SANDPOINT — Half the politicians on the ballot for Nov. 3’s general election attended Tuesday evening's candidate forum, drawing a crowd of approximately 50 people as they fielded questions from public spectators.  

The forum, hosted by local media companies, was the only political forum hosted for the November election cycle, inviting both Legislative District 1 and Bonner County candidates to share their platform and perspective with the North Idaho community.   

Legislative candidates Steve Johnson, independent, and Karen Matthee, Democrat, were in attendance. Kathryn Larson, independent, was represented by her campaign manager after being too ill to attend the forum. Bonner County commissioner candidate Fred Arn, independent, was the only representative for the county side of the ballot.  

Republican Legislative candidates Scott Herndon, Cornel Rasor, Jane Sauter and Bonner County commissioner candidate Steve Smith were not in attendance. The four had earlier said they could not attend the forum due to a conflict with the Bonner County Republican Central Committee’s monthly meeting.  

No uncontested candidates attended the forum either. 

Not typical for a normal debate-style forum, candidates got to shine a light on their political platform and perspective for their respective positions with no pushback from their opponents. Each candidate answered public questions that covered an array of topics, notably bringing the conversation back to local control, affordability and government accountability.   

Sandpoint Public Works Director Holly Ellis was also allowed time to speak on Sandpoint's local option sales tax.  

State Senate seat: Steve Johnson   

Standing on his main campaign priorities, Johnson circled his answers to the handful of questions asked by the public back to his fundamental concerns of affordability, education and public land usage.   

"I believe that everything from property taxes to groceries to diesel and gas and housing are a real struggle for too many of us, and we can do a lot better," Johnson said. "The state legislature, in my opinion, can turn away from these, what are often called culture wars, that waste a lot of time and money and energy. We can do better."  

A lifelong resident of Bonner County, Johnson said he wants to increase the homeowners' exemption, which allows eligible homeowners in Idaho to exempt up to 50% of the value of their primary residence and one acre of land, maxed at $125,000, from property taxes. Johnson said he supports doubling the exemption to $250,000, with a long-term goal of restoring the exemption to 50% of a home's market value, without a cap.   

Housing programs should be addressed at the state level, said Johnson, instead of discussing "who's flag is going to fly where," referencing House Bill 561, which delegates what flags cities and counties can display. However, local communities should make decisions that affect them directly, like short-term rental regulations and laws on Flock cameras and data centers.  

"I think the state legislature is not nearly as conservative as they like. Because conservative means the government that's closest is the government that's best, and to have the state and/or the feds mandate something from above and pretend that it's good for everybody, in my opinion, is not the right recipe for holding communities together," Johnson said.   

Johnson did not directly touch on education policy proposals but drew on his long-term experience as an educator when noting that the legislature should focus on high-quality education and improving the educational system.   

He only mentioned his opponent briefly, but sharply criticized Herndon's ties to the Idaho Freedom Foundation, using a puppet as a visual aid and alleging that Herndon follows the group's direction instead of public input.   

"[Herndon] is the one that's bragging about working for this lobbyist called the Idaho Freedom Foundation, and he brags that he does 99% of what they tell him to do," Johnson said. "He doesn't brag about what we ask him to do."  

State Representative 1A: Karen Matthee  

Throughout her time on stage, Matthee echoed similar opinions as Johnson, but frequently returned to the opinion that most of Idaho's problems could be solved through electing more non-Republican candidates.   

"We just need to elect more Democrats and independents to the legislature," Matthee said.   

Matthee talked about several bills that were brought forth in previous legislative sessions, such as House Bill 561 and House Bill 752, and said she believes the Idaho Freedom Foundation influenced the direction of those bills.   

"It's very hypocritical because they don't want big government, but it's okay when it's something they want," Matthee said. "I'm really serious, I think breaking that supermajority and getting more balance in the legislature is going to help combat that outside money coming in and influencing our lawmakers."  

Matthee touched on affordability being a main issue that North Idahoans face, an issue that she believes could be mitigated if elected. She proposed the elimination of grocery taxes and followed suit with Johnson's suggestion of doubling Idaho's homeowner's exemption to $250,000. Matthee also proposed funding the Idaho Housing Trust Fund, an unfunded housing mechanism that aims to help affordable housing.   

"I am in favor of funding the Idaho Housing Trust Fund that was established a long time ago and is to come up with a match for federal dollars for affordable housing construction, and it hasn't been funded in maybe decades, I don't know. It's just sitting there empty," Matthee said.   

