North Idaho College trustee candidate Mary Havercroft said she’s frustrated that the Kootenai County Central Republican Committee changed her party affiliation in their conservative voter guide as she runs for a nonpartisan seat. 

Havercroft, a candidate for trustee Zone 5, said she did not submit an affiliation when asked about her political party on the guide.

“I really honestly believe this is a nonpartisan race and should be treated that way,” Havercroft said. 

Instead, when the voter guide began circulating online, her party affiliation read “(not given *) * Unaffiliated as of 10/23, Requested DEMOCRAT ballot 2020 & 2022.” 

“I was just really frustrated that they would just fill that in for me and kind of selectively, too,” she said. 

Other candidates affiliations read “Republican,” “GOP,” and “Lifelong registered Republican.”

Havercroft said she was unaffiliated for the last several years, but registered as a Republican this spring to vote in the party’s closed primaries. Voter records confirm she is currently registered as a Republican. 

The methodology for the guide says the candidates’ submitted answers would not be changed. “We will not edit your responses in any way,” the methodology section reads. 

“They were untruthful in saying they wouldn’t edit my responses,” Havercroft said. 

Brent Regan, chair of the KCRCC, said in an email they did not change any candidate’s answer, and could not have changed Havercroft’s answer on party affiliation because she didn’t provide one. But Regan did not say why the KCRCC chose to add the details added after her submission. 

Regan pointed to mailers from SaveNIC, a local advocacy group endorsing Havercroft. SaveNIC described its endorsed candidates as longtime conservatives. This made the KCRCC look up Havercroft’s voting records. Regan also noted that Havercroft declined an invitation to participate in the KCRCC’s endorsement process.

Havercroft said she was hesitant to even respond to the guide because the questions were so partisan, but wanted to get her qualifications out to more voters. 

Candidates could write a short answer on topics including “President Trump,” ranked choice voting, parental rights, immigration, the Second Amendment, public education, school choice and wokeism. 

“All of their questions for rating and vetting speak to partisanship except maybe one,” she said. “I just didn’t respond to them because it seemed to me that, again, none of them really spoke to my qualifications or the position.” 

All races featured in the KCRCC conservative voter guide are nonpartisan. However, everyone who responded to the guide, except Havercroft, listed Republican as their party affiliation.

Partisan politics has led to controversy in other nonpartisan races featured on the conservative voter guide, such as the race for the Kootenai-Shoshone Soil and Water Conservation District, The Spokesman-Review reported. 

The NIC trustee races have been controversial, as the college faces a potential loss of accreditation amidst political turmoil. And it’s an issue in next week’s election.

SaveNIC is pushing for a new trustee team — Havercroft, Eve Knudtsen and Rick Durbin — in hopes of preserving accreditation.

The KCRCC is backing incumbent Greg McKenzie along with William Lyons and Michael Angiletta, who is opposing Havercroft. Regan has argued the accreditation issue is not due to poor governance, the main issue cited by the accrediting body, but a covert push to force colleges to have diversity, equity and inclusion programs.

EdNews’ coverage of the race can be found here.