On April 29, 2010, state Senator Michael Jorgenson filed a lawsuit against Dan English in his official capacity as Kootenai County Clerk. Jorgenson alleges that English owes a duty to all registered voters of Kootenai County to apply and interpret the election laws of Kootenai County equally and without prejudice.
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Jorgenson also alleges that English has breached his duty to the Plaintiff (Jorgenson) and all registered voters of Kootenai County. Here is a copy of the entire summons and complaint filed by Senator Jorgenson’s attorney, Jason S. Risch, Risch Pisca PLLC, Boise, Idaho.
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This latest lawsuit follows by several months the lawsuit by Jim Brannon, a former candidate for Coeur d’Alene City Council in the November 3, 2009, election. As noted in our earlier post titled The Evidence Mounts, the City election was administered by Kootenai County Clerk Dan English and his staff. The investigation in Brannon’s lawsuit has revealed that English and his staff were, at best, lax in determining prospective voters’ residency.
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Idaho Secretary of State Ben Ysursa has often praised English for his efforts at voter registration in Kootenai County. Yet Ysursa has also not been as diligent as he should have been in his “housekeeping” of Idaho’s election laws. In his April 2010 decision, federal U.S. Magistrate Judge Ronald E. Bush ruled two provisions of Idaho’s election statutes to be unconstitutional. The case was in Donald N. Daien vs. Ben Ysursa in his official capacity as Secretary of State of Idaho, United States District Court, District of Idaho, Case CV 09-22-S-REB.
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It is the job, the duty, of both the Kootenai County Clerk and the Secretary of State to ensure that the state’s election laws are both enforceable and enforced. As citizens, we have a duty to ensure our elected officials are actually performing their duties lawfully and satisfactorily. If they are not, our obligation as citizens is to correct their unlawful action or their failure to act. Our failure reinforces their unlawful or derelict actions.
John, thanks for the response. I agree with the thought of a professional administrator and five part-time commissioners. It certainly makes sense to elect one from each of the highway districts for the best representation.
I would like to see others contribute their opinions on this topic.
Comment by Susie Snedaker — May 6, 2010 @ 5:59 pm
Not that there’s been any D interest recently.
Comment by Dan — May 6, 2010 @ 8:17 pm
Susie, I know it’s not the topic of this thread, but County governance is really an important issue. Since I worked there 19 years ago, the county has grown to the point where a different structure might benefit its residents.
Again, I am not saying the current officials are in any way deficient in their management of the county. I’m just suggesting that a discussion on this issue may be topical, with the elections of several of them coming up.
Maybe if we get more discussion on this topic, one that might actually shape the future of our great county, we can get a ground swell of support for a change.
Comment by JohnA — May 6, 2010 @ 8:18 pm
Dan: Not that there’s been any D interest recently.
You’re right, Dan. But, it hasn’t always been that way. It just seems like it with the dismal effort put forth in recent elections by the Dems.
Although I’ve said the county elections shouldn’t be partisan, since that’s our setup we have to live with it. So, the best way to get decent discourse on issues of local issues is for both sides to engage in the process, both in May and November.
Maybe we’ll get there soon.
Comment by JohnA — May 6, 2010 @ 8:24 pm
Ken Thompson is a professional government administrator who was the Administrator for the City of Coeur d’Alene. I would like to know his thoughts on this issue. I would also like to know Tom Taggart’s thoughts on this issue.
Comment by Susie Snedaker — May 6, 2010 @ 10:06 pm
What a refreshing blog site. An actual civil yet thought provoking discussion? How novel an idea is that! Congratulations, Opencda!
Comment by Happy Trails — May 7, 2010 @ 7:18 am
I do not like the idea of a government administrator. The rural county will likely be governed (administrated) by a city thinking person.
I would like to see 5 commissioners and have no gerrymandering to lessen the voice of the rural area. Having two commissioners being elected out of office at the same time is horrible. The last time this happen the exiting commissioners took retribution on the rural area in their exiting decisions.
Comment by citizen — May 7, 2010 @ 7:27 am
Happy Trails,
Thank you. We’re trying.
Comment by Bill — May 7, 2010 @ 7:44 am
I would dearly like to see term limits for Commissioners, Mayors and City Council members. Certainly our biggeat problem lies with people who just don’t bother to vote. While I believe that there is absolutely no excuse for not voting (okay, if you’re in a coma). I have heard, ad nauseum, “what difference does it make, nothing changes here, why bother”. Term limits would certainly cut down on the arrogant entitlement we see now. And here is a concept, it might actually put the’public’ back in public servant.
Comment by rochereau — May 7, 2010 @ 7:57 am
Citizen, I prefer a thinking city person. We don’t have too many you know, at least that think like me 🙂
Comment by Gary Ingram — May 7, 2010 @ 8:14 am
I would have forwarded a motion for term limits had I won the last election. It would have died for lack of a second. I thought of running an initiative for term-limits, but the problem with that is that any citizen-initiative in Idaho is DOA because a legislative body, i.e., the city council, can overturn it in a heartbeat. The GOP legislature did that to Term Limits a few years back. The CDA City Council would do it to term limits the day after it passed a city-wide election.
Comment by Dan — May 7, 2010 @ 9:50 am
I am chuckling as I write this, still that doesn’t lessen the truth. The city council would overturn term limits even if 100% of the electorate turned out and voted in favor (of term limits).I believe that govt. by and for the people was refused admittance at the Idaho border!
Comment by rochereau — May 7, 2010 @ 12:14 pm