She also floated a suggestion of property tax relief for seniors below a certain income level but believes that eliminating property taxes would put necessary services, like veteran support, at risk.   

Matthee mirrored similar beliefs that local government should oversee decisions that directly affect local citizens, touching on her support for the Good Neighbor Authority, which helps restore forest land through the collaboration of states and counties with the U.S. Forest Service.   

"We're so far away from Boise, how can they possibly know what's best for our community?" Matthee said.   

Healthcare was another issue Matthee highlighted at the forum, emphasizing local hospitals that have felt the struggles associated with budget and Medicaid cuts to provider reimbursement rates, and her belief in reversing those cuts.    

State Representative 1B: Kathryn Larson  

Suzette Seuell gave a statement on Larson's behalf, first noting Larson's disappointment in being unable to spend the evening with the public. Her campaign manager for the last two years, Seuell, spoke of Larson's character as opposed to her platform, feeling that she wouldn't be able to give it the justice it deserved.   

She spoke of Larson's work ethic when it comes to knocking on doors and focusing directly on the community.   

"She's exactly the person we need right now to go down to the state house and start working on the issues we have here in North Idaho," Seuell said. "She's running as an independent because she believes that neither political party is the answer. She believes she needs to do what North Idahoans need her to do."  

Seuell broke down Larson's thought process when handling issues and said she looks at the broader picture to identify who will benefit if a certain decision or policy is pushed, who pays for it, where the decision will be made (in North Idaho or Boise), and whether the decision will remain the right one ten years from now.   

Bonner County Commissioner District 1: Fred Arn 

Arn spoke on a variety of topics that have captured public interest, intertwining his own experience with land use battles and outlooks on private property rights.  

If elected, he said he would use the county's Comprehensive Plan, a document that guides the county's land use and growth, to make his decisions, shying away from any variances or exceptions while still ensuring property rights. 

"I will protect and defend your constitutional property rights, both the Idaho Constitution and the U.S. Constitution. I'll recognize them, I'll protect them, and I'll defend them," Arn said.  

Public questions sought opinions from Arn on a marina expansion request out Lakeshore Drive and the controversial Panhandle Bike Ranch in Sagle. Both of which, he said, were not appropriate given the location of the proposals and based on the county's designation of the property via its Comprehensive Plan. Arn criticized the people who advised the bike park owners that they could proceed with the park's plans.  

He also said he did not have a lot of faith in the Idaho Department of Lands after it approved an expansion request that would allow the property owners to expand an existing 47-slip marina to 268 boat slips.  

"The Idaho Department of Lands approved all sorts of stuff out of Camp Bay that, in my opinion, they had no business approving until we resolved all the issues that were out there," Arn said. "Yet, they approved a full marina out there, so I don't have a lot of faith in the Idaho Department of Lands, but you know I'm a skeptic." 

On the topic of local control, Arn proposed the idea of adding an administrative fee for tickets administered by county law enforcement to cover enforcement costs. He said the county currently bears the cost of enforcing laws, administering tickets and enforcing necessary penalties associated with the ticket, and when the fine is collected, it goes to the state. 

Arn also touched on transparency within the county, specifically around making public county videos available via YouTube, and discussed allegations involving commissioner candidate Jeff Roberts, expressing discomfort about serving alongside him, despite the allegations not resulting in charges and ultimately being dismissed. 

He also said, if elected, he would establish an anonymous reporting system for employees and hinted at putting all county emergency services under one authoritative umbrella.  

"The new Bonner County standard will be 'we did everything we could to guarantee that we protected the rights, safety, and well-being of all our citizens,' and not 'we didn't actually break the law,'" Arn said.  

Sandpoint local option sales tax 

Ellis spoke on Sandpoint's local option tax, which proposes a 1% sales tax on sales in Sandpoint to fund street and transportation maintenance. 75% of the revenue from the tax would go towards street maintenance funding, and 25% would go towards sidewalk pathways and other means of transportation.  

The tax was identified, according to Ellis, after a study found that the city of Sandpoint would have to put $1 million into its roads each year to maintain their current condition.  

"What our council mayor heard from many residents is that the existing condition of our roads is not acceptable. So, this would be a funding measure to help improve [roads]," Ellis said.  

More information on the local tax option can be found at sandpointidaho.gov/news.  

    Karen Matthee gives her introduction during Tuesday's candidate forum
  

    Fred Arn speaks at Tuesday's forum with empty chairs behind him
  

    Suzette Seuell represents Kathryn Larson at Tuesday evening's candidate forum.