County jail ad spat continues
County commissioner seeks outside legal opinion
By GREG STAHL
Express Staff Writer
Three weeks after the Blaine County Commission first started quibbling over who must pay the bill for a newspaper ad taken out by Commissioner Mary Ann Mix, the issue is still unresolved.
Two members of the three-person commission were surprised late last month to open the Idaho Mountain Express and see they had endorsed an opinion that contradicted information they had spent the previous month disseminating.
In the Wednesday, Oct. 27 issue of the newspaper, Mix took out an advertisement that argued against points her fellow commissioners had made at public meetings over the course of the month leading up to the election. The ad read, ?Paid for by Blaine County Commissioners,? but commissioners Sarah Michael and Dennis Wright did not know about the ad, nor did they approve its content, they said.
In general, the ad argued with points Wright and Michael had been making about a new jail, dispatch center and police station, which voters approved on Nov. 2.
Wright and Michael said the county would not pay for the ad, but Mix has stuck to a plan that would bleed the county coffers for the $303.60 the advertisement cost.
The issue is still unresolved.
?It?s like a hanging chad,? Wright said. ?It?s still dangling.?
In fact, Mix told her fellow commissioners she has sought an outside legal opinion from the Idaho Attorney General on the issue.
In a Nov. 1 letter, Mix explained the underlying logic to her opinion.
?I have always believed that it is incumbent upon county elected officials to provide all of the facts to the public, not just the selected facts that serve the purpose of a few,? she wrote. ?The ad placed in the newspaper was a compilation of the facts?taken directly from the public record, and included the official minutes of the board meeting on Sept. 7, 2004 as approved by the board and signed by the chairman of the board.?
Mix went on to quote the Idaho Constitution.
?All actual and necessary expenses incurred by any county officer or deputy in the performance of his official duties, shall be a legal charge against the county, and may be retained by him out of any fees which may come into his hands.?
The crux of the question, then, appears to be one of whether Mix?s advertisement was part of her ?official duties? as an elected official.
Although Wright and Michael said Mix told them she had sought the legal opinion, representatives at the state law office were unable to confirm the action.
?It?s unlikely that it?s here because of our protocol and procedures,? said Attorney General spokesman Bob Cooper.
Cooper said it is uncommon for the Attorney General?s Office to issue a legal opinion directly to an elected official. Usually, legal advice is given to county prosecutors who ask. Also, he pointed out that an opinion from his office is just that: an opinion.
?An Attorney General?s opinion is not binding on anyone,? he said. ?It?s just a prediction of how a court might rule.?
The catalyst for the controversy surrounds a Nov. 2 advisory vote in which voters ultimately approved a county plan to build and fund a public safety facility, including a new jail. In Mix?s ad and a nearly identical guest opinion, she argued that the county has underestimated the cost of the jail and has not exhaustively pursued opportunities to reduce the facility?s cost.
Michael and Wright spent the last month spreading information of a different flavor.
?To contradict everything we said publicly in an ad that she claimed was paid for by the commissioners?I think it?s inappropriate misrepresentation,? Michael said late last month. ?It totally misrepresents the position of the commissioners. It?s going to confuse the voters.?
Wright agreed.
?It is a misrepresentation to say it?s paid for by county commissioners,? Wright said. ?The county isn?t going to end up paying for it. I think it?s probably illegal for the county to spend moneys on an advocacy effort like that.?
The 6-inch by 8-inch display ad was displayed on page A31 of the newspaper. When Mix arrived at the Mountain Express office on Thursday, Oct. 21, she asked if her opinion would be published in the Oct. 27 issue of the newspaper. She was told it would be, and it was. But she later returned the same day to request the ad. Before submitting the information, she edited the content and added the words ?Paid for by Blaine County Commissioners? to the bottom.
She initially said she would pay using a credit card but after consideration, said the newspaper should bill the county. Blaine County Clerk Marsha Reimann proofed the ad before it ran.
The paper has not yet collected, but advertising managers were attempting to secure payment directly from Mix.
?I knew my co-worker was going to write an opposing opinion. I knew about it and encouraged it,? Wright said. ?I didn?t know about an advertisement, per se.?
Mix did not return a telephone call to discuss the matter.
