In this Spokesman-Review skewspaper story, departing (but not soon enough) Idaho Secretary of State Ben Ysursa just can’t seem to figure out why Idaho’s voters aren’t turning out for elections.

Then in this Idaho Statesman skewspaper story, we learn that a substantial amount of Idaho’s legislation which would-be voters believed was being thoughtfully and carefully written by Idaho’s citizen legislators elected to represent us is actually written by lawyer-lobbyists paid to write laws that help the people paying them rather than those electing the citizen legislators.

Gee, Ben, ya think there just might be a connection?  Ya think that maybe Idaho’s voters are smarter than you and your cronies in Boise thought?  Ya think that maybe we figured out that our legislators are more influenced by the people who make large campaign donations and by lobbyists who can sit in their offices and buy them off-the-book meals when they’re in Boise?  Of course, those lobbyists are only providing useful “information” to the citizen legislators, right Ben?

Here’s another thought, Ben.  As you leave office with the accolades and departure gifts from your cronies in the Boise area, understand that you won’t be missed by Idaho’s citizens who hope for honest and truly representative government in Idaho.  Not for a nanosecond.

OpenCdA sees that Lee White, the newly hired Coeur d’Alene police chief, is accepting applications from citizens willing to serve on the City’s Use of Force Review Board.  The City will authorize two qualified citizens to serve on the Board.

The public information suggests the citizens on the Board will receive “information on basic law enforcement training as well as case law as it pertains to use of force, what constitutes excessive force, and police policies and procedures.”  That makes sense.

But noticeably absent from the citizens’ training syllabus is how to recognize the methods and techniques that some law enforcement officers and agencies use to cover and conceal excessive force from use of force review boards and the public.  We think that training needs to be included, and the City of Coeur d’Alene need look no further than Spokane attorney Breean Beggs to provide it.  It was Beggs’ and the Center for Justice’s tireless efforts that kept the homicide of Otto Zehm by Spokane Police Officer Karl Thompson in the public eye in spite of efforts by the Spokane Police Department to cover for Thompson’s criminal actions.

Or the City of Coeur d’Alene could invite Hayden attorney Larry Beck to be a guest lecturer.  It was Beck who successfully represented former CdAPD Lieutenant Dan Dixon in his federal lawsuit against the City for constructive discharge; violation of substantive due process rights in employment; breach of employment contract; negligence in investigation and termination of employment; inadequate training and supervision of city employees; and negligent infliction of emotional distress.

We have been told that citizens on the Coeur d’Alene Use of Force Review Board will be required to sign some sort of confidentiality agreement.  If so, we wonder how that squares with Chief White’s statement that, “Citizens serving in this capacity will increase transparency, accountability, and public input into police operations.”   Given the City of Coeur d’Alene’s historic inclination to ensure that its various committees and commissions are packed with headnodders and that honest citizens on them are marginalized and sometimes removed for daring to seek and expose the facts rather than parrot the party line, we are skeptical.  Maybe this time the City will prove our skepticism to be unfounded.

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