“Decline to Sign” is the perfect slogan for those who don’t want you to be able to vote to recall Coeur d’Alene Mayor Sandi Bloem, Council President Mike Kennedy, Councilman Woody McEvers, and Councilman Deanna Goodlander.

“Decline to Sign” is catchy and easy to remember.  It also hints at the underlying philosophy of those named in the recall:  Never trust the voters.

Next time you see or hear “Decline to Sign,” remember that behind it is an organized effort to keep you and your friends and neighbors from voting to either retain or remove those named in the recall petitions.  You will only get to vote for the recall if  there are sufficient qualified signatures on the recall petitions.

Preserve your right to express your preference in the privacy of the voting booth.  If you’re legally eligible to vote in Coeur d’Alene City elections, please sign the recall petitions so you, your friends, and your neighbors will be able to vote.

This morning’s Coeur d’Alene Press included a guest opinion column written by Coeur d’Alene resident Bruce MacNeil.  His thoughtful and insightful work was titled Recall a matter of accountability.

Bruce can hardly be characterized as one of those naysayers, anarchists, and rabble-rousers who hate parks and the people who appreciate them.  Follow this link to the City’s webpage titled Parks Master Plan, and on the second page of Acknowledgements under the heading Master Plan Planning Advisory Committee, you’ll see his name (misspelled, but still there).

Kootenai County Clerk Cliff Hayes has just issued a press release outlining potentially unlawful practices associated with the recall action underway in Coeur d’Alene.

This information was previously reported in our OpenCdA post on April 9, titled Hey!  Let’s Be Careful Out There… .   Our OpenCdA post went further and described how merely soliciting someone to commit the violations itemized in the County’s press release could be a separate criminal violation of Criminal Solicitation.

More and more people in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, and the surrounding communities are taking an interest in a citizens group’s efforts to recall Coeur d’Alene Mayor Sandi Bloem, City Council President Mike Kennedy, Councilman Woody McEvers, and Councilman Deanna Goodlander.  As expected, those unable or unwilling to address community concerns have begun attacking the citizens who raise those concerns.

One of the concerns raised is that the officials subject to recall have failed to listen, really listen, to the citizens’ concerns.   (more…)