Loyalty Oath?

Remember all those years of frustration watching the CdA City Council sitting up at their high desk, nodding their heads in agreement with almost every vote, while the common folk sat silently below?  I always wondered why nearly every decision was unanimous.  Well now the reason has become clear.

Our City has what is akin to a Loyalty Oath!  It’s part of every new council member’s paperwork and they are asked to sign it.  I’m not kidding.  Lucky for us that our two new city council members, Dan Gookin and Steve Adams, refused to sign it because they realized their loyalty is to the people, not other government officials.  (more…)

Massive Money Mess in Midtown!

The best word for the Midtown mess might be “Boondoggle”, which is defined by my dictionary as “work that is wasteful but gives the appearance of having value”.  And the second definition goes even further: “a public project of questionable merit that typically involves political patronage and graft”.  (How did they know?)

I attended the Midtown meeting last Thursday night, where the American Legion hall was full of neighborhood folks, most of the City Council, some city staff, several LCDC members, area business owners, concerned citizens and two representatives from the Boise-based “The Housing Company” (THC). The meeting was not organized by our local officials, it was called by the neighborhood because they are not happy. (more…)

Whom Do You Trust?

I started to title this newsletter, “Flip Flopper”, because it’s about Councilman Mike Kennedy and his radical opinion changes on McEuen Field. But then, on Sunday, Mr. Kennedy had an unbelievable Letter to the Editor in the Press, which spun the subject way past flip flopping, into the realm of purposeful mistruths with very selective wording.

Let’s start with his letter.  First Mike announces that the city is now going to compromise! “This week the Coeur d’Alene City Council voted for significant compromise on the McEuen Park project”, Mike wrote.   (more…)

Mary Souza’s Newsletter

I am so stunned I hardly have words to start this newsletter.  The front page of yesterday’s Press featured Ron Ouren’s big smiling face as he was holding up detailed, professionally designed renderings of a baseball facility at Cherry Hill. My jaw dropped.

It takes serious planning to produce professional layouts complete with locker rooms, a baseball museum and a Hall of Fame.  I’m guessing these were months in the making, if not longer.  And who made the plans?…Team McEuen!  (more…)

Mayor Bloem

Mary Souza’s Follow Up

Last night’s City Council meeting included a couple of unexpected bombshells. Yes, in my newsletter on Monday, I predicted that the council would push through the purchase of the Cherry Hill property, so that wasn’t a shocker, even though it was a 3-3 split vote with the Mayor breaking the tie.

The surprises were tucked into the discussion about how the city could finance the land purchase. New councilman Dan Gookin really did his homework.  He came prepared and asked some great questions, including those about the storm water fee problem and the appeal of the Dan Dixon lawsuit against the CdA Police Dept. (more…)

Mary Souza’s Newsletter

Way back at the start of the McEuen hoo-ha, the city made a deal with the baseball folks:  The baseball people should be quiet and not make a big stink or write letters to the editor or speak out at meetings, and in return?…the city promised them “equal or better” for the ball field at McEuen.

But now it’s becoming all too clear that someone’s getting bamboozled, and it’s not the city!  (more…)

Mary Souza’s Newsletter

We’re making progress, people; the cracks are beginning to show.   A major step has been taken toward responsible, open, lawful governance.  Late yesterday afternoon, a judge ruled that the Coeur d’Alene school board used an illegal process when it appointed Wanda Quinn last June.

Remember the brouhaha when newly elected school board trustees Terri Seymour and Tom Hamilton argued that retiring board chairperson, Edie Brooks, should not vote on her own replacement? (The seat’s not vacant if she’s still voting!)  The school board and their taxpayer-paid attorney said it was fine, no problem.  Terri and Tom filed a lawsuit and took the matter to court.

Second District Judge Michael Griffin, out of Lewiston, was given the task of handling this potentially explosive case.  His decision yesterday, which you can read by clicking here: https://opencda.com/?p=10637, is very simple and clear:  The school board did not comply with Idaho law and Ms. Quinn’s appointment is “null and void”.    (more…)

Mary Souza’s Newsletter
A big, new precedent was set last week by CdA Mayor Sandi Bloem. If you can’t get to the city council meetings, don’t worry, you can just email, fax or send a letter stating your opinion and it will be read out loud by city staff at the meeting and recorded in the official minutes. Or so it seems after last week’s meeting.  (more…)

Mary Souza’s Newsletter

(NOTE:  I’m posting my newsletter here only so readers will know what was contained in it.  Most of the info has already been published in Bill McCrory’s excellent article just below this newsletter, so please read Bill’s detailed account.)

Mike Kennedy sat in his official chair at last week’s CdA City Council meeting and made two highly unprofessional statements.  First he said that because Cliff Hayes, our County Clerk, was not in attendance at their meeting it was a “dereliction of duty”.  That’s an extremely serious charge!  (more…)

Mary Souza’s Newsletter

New information has recently been discovered about the controversial CdA election of 2009, and it sheds even more doubt on the validity of Mike Kennedy’s victory.

I’m sure you are all aware that Cliff Hayes, our new County Clerk, and his staff have spent months scouring the rolls of registered voters, verifying addresses and making certain that voters are listed only for the elections under which they qualify. (more…)