Thank You!

The dust has settled and the last ballots are counted. I'm honored to be a newly-elected city council member for Post Falls. I will join my fellow newly-elected councilors Skip Hissong and Linda Wilhelm in January 2008. Thank you again!

Mark Your Ballot!

Show Time!

I'm heading out the door shortly to participate in that great local tradition of candidates staking out street corners at busy intersections and waving to cars passing by, hoping that our presence will remind people to vote today. The temperature is holding at 29 degrees at the moment ... brrrrrrrrrr.

This evening Bert and I will be where we've been every election night for nearly a decade, at RedLion Templin's Resort for the Post Falls Community Volunteers gathering. There's a big screen tv and computer for seeing the live feed of results as the county begins tabulating ballots at 8 p.m.

It's going to be a long, eventful and important day in Post Falls. Did I mention that you need to VOTE? :)

Thanks!

Election Eve

Here it is...we're just hours and a good night's sleep away from the polls opening in the morning at 8 a.m. I'm excited and nervous about the day ahead. As a candidate I've done all I can do to get my information and positions out to the public. We've placed signs and ads and knocked on hundreds of doors in the neighborhoods. In Post Falls there were two candidate forums, one that was rebroadcast twice a day for over two weeks.
Now it's up to you my friends to really make the system work by exercising your right to vote.
Thank you for your support and your faith in my abilities to perform the duties of a member of the city council.

Testing 1-2-3

On Friday Deedie Beard, longtime Kootenai County elections manager, hosted a demonstration and accuracy test of the two automated ballot counting machines for candidates and city clerks. The county elections department will oversee the elections for Post Falls, Coeur d'Alene, Rathdrum and Hayden on November 6.
On Monday, Nov. 5 you can still vote early at your respective city halls from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. but on election day in Post Falls voting takes place only at the Armory on Seltice Way and the library on Spokane Street, from 8 am - 8 pm.
The county website will be updated throughout the evening on November 6 with results so log onto http://www.kcgov.us/elections/results/data/2007_CityOverall_Results.asp

One Week!

One week from today voters will go to the polls, at least those who've not already cast an absentee ballot. If you're checking in here you're one of the people who know there's an election and no doubt realize what an important election it is for Post Falls. With two new seats and a vacant seat to be filled you'll be electing 1/2 of the council in one election. I'm asking you to vote on November 6 but also to spread the word with your friends and neighbors. An enthusiastic turnout on election day will be all the reward candidates hope for our efforts.

Out in the neighborhoods

The past three weekends I've had the pleasure of not only fabulous weather but of meeting a large number of people in a large number of neighborhoods throughout Post Falls. It's been good to get out and walk in the sunshine and hear from you what your concerns and visions are for this community. I'm reminded again of what a great town we live in and will do what needs to be done on the city council to see that the next generation has cause to feel the same way. If I don't come knocking on your door, give me a call or send an email with any questions or comments!

Meet & Greet

John and Angela Cross are hosting an informal get-together Wed., Oct. 24 from 7 to 8 p.m. at the Highlands Day Spa (lower level) that's open to the public. I look forward to hearing your views and sharing mine. Join us!

Polling Places

If you live west of Idaho Street in the Post Falls city limits, your polling place is the public library. East of Idaho Street, residents will vote at the National Guard Armory on Seltice Way. Local elections provide the opportunity for your vote to make a very real difference in the decision-making process close to home.

Endorsement

In the Wednesday, Oct. 17 Spokesman Review, their editorial board provided an endorsement of my candidacy for election to Seat 1 of the Post Falls City Council.

"...Thoreson shows the kind of decisiveness that would serve her on the council."

I'm appreciative of the efforts and support of so many of you to work on this campaign. It's humbling to have that level of support from people whose own contributions to our community I hold in such high regard. The journey to City Hall will not be decided until the last vote is counted on Tuesday, Nov. 6. I encourage you to get the word out so our neighbors will know how much their vote will count in this election.

Candidate Forum

The candidate forum held this evening at Post Falls City Hall will be rebroadcast daily on Channel 13 at 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. I gave the following remarks in my closing statement:
Quality of Life will be defined differently by whomever you ask to describe it. But it boils down to feeling safe in our homes and on our streets, having clean, drinkable water come from our kitchen taps and an overall community we can collectively be proud of. Having a few dollars left in our pockets at the end of the month is good, too.

