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August 22, 2011

Pulling the Plug on Satellites

Filed under: Probable Cause — Tags: , , — Bill @ 1:33 pm

Sunday’s Coeur d’Alene Press ran a story headlined Vote here, only.  The story reported that newly-inaugurated Kootenai County Clerk Cliff Hayes had decided to not provide satellite polling places for absentee, in-person voting.  For residents of Coeur d’Alene (and Canada), that means voters will no longer be able to cast an absentee in-person ballot at Coeur d’Alene City Hall.  Rather, they will have to drive for about 6 minutes over the 1.9 miles to get to the County Elections Office at 3rd and Locust.

Predictably, the usual suspects were indignant!  Councilman Mike Kennedy huffed and puffed at the August 16 Council meeting that the County Clerk was “depressing the [voter] turnout” and “removing a service that had served the citizens well for a long time. ”  According to the news/views/skews paper article, Kennedy and Coeur d’Alene City Clerk Susan Weathers said this makes it harder for people to vote.

There’s more to the story within the Press story, however.  (more…)

February 11, 2011

Follow Your Money

Filed under: Probable Cause — Tags: , , — Bill @ 12:27 pm

[Today’s Coeur d’Alene Press article headlined City will not fine Brannon was a diversion, erroneously implying former City Council candidate Jim [Brannon had evaded complying with Idaho campaign finance law.   If the City of Coeur d’Alene had decided donations to help pay Brannon’s election [contest lawsuit expenses were a campaign contribution, readers would have immediately realized that the $69,660 of our tax dollars the City Council [gave to fellow Councilman Mike Kennedy on December 7, 2010, was a campaign contribution.  The City’s decision reported today was to protect [Kennedy from that scrutiny, [not relieve Brannon of a non-existent obligation.

[Here is the story behind today’s Press story. (more…)

February 7, 2011

Coeur d’Alene Election Lawsuit 2009-2011

Filed under: Probable Cause — Tags: , , , — Bill @ 7:20 pm

Since Jim Brannon’s lawsuit contesting the November 2009 Coeur d’Alene city election was filed in Idaho’s First District Court on November 30, 2009,  the public has been kept almost totally in the dark about every aspect of that matter.  Our local newspaper, the Coeur d’Alene Press, and our regional newspaper, The Spokesman-Review, have failed miserably to fulfill one of any daily newspaper’s principal responsibilities:  Provide the public with accurate, timely, complete information we can understand so we, the people, can exercise our responsibilities to oversee and evaluate the conduct of our public officials.

In February 2010 I began keeping notes and researching the court filings and other public documents.  It has been an ongoing effort resulting in the paper titled The Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, Election Contest Lawsuit – 2009-2011.  There are hyperlinks to other material embedded in the paper.

As Dan Gookin would say (correctly!), it’s clunky.  It is divided into logical sections with headings describing the section’s content.  I’ve tried to base the content on the questions I believe people would like to have answered by credible newspapers.  In the section titled “Major Issues of Statewide Importance,” I’ve tried to identify the larger issues legislators will have to address.

One promise I can make:  After reading this, you will have a better understanding of the election contest lawsuit than Coeur d’Alene’s mayor, city council, and city clerk.

January 24, 2011

Residency — Chicago Style

Filed under: Probable Cause — Tags: , , — Bill @ 5:03 pm

As anyone who has followed Jim Brannon’s election contest lawsuit growing out of the November 2009 Coeur d’Alene city election knows, “residency” as a qualification to vote in the city election was a significant factor.

Today’s news is reporting that an Illinois appeals court has determined that during his service as the President’s Chief of Staff, Rahm Emanuel did not actually reside in Chicago as required by the Illinois Municipal Code and is therefore not eligible to be on the ballot for the upcoming Chicago mayoral election.  Here is a link to the appeals court decision.  Most expect this decision to be appealed to the Illinois Supreme Court.

Keep in mind that the law applied in the Illinois case was Illinois law.  Unlike some Idaho district court judges, it appears that Illinois judges understand and follow their own state’s laws.

Addendum on 01-25-2011 at 11:52 a.m.:  The Illinois Supreme Court has agreed to stay the ruling of the Illinois Court of Appeals.  The Illinois Supreme Court has agreed to consider the issue based on the briefs already filed with the Appeals Court and will not hear oral argument.  Until the Illinois Supreme Court rules, that Court has ordered that Emanuel’s name appear on any ballots printed.

January 9, 2011

2011 Pork Report – Idaho Freedom Foundation

Filed under: Probable Cause — Tags: , , — Bill @ 7:21 am

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[The 2011 Idaho Report on Government Waste, better known as the Idaho Pork Report, has been published by the Idaho Freedom Foundation.

[For those in the Coeur d’Alene area, we made it into the Report big time!  See pages 41, 43, 45, 52-53, and 76.  Woo hoo!

December 21, 2010

Holding Coeur d’Alene Officials Accountable

Filed under: Probable Cause — Tags: , , — Bill @ 6:49 am

Sunday’s Coeur d’Alene Press ran an article intended to explain why the City Attorney handles some legal issues in-house and contracts others out.  The article was headlined The rising cost of litigation.

The article clearly stated the City’s in-house legal team’s “daily responsibilities” included, “…  ordinances, meetings, contracts, personnel and other issues.”

Finally!  City Attorney Mike Gridley acknowledges it was his responsibility to properly oversee the City’s election contract with the County which resulted in the very costly election contest lawsuit and the City taxpayers having to pay for the personal attorneys for Gridley’s good buddy, Councilman Mike Kennedy. (more…)

December 5, 2010

Kennedy’s Demand: Pay Now or Pay Later

Filed under: Probable Cause — Tags: , — Bill @ 9:48 am

Coeur d’Alene City Councilman Mike Kennedy is demanding that Coeur d’Alene taxpayers cough up the money for the legal fees he voluntarily incurred during the election contest lawsuit of the November 3, 2009, city election.

The agenda for the Tuesday, December 7, 2010, Coeur d’Alene City Council meeting shows the Council plans to have a “Mike Kennedy Tort Claim Discussion” under Other Business.

This scheduled discussion will be a scripted and controlled vaudeville act.  (more…)

November 21, 2010

Missed It By That Much…

Filed under: Probable Cause — Tags: , — Bill @ 2:06 pm

[Sunday’s Coeur d’Alene Press editorial headlined Faulty laws cost us all almost hit the 10-ring.  It was soooooo close.

[The Press correctly pointed out that Idaho’s election administration laws desperately need to be re-examined and updated.  We’ve been saying [that for months now.  But where the Press missed the bullseye was in failing to recognize and editorialize about how the entire election contest [lawsuit and its associated costs could have been completely avoided.    (more…)

August 29, 2010

Kennedy Admits Brannon Is Right

Filed under: Probable Cause — Tags: , , — Bill @ 11:38 am

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“Residency” for voting purposes is possibly the most important issue in the election contest lawsuit filed by Jim Brannon.  For months now Team Kennedy has been arguing that persons who reside outside Coeur d’Alene, even outside Kootenai County, even outside Idaho were in fact residents of Coeur d’Alene and therefore entitled to vote in the contested November 3, 2009, City election.

But in an August 23, 2010,  public record court filing, Team Kennedy now admits it was wrong.  Read on.

(more…)

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