  

“MLDs had been in place since 2016, and it had been amended in 2019 and again in 2023. So to say that it was an imminent danger to the community and had to cut the people out in order to address it, I think it's really misleading, and I think it’s frustrating to people when they want to see transparency and want to be involved in that process,” Roberts said.  

Among other questions asked, Williams and Roberts were asked their plan on maintaining composure in meetings — a question that stems from a prior board’s actions, where contentions ran high as many feel prior commissioners acted less than professionally. Roberts said that his campaign was rooted in restoring professionalism. Williams said that the public addressed drama-filled meetings after former commissioners Steve Bradshaw and Luke Omodt were removed from office, and that the issue was behind them. 

“I don't believe that that is an issue any longer. Our meetings have been productive. You saw me bring back public comments, not just at the end of meetings, but on every single agenda item, pulling the community back into the business meeting that belongs to them,” Williams said. 

Both candidates said they were in favor of eliminating property taxes and agreed to help everyone in the community, regardless of their political or religious affiliations.  

County Clerk — Spencer Hutchings vs. Roger Rudd  

Hutchings and Rudd resembled conversations between Williams and Rudd, finding common ground on several issues regarding financial awareness and service for all residents, but shared differing perspectives on the clerk's office’s authority regarding deed theft.  

Hutchings said he believes the clerk’s office should be responsible for helping citizens who experience a stolen deed. He referenced individuals in Blanchard who had spent approximately $50,000 and said that it should be the county’s job to assist in fixing the issues. Rudd said the clerk’s office is responsible for accepting the deed of a house and recording it. He further shared actions someone should take if they’re experiencing deed theft.  

“If there’s title theft that’s taking place with the deed of a house, it is going to take place at a title company, or it’s going to take place at some other lending institution. It’s not going to take place in the county office where that deed is recorded,” Rudd said.  

During the forum, the candidates agreed there was no significant voter fraud in Bonner County, and each described the polling process for the county. The pair was divided on whether the state of Idaho should release its voter rolls to the federal government. Hutchings said that the country has a lot of places that have problems with their voting rolls, and that turning over the state’s rolls could either expose problems with the system or show the country that Idaho is a “shining example.” Rudd said there’s nothing in statute that requires the Secretary of State to turn voter rolls over to the federal government, and that it's the county clerk’s job to protect the sensitive information of the county’s voters. 

“They want to see the roles, to check them, to make sure that they're correct and that we don't have a bunch of fraud in them. Maybe they won't find anything, but if they do find something, wouldn't we like to know? Wouldn't we like to say, hey, Idaho is the best state in the entire country. Their roles are nice and clean. It's perfect. I would like to know,” Hutchings said.  

All candidates urged voters to come out May 19 to cast their vote in the Republican primaries.  

The forum can be listened to in its entirety at krfy.org.  

    Incumbent Asia Williams is giving her opening statement for district 2 commissioner re-election in front of opponent Jeff Roberts.
  

Image Caption

 

    Candidate Spencer Hutchings leaning on the podium during Tuesday's forum
  

 

    Candidate Steve Smith, running uncontested for the May 19 election, giving an opening statement during Tuesday's candidate forum.
  

    Candidate Fred Arn, Independent, giving an opening statement at Tuesday's forum. Arn's name will appear on the November election ballot.