For Steve Em, the issue facing Kootenai County voters in next week’s Republican primary election for the District 2 commissioner seat is a simple one. 

“It’s white collar versus blue collar,” he said in a sit-down interview with The Press. “I’m blue collar all the way.”

Em will face incumbent Commissioner Bruce Mattare in the primary race. The winner will run unopposed in November. 

Em comes from a public service background, including a career in law enforcement with years spent working with youth in the Los Angeles County Probation Department. He moved to Worley in 2020 and has worked for Spokane Waste Management since 2024. 

“It’s an exhausting job,” he said. “There’s not many 58 or 59-year-olds who like to run and hang off the back of a truck. It keeps me in good shape.” 

Em’s blue-collar lifestyle is a point of pride and central to his campaign, an identity that he says helps him relate to Kootenai County’s workers and understand their needs. He describes himself as the “GOP trashman,” fighting for clean government and strong leadership. 

“Politics and trash are about the same, because you put your hands into it,” he joked. 

If elected, Em said he’ll focus on fiscal responsibility and accountability to the community, keeping a public calendar so Kootenai County residents know what he’s working on.  

“Government work, for me, is where a person actually serves the public,” he said. “I work for you. You don’t work for me.” 

When he’s not in Coeur d’Alene, Em said he’ll maintain a second office in Worley where constituents can speak to him. 

“If you’re a commissioner, you’ve got to know the heartbeat not just of your backyard, but the entire county,” he said. 

Em said he supports preserving open space in the county and will prioritize the health of Lake Coeur d’Alene and the Rathdrum Prairie Aquifer. These matters are all tied to the county’s rapid growth. 

“We’re not going to be able to sustain that,” he said. 

When Bruce Mattare ran successfully for the District 2 commissioner seat in 2022, Em said he voted for him. Four years later, he’s said he’s challenging the commissioner he once supported in part because no one else stepped into the race. 

“We would not be a constitutional republic if there was just one choice,” he said.