Before getting to the results, I need to recount the Stolley campaign’s last round of dirty politics.
Last Sunday (05/19/24), Travis Stolley’s minions dumped another set of documents as a hit piece against Dave Schuman. This trove of goodies was literally twenty years old. Like a good media report, they not only gave you the goods but then told you what you were supposed to glean from the information. They allege that Dave once had a drug dog. Said dog, failed his certification in sniffing out street pharmaceuticals in 2004. Supposedly the dog was used two years later in relationship to an arrest. They claim this was illegal.
Please note once again that whoever was Sheriff at the time kept Dave on the payroll. Folks, based on all the information that has come out in this race, it has never been the Sheriff’s policy to keep good records of law enforcement activity. This begs the question as to whether it is standard operating procedure to not enforce the law or is there an expectation that some families get preferential treatment in this county?
Another thing repeatedly mentioned at the debate and subsequent candidate forums is that drugs are a big problem in the county; however, nobody can recall the last time anyone was arrested for dealing drugs. Is law enforcement here just expected to look the other way? Our county is on the border with Canada and has two different border crossings. Don’t you think it would be in some criminal enterprise’s best interest to have a friendly Sheriff in their pocket? Just wondering.
Anyway, Tuesday was the election. Dave Schuman came in dead last. Second place went to John VanGesen. Travis Stolley—who hasn’t been at a campaign event in a good six weeks—came in first with over fifty percent of the vote.
Locally, three candidates put their names on the ballot and then hid in Joe Biden’s basement until the election was over, all three won. Travis Stolley for Sheriff, Jim Woodward for State Senate, and Mark Sauter for State House of Representatives. Woodward beat a first term incumbent that had defeated him in the previous election.
In the next week I will be getting my hands on the voter rolls and expect to find that the Democrats (Democrats here run as Republicans) have been ballot harvesting absentee ballots. This is illegal in Idaho, but the ends justify the means as long as the right guys win; just ask any Democrat.
In the only open seat for State office, Cornel Razor beat Chuck Lowman. Cornel owns the Army Surplus Store in Sandpoint.
The result of my ballot was uncontested.