Latah County Commissioner candidates talk housing, broadband

One of the candidates in this year’s Latah County Commissioner race wants to use his experience in the county government to help people, while the other wants to use his business experience to do the same.

Incumbent John Bohman, a Democrat, is running against Republican Jason Stooks for the District 3 seat.

Bohman, a 56-year-old farmer who lives near Troy, said he enjoyed the experience of his first term in office working with county employees and talking to constituents. He spent those two years learning about the internal workings of county government and said he is ready to put his knowledge to work in the next four years.

“I’ve really enjoyed reaching out to the people to see what they want, what they think is going awry with the county in their words, and finding a way if I can get to a solution that can kind of help the county as a whole going forward,” he said.

Stooks, a 47-year-old business owner in Moscow, has had a multifaceted career that he said taught him the skills to succeed as a commissioner. He has worked many types of jobs including medical training, personal protection training, event serviced, pyrotechnics, accounting, retail and HVAC services. He is currently a deputy program manager for the local Community Emergency Response Team that assists in emergency situations. Stooks said becoming a county commissioner would be a continuation of his desire to help people.

“How can I take the next step and have more of an impact on the community?” he said. “And county commissioner is the next step of that.”

Both Bohman and Stooks have differing opinions on two projects that the county is currently engaged in.

Bohman said the commissioners are talking to rural communities about joining a public housing authority. This entity would be independent of the county, and have representatives tasked with finding opportunities for affordable housing.

“We’d like to see some of the affordable housing projects take place within the cities that have city services,” he said.

Stooks said he likes the idea of a housing authority, but is suspicious of having any government involvement in the project. To avoid government red tape or tax dollars being involved, Stooks would prefer the housing authority is funded by private sources instead. He also questioned how affordable these housing developments can be in the face of inflation.

Another project the candidates discussed is bringing broadband internet to rural communities. The county secured $15 million in grant funding to expand broadband infrastructure.

Bohman said the county is working with the Idaho Department of Commerce to make sure the project is feasible and can be completed.

“Because broadband internet is a vital service in my mind,” he said.

Stooks said he is uncomfortable about the government having control over the fiber network and possibly being able to cut off access to the internet.

“We see it in history. When the government controls stuff, there’s problems,” he said.

Stooks also questioned the county’s decision to spend grant funding on broadband internet when it could have instead sought money to upgrade the 51-year-old Latah County Jail.

The future of the jail remains in limbo as the county decides how to keep it compliant with fire and jail codes. A recent fire code inspection has triggered talks about how much it will cost to fix the jail versus building a new one. There is also the possibility that inmates will have to be transported to Nez Perce County Adult Detention Center in Lewiston, which poses challenges for local law enforcement.

Bohman said the jail is the biggest item on the county’s agenda and officials are working to get the financial estimates on fixing the facility.

Stooks said the county citizens were surprised by the news of the jail, which is why he said transparency is important when it comes to spending taxpayer money. In an effort to be transparent, Stooks said he plans to hold office hours at the courthouse five days a week if elected.

Bohman said he welcomes people to contact him to discuss any issues they have with county government.

Stooks said his other goals include keeping taxes and fees low, finding ways to grow the community without depleting the aquifer and being more responsible with how to spend government money.

Bohman said a major part of a commissioner’s job is providing adequate services for taxpayers with a financially conservative budget.

Kuipers can be reached at akuipers@dnews.com.