I love where I live and for over two decades demonstrated that with involvment and volunteerism. Serving you on the city council is a natural progression of that committment to our community.

My home phone number is listed, my email address appears in my weekly newspaper column and I’m out in the community on a daily basis. I will welcome your input and consider the opinions of all stakeholders when making decisions.

The best decisions are made when local government includes the opinions and views of the broadest cross section of citizens as possible. Government of the people, for the people and by the people is more than just a patriotic quote, it’s the cornerstone of every American small town, including Post Falls.
Your vote for me will bring you a true advocate of the people in all matters of city government.

Family Ties

Today marks three years since my father passed away. I was blessed to be the daughter of a patriot and public servant who led by example in all things. We shared a love of parades and politics. He taught me that giving back was a responsibility we as Americans should accept gladly.

I'm sorry he's not here to offer advice and support for my quest to serve my community as a city council member but not a day goes by that I don't feel his love.I'm honored now to serve as curator for the Ronald D. Rankin Veterans Memorial Plaza at the Kootenai County Administration building. It was a passion of Dad's and a place meant to remind us all of those who've paid the price for our freedoms. Semper Fi.

My View

A reader posted a question asking my views on the ballot issue brought forth by Bob Templin to save the current city hall building and the subsequent funding of the building maintenance and upkeep if the voters decide in favor of keeping it. While some of my earlier posts address that issue I'll provide the Reader's Digest condensed version here:

A City Center Master Plan Steering Committee comprised of over two dozen citizens and city officials met for a year between July 2005 and July 2006 to consider the best alternatives and vision of the city hall campus that is now in progress. Their recommendation one year and two months ago was to demolish the "old city hall" as soon as the new building was completed. Bob Templin served on that committee.

Our elected city council members, after intensive study of options provided by administrative professionals and contracted experts, determined the demolition of the current city hall building to be the optimum direction.

I agree with and respect the decision that was made by the council in April 2007. I will vote on November 6 to remove the current city hall building to facilitate planned use of the entire under-construction campus.

Countdown

To officially start the campaign, Bert and I put up about three dozen signs today ... exactly one month before the election. Thanks to those of you who provided the sign locations! If anyone would like to have a yard sign, give me a call or send an email.

Meet the Candidates

Two candidate forums have been scheduled for the Post Falls City Council races. It's an opportunity to meet those of us who seek to be your representative voices on the council. I hope you'll come out to the forums and let me know what issues are important to you.
Monday, Oct. 15- 6 p.m. @ Post Falls City Hall
Open to the public and will also be broadcast on Channel 13
Wednesday, Oct. 17- 6 p.m. @ American Legion Post 143, Poleline and Syringa
Sponsored by Post Falls Chamber of Commerce & Concerned Businesses of North Idaho

Special Meeting results

The special meeting of the city council to address the initiative petition filed by local businessman Bob Templin included much discussion with presentations of information by city attorney Jerry Mason and city administrator Eric Keck on the options available to the Mayor and Council.
Bottom line, the initiative petition was rejected by a unanimous council for adoption so it will go to the voters on the November 6 ballot.
Unfortunately the initiative language as submitted does not stipulate an end date for what is in reality an unfunded mandate should it pass. So the citizens/taxpayers would be responsible to "preserve and maintain "old city hall" and make it available for the benefit and use of the public" for perpetuity.
What will also be decided on November 6 is how we, the taxpayers, will fund not only the ongoing expense of the "old city hall" but the additional expense to alter the plans for a new city hall that is months into construction. The estimated additional $1.3 million will come from two possible scenarios...cutting a recently adopted 2007/2008 budget in the form of staff and services or through foregone taxes and a one-year levy.
A market-value home in Post Falls with a homeowners exemption would pay an additional $111 per year in taxes. A $500,000 home with the homeowners exemption would be taxed an additional $270 per year.
*Note: A City Center Master Plan Steering Committee comprised of over two dozen citizens and city officials met for a year between July 2005 and July 2006 to consider the best alternatives and vision of the city hall campus that is now in progress. Their recommendation one year and two months ago was to demolish the "old city hall" as soon as the new building was completed. Bob Templin served on that committee.

