Details emerge in election case

SANDPOINT — The criminal case pending against Bonner County Clerk Ann Dutson-Sater has been unsealed.

Dutson-Sater is charged with two counts official neglect or malfeasance and one count of subornation of perjury. The felony offenses stem from her handling of the attempted recall of Steve Youngdahl, chairman of the Lake Pend Oreille School District’s board of trustees.

Dutson-Sater, a 55-year-old Sagle resident, is free on her own recognizance while the case is pending. A preliminary hearing to determine if a trial in 1st District Court is warranted is set for Oct. 1.

The criminal complaint alleges that Dutson-Sater suborned perjury by telling recall organizer Tom Bokowy he could attest in writing to witnessing all of the recall petition signatures being gathered if he saw a majority of them being gathered.

The official neglect or malfeasance counts result from Dutson-Sater accepting the improperly-certified recall documents and allowing recall organizers to submit signatures piecemeal rather than all at once as required by state recall election law.

The alleged offenses date back to December of last year.

Dutson-Sater has indicated that the missteps were done in error and not in an attempt to subvert the law. Dutson-Sater’s defense counsel, Sandpoint attorney, Toby McLaughlin, filed a not-guilty plea on her behalf on Friday.

Deputy Clerk Charles Konrad Wurm is also facing criminal charges, although his case remains sealed until an attorney files a notice of appearance or he makes an initial appearance in Bonner County Magistrate Court.

There are no pending criminal charges against Bokowy, according to the Idaho Supreme Court Data Repository.

The recall election was never held because state law required all of the signatures to be turned in at one time. The recall was initiated by school district patrons who objected to Youngdahl’s proposal to arm staff to guard against a school shooting.

A probable cause affidavit in Dutson-Sater’s case indicates that Youngdahl and his supporters took their concerns about misconduct in the recall to county commissioners. They told commissioners that they contacted some of the petition’s signers and were told that others besides Bokowy were circulating the petitions.

Youngdahl also accused recall organizers of telling signers that he planned to arm every teacher in the district, which he said was a material misrepresentation meant to induce people to join the recall effort, according to court documents.

 The Bonner County sheriff’s and prosecutor’s offices handed the matter over their counterparts in Kootenai County to avoid any appearances of a conflict of interest, court records show.

Bonner County commissioners issued a statement last week acknowledging they were contacted about the alleged election fraud, but denied exerting any influence in the matter.