Bisterfeldt won’t say if he is running (Mrs. Commish will make that decision), Ullman won’t talk to the GUARDIAN, and word on the street is former City Councilor, chief, drug czar Jim Tibbs is leaning toward a run at the seat that will be left open due to the boundry changes.

Also, the voting precincts have been streamlined and County Clerk Chris Rich, the chief election officer, says a more balanced set of voter precincts will emerge.

Here is the press release detailing the changes:
The Board of Commissioners approved new voting precinct and
Commissioner district boundaries for Ada County.

The redrawing of voter precincts follows the Commission on Reapportionment’sestablishment of new Congressional and Legislative district boundaries, requiring the County to modify its precinct structure. Rapid growth in Ada County had alsocreated a disparity in the number of voters between precincts.

With the new precinct boundaries in effect, the number of Ada County voting
precincts increases to just 145 from 141. This number is in line with where the Ada
County Clerk’s Office expected it to be when it began this process, given the
practical and financial considerations of increasing the number of precincts. The
primary goal in redrawing the district boundaries was to more evenly distribute
voters per precinct. Prior to redrawing the boundaries, some large Ada County
precincts had upwards of 3000 voters; today the average is around 1,400 voters per
precinct. The new boundaries will also help to eliminate confusion about polling
locations, and unify some communities and neighborhoods that historically may have
been awkwardly divided.

“The new precincts are good for the voters of Ada County. Some of our largest
precincts are now smaller, and some of our smallest are now larger. As a result,
voters should now see shorter lines and have shorter drives to polling locations,”
said Chief Deputy Clerk Phil McGrane.

The Clerk’s Office would like to thank residents for their valuable and influential
input provided at a December public open house. With the precinct boundary
redrawing complete, Ada County Elections will now be focused on getting the voter
database updated in time for the May Primary election.

In addition to the new precinct boundaries, the County Commissioner districts needed
to be redrawn so they would balance out based on district population, and in keeping
with the new Legislative district boundaries. This reorganization better equalizes
the Commissioner districts, resulting in approximately 130,000 people per district
under the new boundaries. However, this redistricting does leave the District #1
County Commissioner seat vacant for the upcoming election.

For more information on the new precinct boundaries, visit the Ada County Clerk’s
website at www.adaweb.net/Clerk.aspx, or click
here
to view a map of the new precinct, Commissioner district and Legislative district
boundaries.

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When the legislature proposed a draconian law to clear the old courthouse lawn of Occupy Boise protesters, they included a clause that would classify their property as “litter” and destroy it.

Both Boise’s Top Copper, Mike Masterson and Super Trooper colonel G. Jerry Russell sent a letter to the Occupy folks thanking them for their civility during the protest.

Masterson told the GUARDIAN it was a tip from an Occupy protester that led to the arrest of the North End Tire Slasher, indicating the members are not “bad citizens.”

Here is the BPD stance if the legislation is passed:
If law enforcement is truly at the front line of safeguarding peoples liberties and rights then we (BPD) have an obligation to speak out and not wait for the courts to tell us they got the law wrong and thus our
subsequent actions were wrong as well. For this reason, I have advised the state we will not be participating in any activity associated with the removal of property should it come to that.

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It is a common move in Idaho courts, but it is the LAW.
This from the Committee for an Open Greenbelt. (Pardon the formatting, GUARDIAN is on small computer in Asia.)

Today Judge Cheri Copsey issued her ruling on our lawsuit to stop the Garden City bike ban. She ruled in favor of Garden City saying that the Citizens for an Open Greenbelt (COG) “does not have standing”. In other
words she could not rule on the merits of our case because COG, as an organization, did not suffer a particularized harm which would enable it to
bring a lawsuit against Garden City. Unfortunately, this ruling leaves citizens with little recourse to challenge the unjust actions of our elected officials. .
Specifically the judge wrote: “The issue is narrow. Until the Court
rules on whether the Plaintiff, Citizens for an Open Greenbelt, can meet
the requirements to establish standing, the Court cannot address the
merits(our emphasis) because standing is fundamental to prosecuting
any lawsuit.” She also went on to say *“…this does not address the issue of whether Garden City should open the greenbelt to bikes”.

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There was strong written opposition to the plan before the IPUC, including a document filed by attorney Jon Steele. Much of the opposition was based upon the contemplated rate Idaho Power proposed to pay for the electricity generated.

Dynamis has already received $2 million from Ada County, but based on lack of financing and other questions surrounding the deal, it looks like it faces a huge battle before it becomes a reality.

The staff report cites older methodology, higher interest rates, prices higher than needed, and even the NEED for the generating capacity at the current time.

Here is a link to the STAFF REPORT.

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This was first suggested by Gov. Jerry Brown who let his distaste for these agencies be known when he went after way to cut the state deficit.

Here’s the entire L.A. TIMES article.

The abuses and waste in California are similar to what is going on in Idaho. Look for some legislation during the current Idaho session.