Your Vote Counts!

...if you choose to exercise that right. Here's some trivia from recent elections in Post Falls. In May 2007 with the decision to add two council positions on the ballot, 238 votes were cast. With 10, 209 registered voters that means that 9,971 citizens did not vote. Our population is nearing 24,000.
In November 2005, the most recent city election for mayor and council seats, just 1,325 people voted out of 9,956 registered voters.
The good news is that from May of this year to August the number of voters registered has increased to 10,209. Let's have a great turnout on November 6!

Good Company

Through the years a number of citizens have made Post Falls the community it is today. By having a vision, rolling up their sleeves and building a team, the volunteer efforts of a single person can shape the future. This photograph is of some past Citizen of the Year recipients at the Post Falls Chamber of Commerce banquet. Seated is Hilde Kellogg, former city council member and businesswoman who served as the first woman chairman of the board for the Chamber. She continued to serve as a state representative until well into her 80s. Next to her is Marilyn Deutsch, whose efforts on behalf of the agriculture industry in Post Falls reached far beyond Boise. Standing (from the right) are Bob Templin, whose willingness to invest in Post Falls in the late 1980s when few others were, brought us Templin's Resort and a jump start to the economic vitality of the 1990s in Post Falls. Mayor Clay Larkin, who raised his family here while volunteering for decades with the local fire department and on the school board before beginning his service on the city council in the 1990s. Gary Schneidmiller was born and raised in Post Falls, his family farming much of the prairie for decades. He served as a volunteer on the Post Falls Planning and Zoning Commission from the 1970s to early 1990s and continues to invest in his community. Skip Hissong is synonymous with the volunteer spirit. His tireless efforts and can-do attitude, along with the Post Falls Lions and Post Falls Community Volunteers, have resulted in community projects such as the Grand Pavilion at Q'emlin Park and free concerts and events. The point being that while one person can make a difference, there are a lot of people in this community who through the years stepped up and made things happen. To be in their company is an honor, to serve on the council when there are so many important decisions which will shape Post Falls' future would be as well.

City Hall Fate

Much has been said and written on this topic in recent weeks. Let me add that I have a great deal of respect for the contributions made in this community by both Mayor Clay Larkin and businessman Bob Templin so it's unfortunate that the two have found themselves at odds over the issue of retaining the soon-to-be abandoned city hall building. It's important to note that at 30-years-old the current city hall is not of historic value.
Also important to note as you become informed about the many twists and turns of the decision that will go before the voters in November is that the public has never been denied the opportunity to voice an opinion on the subject. City council meetings are open. Councilmembers are elected to represent the public and are available to hear opinions when they're out and about and through more official avenues.

Do I believe that the public ie: taxpayers have the right to decide how our tax dollars are spent? Absolutely.
Do I believe that citizens have the right and the responsibility to challenge elected officials when they feel strongly about decisions to be made? Absolutely.
Do I believe that perhaps the time passed to make those challenges in the case of salvaging the current city hall? Yes. It's time for the citizenry look forward, not behind us. This issue has become divisive and distracting to the discussion of other incredibly important issues such as traffic, growth, public safety etc.
We owe Mr. Templin our gratitude for this lesson learned. We need to be involved in issues at the outset. We need to let our Mayor and Council know that we care about the decisions they're elected to make on our behalf and to have our voices heard. It's more effective and a lot less costly, though, if those opinions are heard at the beginning rather than at the 11th hour.
I encourage you to register to vote if you've not already done so, to vote as if your quality of life depended on it, and vow to put the public back into the public comment portion of every city council meeting.
*if you'd like to review past news articles and editorials about this topic, see the comment section of this post.

City Council Q & A

In the eight weeks before the election this is a place for you to share which issues you feel are most important. This is an exciting time for Post Falls as well as a pivotal time. Serving on the newly-expanded City Council will be an opportunity to represent the growing population of our city. Public safety, roads and the overall infrastructure to sustain future growth are key. Decisions we make today will have a lasting impact. The council members you elect on November 6 will represent you, the citizen. I will answer your questions here on this forum so ask away. Simply click on the "comment" link at the bottom of this post.