To say that my first meeting with David Rawls was unimpressive is an understatement. This guy solidly supports the status quo here in Coeur d’Alene. He’s a head-nodder and apologist for the type of closed government I abhor.
Look around and see who supports Rawls and you’ll find many of the same crowd who believes everything is just peachy in Levy Town. In fact, I would guess that Mr. Rawls himself is probably quite uncomfortable with that “conservative” label on his advertising. Let’s hope that the folks in the 3rd District as not being fooled.
Dan, I had an interesting conversation with David Rawls last month. We talked for about 15 minutes about shoestringing and urban renewal. He was clueless. His viewpoint was simply, well, it seems to be a good deal, so why worry? He did not exhibit any deeper understanding of the public policy impact of shoestringing or of the tax burden urban renewal forces on everyone in the county. Nor did he seem to care when I brought those issues up. He appears to be a “go along guy” without the motivation for independent, objective review.
Comment by mary — April 9, 2008 @ 7:47 am
I heard that Mr. Rawls was asked to run as a Democrat. But then a prominent Republican told him to run under the GOP flag because the GOP is dominant in this state. Had Mr. Rawls ran as a Democrat, I think it would have been more honest of him. So I must question his motives. Your comment about his inability to grasp a hot local issue is also of concern. Politicians should understand that there is value in saying, “I need to know more about that topic” instead of spewing forth the platitudes expected by the unquestioning status quo.
Comment by Dan — April 9, 2008 @ 8:16 am
Remember that David Rawls is a former Superintendent of Schools here in CdA. He is also newly married to Hazel Bauman, who is the named replacement for the retiring Harry Amend as Superintendent of Schools next year. That’s why you now see Hazel’s photo in the newspaper articles about the upcoming levy election on May 20.
Comment by mary — April 9, 2008 @ 12:21 pm