This week a flyer arrived from Scott Herndon called “Stop the Steal!” In it Democrats are accused of working to return “liberal Jim Woodward” to office, along with a list of inaccuracies about Woodward’s votes in office. In this one flyer Herndon, who calls himself a Christian, falsifies information about both the Democrats and Jim Woodward. This is the worst kind of political campaigning. It undermines free speech, confuses voters and corrupts the political process. We must stop this nonsense.
Many voters are so fed up with toxic politics they don’t vote. Lifelong Republicans are smeared and called RINOs. Unaffiliated voters who don’t want to belong to a party can’t vote unless they register. Democrats are demonized for all the woes of the Republican Party even though there are barely 3,000 of them in LD1. This is not a healthy political environment and it needs to be fixed.
Please join North Idaho Voter Services and help “Stop the Real Steal” — that is from those who will say or do anything to win.
At NIVS we believe that engaging voters and providing trustworthy information to elect qualified candidates is the path forward. Every voter can be part of the solution. It starts with simple steps:
- Vote informed
- Vote Qualified
- Vote Primary on May 21, 2024.
In the 2022 Primary, only 44-percent of Bonner County voted. We need to do better! Republican voters need to elect officials who serve with integrity, listen to our citizens and provide real solutions for our communities. Within our Republican Party we need to remove party leaders who are focused on personal agendas and ideology and replace them with leaders who have real conservative values that reflect the will of our party majority.
This year when you get your ballot, review the entire ballot and make sure you vote for precinct committeemen if your precinct has a contested race. The rules and the core values of our Republican party are fed from Central Committees comprised of precinct committeemen. This might seem like an insignificant position but it isn’t.
Central Committees have power! When we lose elected officials between elections it is the Central Committee who determines the replacement choices for that position. When Grant Dorman, our Bonner County Assessor, resigned with health issues, it was the Central Committee that provided the choices to the commissioners for replacement.
Republicans have a super majority in Idaho and that should come with great responsibility! We bear the burden of good decision making. However, it seems our current Republican leadership in our Bonner County Central Committee and the leadership of our Republican State Party Committee does not have this regard. They have moved away from the wishes of the Republican majority. They disregard good decision making and the will of our voters by applying endorsements and censorship.
Last summer Republican leadership took extreme measures to remove three groups: Idaho Young Republicans, Idaho College Republicans and Idaho Federation of Republican Women from voting membership in our party. Clearly these are decisions that do not serve the majority of our party and need serious evaluations. To do so
we need to elect qualified precinct committeemen to our Central Committees and get back to our core values.
As Republicans we need to fix our own problems. Blaming the Democrats is a distraction. In fact, the only infiltration we have seen is from a far right, self-proclaimed John Bircher, Bob Vickaryous, invading the Democratic ticket. He’s running against Kathryn Larson in seat 1B. Democrats have their own party issues and most don’t want or don’t have time to be bothered with Republicans.
And what about the unaffiliated voter who is forced to pick a party just to get to vote? The blame here goes to a closed primary. In 2012 Idaho went to this process which has displeased many Idaho voters. Currently there is a ballot initiative in process to end the closed primary and replace it with an Open Primary process. If enough signatures are validated then this will be on the ballot in November. To learn more about this go to: Openprimariesid.org.
While we are in challenging political times, but we do have options to improve. An informed vote in the May 21, 2024 Primary is the best start. Elect the most qualified candidates with the best leadership skills. It’s our best defense to protect our communities. Beyond voting, stop the smears. It’s destructive and undermines our institutions and destroys communities. Take time to read about the Open Primary initiative. If you have time, get involved with your party. Let’s end political dysfunction and elect qualified candidates who serve Idaho citizens.
Diana Dawson
Sandpoint
Founder of North Idaho Voter Services.
Holds degree in political science and an MBA
Well written article. I have a question. Why are so many Democratic Party activists endorsing Mr. Woodward and which party would open primaries benefit? One Democratic Party activist, associated with “Reclaim Idaho,” even has a Woodward sign in his yard below the Biden-Harris one.
Democrats support Jim because he looks out for the best interests of all District 1 residents, regardless of political affiliation. Anyone that has driven south of Sandpoint has probably noticed the place south of Lakeside Drive that allows a driver to turn left and then merge onto the highway and head north. This allows drivers that come off Lakeside Drive that want to head north to first turn right without having to cross the highway. Jim Woodward pushed for this improvement when he was State Senator. Republicans, Democrats, and independents all benefit from this improvement.