CommissionMen Not Hiding Their Disrespect

CommissionMen Not Hiding Their Disrespect

by Shari Dovale

The Bonner County Commissioner (BOCC) Meeting of May 30th heated up again, with the 2 CommissionMEN belittling the public and their fellow female commissioner, as usual. And again, as usual, this was over the contested piece of land that has been set aside for a new Justice Center for the county.

The 2 men want this property to be given to the Fair board to be turned into a 34-space RV campground. The fair board has publicly stated that they do not want this land, or the grant money that is associated with it.

See: Fair Board Doubles Down Against Bonner CommissionMEN

It was discussed that the Fair board did not want the parcel, the grant, or the responsibility to manage the BOCC plans, but Chairman Bradshaw suggested that the Fair board can be replaced if they do not agree with these CommissionMEN.

Commissioner Luke Omodt showed his meager attempt at gaslighting the public with his despotic statements. Omodt declared that these plans have been in discussions with the Fair board for years, since at least 2019. Commissioner Bradshaw showed his full agreement with these comments.

Omodt then said that he just “expects people to keep their word” about these plans.

Here are the problems with the plans (as laid out this week) by the 2 CommissionMEN.

If discussions of the RV campground had been happening since 2019, then why did they scrap those plans in the fall of 2021 to try to force an ice rink down the throats of the people?

See: Misappropriation Of Public Property

The dire need of an RV campground was no longer a priority during those months, was it? Then, when the urgency of an ice rink went away, the exaggerated demand of an RV park returned.

What is it about this particular piece of property has these 2 Men getting their knickers twisted? This question has been asked at nearly every meeting for months. Yet, the people are still asking the question.

The second problem with their diatribe is when Omodt suggested that the Fair board was not keeping their word over this RV campground deal. Again, he said that he, “expects people to keep their word.”

He doesn’t seem to remember all of the meetings in which the BOCC voted one way, just to have them rescind their votes the following week. Recent examples include:

• March 21st, there was a vote to disengage from Sewell engineering
• March 21st included a vote to add an advisory question to the May ballot for the public to weigh in on the RV campground issue.
• April 4th, and the BOCC voted to allow the Fair Board to do their jobs and get this project back onto their designated land

All of these votes were rescinded and changed because these men could not “Keep Their Word” and let their votes stand.

See: Commissioner Calls Public Comment Debauchery and Foolishness

See: Bonner CommissionMEN Pull Bait and Switch?

Belittling the public, and their female colleague, is becoming standard operating procedure for these Men.

Beginning with Luke Omodt making statements including, “I am aware that there are members of this community that would like to raise taxes on the rest of us.”

He then suggested that these same people were just not quite smart enough, like he is, to understand budgetary restraint. He seems to think like the Socialist Federal Government, in that they need to swell the national debt to MEGA Trillions in order to become fiscally responsible. You cannot spend your way into prosperity. It does not work.

This is also a gaslighting technique, as well as narcissistic. The public is well aware of how these techniques were used repeatedly against them by a previous board member. The fact that Omodt has chosen this route strengthens the public perception that his mentor is controlling his actions and words.

Omodt would like to suggest that if someone does not accept his stance on the issue then they are wishing harm to the county. It is disingenuous at best, but certainly deceitful and dishonest and completely unfair to the people he is supposed to represent.

Chairman Bradshaw is not lost in the contemptuous behavior presented through these meetings.

This week’s meeting showed Bradshaw put the meeting into a 10 minute recess because he did not want to hear from a constituent.

But wait, there’s more!

Bradshaw shut down the last 30 minutes of the public comment portion, and blamed it on Commissioner Williams. Bradshaw went so far as to physically point to her during the meeting and tell the public to “Thank this lady right here.”

But wait, there’s even more!

Commissioner Williams asked why the 2 men wanted to advertise for bids, at a cost of up to $150.00, for a project that is not likely to happen. Bradshaw claimed it was preparation in case they can make the project come back, yet there were no guarantees.

If Bradshaw believes that you should buy a couple of tons of hay today for a horse you might find to buy next month, then he is free to do that with his own personal finances. But when you are entrusted with the public’s money, that is not how you should handle it.

Bradshaw was so incensed at these questions that he refused to allow Williams to finish speaking. He then called for a vote in which he spoke over her, and immediately recessed the meeting with the intention of only coming back for executive sessions.

After the meeting, with the room still filled with multiple people, Bradshaw very loudly told someone TWICE who asked him about his choice to shut down the meeting to “Kiss My A**”

Bradshaw has not been afraid to show disrespect to everyone in the county, and he has not been afraid to curse in his meetings. Yet, he has not been known to escalate his animosity for the public to this degree.

Bradshaw believes he can control behavior and states he will not allow disrespect in his meetings. But his actions show the myth of those words, as he displays this same behavior at other public meetings, with no intention of allowing other boards to shut him down.

The Bushnell Report offered a video of Chairman Bradshaw at the May 25^th meeting of the Panhandle Health Board. He is shown to be rude and disrespectful of this board in ways he would never allow during his BOCC meetings.

Bradshaw’s message is clear, “Do as I say, not as I do.”