Candidates talk county jail, housing, drug dog

The Latah County Jail, a drug sniffing dog and an affordable housing authority are on the minds of two candidates running for Latah County Commissioner this November.

Republican Tony Johnson and Democrat Mark Thorne, both of whom live just outside Moscow, are running to replace Kathie LaFortune for the District 1 seat.

Johnson, 68, was the longtime owner of Johnson Excavation Service in Moscow and also served six years on Moscow City Council. He is currently the chairperson of the Latah County Planning Commission.

Johnson said he is running to bring conservative philosophies to the commission, though he said political parties play a smaller role in county government.

“The Democrat-Republican monikers kind of go away and you’re just doing what’s right for the people because you are in front of them all the time,” he said.

One of Johnson’s priorities is bringing a drug-sniffing dog to the Latah County Sheriff’s Office to help in the investigation of drug crimes. Johnson is confident he has the support to raise funding for a K9 without costing the taxpayers.

“I can get it through private donations,” he said. “I don’t have to spend tax dollars.”

Johnson also wants to strengthen the county’s reserve finances. His goal is to build up a six-month county reserve, which he believes would have put the county in a better position to address its jail problem.

The 51-year-old jail in the basement of the Latah County Courthouse no longer meets Idaho standards. The county is weighing its options, which include renovating the jail, building a new one or utilizing another county’s jail. Renovating the jail or replacing it both come with a costly price tag.

“If we would have had a six-month reserve in our county account, the issue of the jail would not be quite so dramatic,” Johnson said. “We would have had money there to fix this thing, now we’re scrambling, I think.”

Johnson said the jail should be on every commissioner meeting agenda.

The jail is also on Thorne’s mind.

Thorne is a 66-year-old associate in research at Washington State University’s Department of Crop and Soil Sciences. He is also president of the Moscow Food Co-op Board.

Thorne is wary of trying to pass a bond to finance the jail, because that would require two-thirds approval from voters and it would be paid back over a long period of time. He is also not a fan of transporting inmates to an out-of-county facility.

“I guess I’m kind of opposed to that because of the use of sheriff resources to do that,” he said.

Thorne is open to seeking a local option sales tax to generate revenue for the jail.

“It has to be fiscally responsible, from what I can see the budgets are really tight,” he said.

Another priority for Thorne is continuing the county’s effort to establish an affordable housing authority.

The Moscow-Pullman Daily News reported in December that a public housing authority can support bigger projects by attracting donations of land and funding from private donors and the government to develop housing, according to the Latah County Commissioners. It would not be run by the county, but would instead be an independent entity with its own board.

Thorne said the authority can accommodate low-income housing opportunities, which is becoming more important in the face of rising home costs.

He is also interested in making sure the county is smart about permitting rural homes on rural farmland so they can be easily connected to utility and road services.

The primary role of a county commissioner is to keep the county departments functioning well and retaining employees, he said.

“It’s important to keep good people, talented people in those jobs,” Thorne said.

Thorne said he was asked to run for commissioner, and he sees it as an opportunity to give back to the community. He wants to be a “positive force” for all county residents.

“My focus is on working for everyone, having concern for all people in the county,” he said.

Kuipers can be reached at akuipers@dnews.com.