(NOTE: This was originally posted on October 15, 2013, at 06:55 AM. Because the Friday, October 18, 2013, online edition of the Coeur d’Alene Press linked to the OpenCdA website but not to this specific post, I am moving this post up.)
Coeur d’Alene businessman Steve Widmyer wants to be elected Mayor of Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, at the City election on November 5, 2013.
OpenCdA believes that Widmyer is not a suitable candidate. He is not a good fit to be Mayor of Coeur d’Alene, Idaho.
Coeur d’Alene’s new mayor Steve Widmyer is at it again — appointing not necessarily qualified or suitable pals to City committees and commissions.
The agenda and packet for the February 18, 2014, Coeur d’Alene City Council meeting both show that Widmyer intends to anoint Nancy White to the City Arts Commission.
Attentive readers will recall that during the 2010 election contest lawsuit challenging the 2009 Coeur d’Alene City election, it was determined that Nancy E. White had registered and voted illegally in the City election in violation of Idaho Code §18-2322. She was charged, found guilty, and received a 90-day unsupervised probation with judgment withheld. For the details go to ISTARS and enter case number CR-2010-0021693 (or look up by name White, Nancy Elaine).
OpenCdA acknowledges that citizens can make honest mistakes, however we also recognize that sometimes because of a person’s occupation or profession, the person’s “mistake” drifts over the line from honest to willful.
Nancy Elaine White was a real estate agent at the time she violated Idaho Code §18-2322. OpenCdA believes that as a real estate agent, she would have a more keen awareness of city-county boundary lines. As a real estate agent, she might reasonably be asked by a prospective buyer, “Is this house I’m considering buying inside the city limits of Coeur d’Alene or will my legal residence address be in the County (or a contiguous city)?” That expectation of additional awareness, helpful if not essential in her real estate job, would strongly suggest that her own illegal registration was willful rather than ignorantly accidental. There is a significant difference between willfully doing something wrong and accidentally doing something wrong.
OpenCdA wonders if White was the best nominee Widmyer could come up with, or might there have been other more qualified and more suitable applicants? Regardless, expect Nancy White to be approved to the City of Coeur d’Alene Arts Commission by a majority of the newly-minted Sequential Headnodders on Tuesday night.
In its September 12 article headlined Artist defends rainbow, the Coeur d’Alene Press reports that artist Howard Meehan has agreed to work with the City to “enhance” his art piece titled Under the Rainbow.
Our OpenCdA post on June 25, 2014 titled Remember This? outlined several of the issues prompting today’s Press skewspaper article. One of the most tasteless and offensive comments we reported came from now-Arts Commission Chairman Jennifer Riggs Drake. As the minutes of the June 17, 2014 meeting of the Arts Commission recount, “Commissioner Drake said that she thinks that a lot of people agree that the arch is under-performing and that putting the [McEuen] logo on it doesn’t take care of that issue.” (more…)
We are disappointed that Coeur d’Alene Mayor Steve Widmyer seems to be following the lead set by his predecessor Sandi Bloem.
Bloem liked to pack unelected committees and commissions with cronies and headnodders who would apply the rubber-stamp of approval to almost any big-dollar deal without considering if it was in the best interests of the City’s reputation or its people.
Thursday’s Coeur d’Alene Press “news article” titled Four corners report reveals that Widmyer is showing he’s no different. In fact, he likes to use some of the same cronies and headnodders. Of the nine advisory committee members named in the “news article,” eight have exceedingly well-developed headnodder muscles toned by years of subservience. To us, only the BLM realty specialist might appear to be considered objectively independent. (more…)
In our post on October 18, 2013, titled Steve Widmyer: Not Suitable for Mayor we were justifiably critical of Coeur d’Alene Mayor Steve Widmyer for authorizing print and online campaign literature which misrepresented that in 2013 he was a CPA, a certified public accountant. His license had, in fact, lapsed in 1995. The Idaho State Board of Accountancy and Idaho statutes forbid such misrepresentation of the license.
So it is understandable that when the Coeur d’Alene Press ran a story about Kootenai County Treasurer candidate Steven D. Matheson on March 20, 2014, and the Press story included the statement, “He is also a certified public accountant,” we wondered if we had another poseur.
We don’t.
Mr. Matheson’s business website clearly and accurately stated then and now that he is an inactive CPA. And just as important, Mr. Matheson’s campaign website states “CPA (inactive, WA).”
In our view, there is nothing wrong with a formerly licensed CPA using that information in business and campaign literature as long as the presentation conforms to the requirements in The Idaho Accountancy Act (Idaho Code Title 54, Chapter 2), specifically in I.C. 54.220. The law does not forbid an inactive or lapsed CPA from using words that tend to indicate he was a CPA; it forbids him from using words that tend to indicate he is a licensed CPA. Words such as “inactive” or “lapsed” clearly indicate former rather than currently valid licensure.
We’re pleased that Mr. Matheson did it the right way.
The Thursday, March 20, 2014, Coeur d’Alene Press ran an online unattributed story headlined Matheson seeks county treasurer post.
The Press story included this statement, “He [Steven D. Matheson] is a graduate of Central Washington University with a double major in accounting and finance. He is also a certified public accountant.”
OpenCdA’s search of the Idaho State Board of Accountancy’s online database did not show Steven D. Matheson as being a certified public accountant in Idaho.
We sent an email inquiry to the Idaho State Board of Accountancy asking for confirmation that Steven D. Matheson is a certified public accountant. A representative of the State Board responded via email and referred us to Matheson’s website which states, “Steve is a CPA (inactive) with undergraduate degrees in Accounting and Finance from Central Washington University.” The Idaho State Board of Accountancy has no record of Steven D. Matheson ever being a licensed certified public accountant in Idaho. (more…)
Coeur d’Alene, Idaho’s newly-installed Mayor Steve Widmyer is wasting no time in appointing his cronies to influential committees and commissions in Coeur d’Alene.
According to the City Council meeting packet prepared for this coming Tuesday’s meeting, Widmyer and the Rubber Stamps will approve several appointments. One of those is listed as “Garry Stark (representing NIC) — Parking Commission.” The North Idaho College Directory lists Garry Stark as NIC’s Assistant Director of Facility Operations.
You’re already familiar with Stark’s name if you read OpenCdA’s post on October 18, 2013, titled Steve Widmyer: Not Suitable for Mayor. See WIDMYER SUITABILITY ISSUE #2. (more…)
OpenCdA’s post on October 14, 2013, titled Highly Recommended did just that: It highly recommended the book Detecting Bull, Second Edition, by John H. McManus. As noted in my post, the book includes an entire chapter devoted to and titled “The SMELL Test.”
The SMELL test can help consumers evaluate news.
First I’ll briefly summarize the SMELL test. Then readers can try a practical exercise based on a local news story in the Coeur d’Alene Press. (more…)
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OpenCdA commenter “up river” appended a comment to the OpenCdA post titled “Steve Widmyer: Not Suitable for Mayor” on October 15. “Up river” commented in part, “In fairness I have to question whether or not a person’s one comment, perhaps ‘Freudian’ in nature, sixteen years ago necessarily characterizes who a person is today.”
It is a very fair question that deserves an answer. (more…)
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