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The first steps in a “regulatory taking” legal case have been initiated on behalf of the owners of three hooka bars within the city limits. The gist of the claims will be they were operating legal businesses and were put out of business by the ordinance, including visits from Boise coppers who are doing their duty enforcing the new law. No arrests were made, only warnings.

One owner had made a substantial investment, rented space, and was put out of business prior to actually opening.

Miles Stirewalt and Mikel Hautziner, a couple of local activists, sought an analysis from the city last week in a memo to the city clerk. The city is due to report back in 42 days from January 23 on its conclusion of whether or not there is a valid claim regarding putting the hooka bars out of business.

The city can deny the claim, seek a settlement, or defend its actions in court.

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Ada was cleanly divided into nine legislative districts based on population and will likely remain unchanged. That makes a perfect fit for the Ada Commishes to each take three legislative districts to form the three county districts.

Now, here comes the intrigue and potential fireworks. The Commishes could decide to put Sharon Ullman and Vern Bisterfeldt in the SAME district since they are both up for re election. Vern has the historic edge with over 50 years of public service as a Boise copper and city councilor as well as former Ada Commish.

Ullman has a solid working knowledge of the commission and has worked hard on several projects including preventative health care services. It is no secret the two tolerate each other, but don’t play nice together. She favors the proposed Dynamis trash to energy project, he is opposed and wants the $2 million the county paid to Dynamis returned.

The next question is, “do they both run for Vern’s four-year seat or Sharon’s two-year seat?” The terms of office are staggered to prevent a total turnover at any given election. If Ullman and Bisterfeldt are put into a grudge match ultimate fighter cage, that means there will be an empty seat.

Former copper, chief, drug czar and city councilor Jim Tibbs isn’t currently in public office and his name has surfaced in GUARDIAN circles.

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Chief Justice Roger Burdick signed the order which said, in a nutshell, the parties seeking relief failed to show a right to that relief.

We really like to see “instant justice” dispensed in a timely and logical manner like that.

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Idaho House Speaker Lawrence Denney’s decision to file legal action in the Idaho Supreme Court against Secretary of State Ben Ysursa will probably lead to political and personal humiliation.

The speaker has overstepped his bounds in an effort to rid the redistricting commission of a member he deemed not loyal enough to Republican interests.

Denney and his lawyer, Christ T. Troupis have made a fundamental legal blunder–failure to consider the SEPARATION OF POWERS doctrine. Our system of government has LEGISLATIVE, EXECUTIVE, and JUDICIAL branches to create a “balance of power.”

Denney thinks he has appointed Dolores Crow to the reapportionment commission. He has not. He “nominated or designated” her, but the authority to convene the commission clearly lies with the Secretary of State. Same holds true for Republican party boss Norm Semanko. He suggested Randy Hansen be a member of the panel, but Semanko is without authority to appoint anyone.

The law requires the commission to file its report with the Secretary, not the legislature. In short it is his duty, not that of the legislative branch or a political party hack who has no official capacity in ANY government branch.

Since Denney and crew wrongly claim the authority to “appoint,” they certainly would have no authority to “dismiss” any members.

The law also prohibits any member from running for office for 5 years after serving. Lobbyists, and former legislators within two years of holding office are also banned from serving.

It would be counter intuitive to give a sitting politician the authority APPOINT or DISMISS any member to a redistricting panel. They can “suggest” but the authority to actually appoint members lies with the Secretary of State. Based on the opinion of the Attorney General, no one can fire or dismiss members–there is no provision in the law to do so.

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Folks there are tired of the behavior of their legislators and seek to change the constitution to prevent legislators from changing or repealing laws passed by voters.

We Idahoans have passed both term limits and a 1% property tax limit that have been ignored and repealed by the legislature. Voters have a short memory however because there was no major backlash at the arrogant move following an Idaho Supreme Court decision that declared “laws passed by the citizens are no different than those passed by the legislature–the legislature has authority to repeal either.”

To make it even worse, unlike Montana, citizen voters in Idaho cannot even petition to amend the constitution. Only the legislature has that right. They can pass an amendment with a two-thirds approval of both houses and a simple majority of voters. Voters have no similar right to force a vote on any constitutional issue.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MONTANA:
Section 1. Article III, section 4, of The Constitution of the State of Montana is amended to read:
“Section 4. Initiative. (1) The people may enact laws by initiative on all matters except appropriations of money and local or special laws.
(2) Initiative petitions must contain the full text of the proposed measure, shall be signed by at least five percent of the qualified electors in each of at least one-half of the counties and the total number of signers must be at least five percent of the total qualified electors of the state. Petitions shall be filed with the secretary of state at least three months prior to the election at which the measure will be voted upon.
(3) The sufficiency of the initiative petition shall not be questioned after the election is held.
(4) The people reserve to themselves the powers to repeal or amend all laws passed by initiative.
(5) The legislature may not amend or repeal an initiative statute except by another statute that becomes effective only when approved by the electors unless the initiative statute permits amendment or repeal without the approval of the electorate.”

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