BIG CREEK – Six local candidates, three state candidates and one federal candidate spoke Tuesday night during the Shoshone County Nonpartisan Candidate Forum at the Shoshone Golf Club. 

The Silver Valley Chamber of Commerce and the Shoshone News-Press co-hosted the event and reached out to local leaders of Shoshone County's political central committees to invite candidates to participate. 

More than 75 people packed the clubhouse to hear from candidates Todd Achilles, John Stegner, Sabine Krier, Valerie Wade, Tami Atkins, Jay Huber, Katie Murray, Rick Smith, Dameon Groves and Karey Eddy. 

Because turnout was lower than expected, candidates were given more time than the customary five-minute limit to address attendees. Each candidate also fielded at least one question following their remarks. 

Independent U.S. Senate candidate Todd Achilles was the lone federal candidate to participate in the forum. During his presentation, Achilles discussed his time as a Democratic member of the Idaho Legislature and how he succeeded working with legislators on the other side of the aisle. 

Achilles, who is running against Sen. Jim Risch, R-Idaho, said he believes Congress is not functioning as intended because of the two-party system, which is why he chose to run as an independent. 

"When congress isn't working, the judiciary and the executive branches fill in the gap," he said. "And our system of government is not designed to work that way." 

Stegner, a retired judge and independent candidate for governor, highlighted his background, including five years on the Idaho Supreme Court. Throughout his campaign, Stegner has argued that Gov. Brad Little has done little to improve Idahoans' lives and has let national politics take precedence over state issues. 

"I was raised to believe that if something wasn't working, you don't just stand back and hope things get better," Stegner said. 

Democratic candidates Valerie Wade, who is running against Phil Hart, R-Athol, for the District 2 Senate seat, and Sabine Krier, who is challenging Dale Hawkins, R-Fernwood, for District 2 House Seat B, each discussed platforms centered on community involvement, civic engagement, lowering taxes and opposition to data centers. 

At the county level, incumbent Treasurer Karey Eddy is unopposed for re-election, and Republican Dameon Groves is also unopposed for re-election, having won his primary against Ryan Frick for the District 1 Shoshone County commissioner seat. Both addressed attendees during the forum. 

Eddy thanked people for supporting her and said she looks forward to continuing to serve the people of Shoshone County.  

Groves, a police officer for the city of Kellogg, said his two primary goals with the county are to support the sheriff's office and work with the Shoshone County Public Works department to strengthen its dwindling workforce.  

The race for the District 2 commissioner seat features Republican Tami Atkins, Democrat Jay Huber and write-in independent candidate Sabrina Hyndman. 

Hyndman did not attend the forum, but both Atkins and Huber spoke. 

Huber, a former two-term commissioner, lost his 2022 re-election bid to David Dose. Huber said his platform remains unchanged and is focused on helping people. 

Atkins is new to county politics but said her nearly 25 years in banking have prepared her to focus on the county budget and identify areas where unnecessary spending can be reduced. 

Katie Murray, a Democrat running against Republican Robert Savage for the open Shoshone County assessor position, said she worked in the assessor's office for much of the past decade. She also discussed the challenges of meeting state assessment requirements and emphasized that the state, not the county, establishes the property assessment process. 

Savage was not in attendance. 

Democrat Rick Smith, the county's incumbent coroner, faces a challenge from Republican Julie Hernandez. Smith outlined his years of experience, the challenges facing the coroner's office and the importance of working with outside agencies when a situation exceeds his office's resources. 

Hernandez was not in attendance. 

Also not in attendance was Shoshone County Sheriff Shawn Wehr. Wehr is unopposed on the ballot after winning a three-way primary race against John Richter and Chris Rice.

Juli Zook, representing the Silver Valley Chamber, said she was pleased with the turnout but disappointed that not all local candidates could participate. However, she acknowledged that some missing candidates may have had prior engagements. 

"This forum has been a longstanding tradition in the county for years and this year was another great entry," she said. "It sounds like some of the candidates who couldn't make it were torn between coming here or attending the monthly meeting for their central committee. I appreciate their commitment to their local group, but it would have been nice to see all the candidates so that voters could ask them questions and really get to see all their options during such an important election year."