Questionnaire quizzes Lewiston City Council candidates on GOP values

Nez Perce County’s Republican Party surveyed the candidates in Lewiston’s nonpartisan City Council race.

“Whether at our first open-to-the-public forum or an issue priority survey to candidates, (the Nez Perce County Republican Central Committee) is assisting with disseminating information about city council candidates’ positions on critical issues like property taxes, zoning, budgeting, etc.,” said Nick Woods, the chairperson of the committee, in an email about the survey to the Tribune.

The survey has been conducted prior to the Nov. 7 election where eight candidates are vying for three seats on the City Council.

“We have heard for several years that transparency of local candidates for public office on critical concerns needs to be done for a variety of reasons and we are working on creating the best process moving forward to connect voters to candidates who align with Idaho values,” Woods said in the email.

Woods didn’t respond to a number of questions from the Tribune about the surveys, including which committee members rated the responses and how information about the survey results is being shared.

An introduction to the questions explains that some candidates who “subscribe to be Republicans do not necessarily hold strong Republican values,” according to copies of the survey provided to the Tribune by some council candidates.

“We will be searching for and rating men and women of good character, virtue and integrity and who will uphold the Idaho Republican Platform and traditional values,” according to the survey introduction.

City Council candidates Maureen Anderson, Rick Eldridge, Dave Funke, Darlene Lambert, Brennon Leafty and incumbent John Spickelmire completed the questionnaire.

“I think the survey gives voters a good overview of a candidate’s political stance,” Spickelmire said in a text. “Although I tried to interject some current issues into my answers, I don’t feel it specifically (addresses) very many of our current city issues.”

Two council candidates didn’t respond. They were Jessica Klein and Jim Kleeburg, an incumbent.

Klein planned to complete the survey and then stopped after she began to fill it in, she said in a text.

“The questions didn’t seem to pertain to City Council, but were trying to figure out how (Republican) I am,” she said. “City Council is a nonpartisan race. I’m here to serve the needs of the community. It doesn’t matter how I feel about the rest of the government.”

The candidates’ party affiliations differ. Anderson declined to share hers because it’s a nonpartisan race. Eldridge is a Constitutional Conservative.

Funke describes himself as a “Republican but not GOP, more so Constitutional Republic Republican” or Constitutionalist. Lambert is an independent who leans toward Republican. Leafty is an unaffiliated independent who was formerly a member of the U.S. Christian Democracy Party. Klein, Kleeburg and Spickelmire are Republicans.

The survey asked candidates if they strongly agree, somewhat agree or disagree with 18 of the 19 articles of the Idaho Republican Party Platform.

The 18-page document covers the party’s positions on topics such as taxation, abortion and gun control. A link to the document is available at bit.ly/46KmtHq.

A section on taxation reads in part: “We support lower federal, state and local taxes. High taxes are a burden on businesses, families and individuals. … We support true government transparency that allows the public to review all local, state and federal government expenditures, contracts and audits online.”

The party supports the “criminalization of all murders by abortion within the state’s jurisdiction,” according to the platform.

At the same time, the party believes in “protection of the American firearms industry against harassing lawsuits that blame them for the acts of criminals,” according to the platform.

Exactly who rated the surveys and the criteria used to rate the surveys as well as any results from the surveys is not clear.

Eric Peterson, captain of the fourth precinct for the Nez Perce County Republican Central Committee, said anyone on the committee could rate candidate responses, something he didn’t do.

The committee is comprised of about 30 Nez Perce County residents, including people who serve as precinct captains and officers.

Among them are Idaho state Reps. Mike Kingsley and Lori McCann, Lewiston City Councilor Kathy Schroeder and Nez Perce County Commissioner Doug Havens.

Those elected officials handled the survey in different ways. Kingsley and McCann both said they didn’t get involved in rating the candidates.

“I felt that it was more important to understand their backgrounds in terms of how they are going to move the city forward instead of how their values aligned with the state Republican Party,” McCann said.

Other questions were referred to Woods, the only person, she said, who is authorized to speak on behalf of the Nez Perce County Republican Central Committee.

Schroeder declined to comment. Havens said his participation was limited to receiving a request to provide suggestions for questions for the survey. He intended to respond, but he was busy in meetings and missed the opportunity.

“We are pleased to facilitate discussions between voters and candidates for city council,” Woods said.

Williams can be contacted at ewilliam@lmtribune.com or (208) 848-2261.