[Vision2020] [Corrected Link] Election Postcard Case Continues

[Tom Hansen]

Courtesy of today's (December 6, 2010) Moscow-Pullman Daily News.

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Election postcard case continues
More than 150 cards sent to Idaho forensics lab

By [author]Christina Lords[/author] [org]Daily News Staff Writer[/org]
December 6, 2010

More than a month after Election Day, law enforcement continues to work on
the case relating to an inflammatory political postcard about an Idaho
Senate candidate sent out to potentially hundreds of Latah County
residents just days before voters were to go to the polls.

The postcard, which depicted Gresham Bouma, Republican candidate for Idaho
Senate in District 6, and mentioned several other candidates, was sent to
residents Oct. 16.

The postcard stated voting for Bouma and Dave McGraw, the Republican
candidate for Latah County Commissioner District 3, was "not enough."

The postcard stated "You are not a true Christian and you are on the path
to hell," and states voters should be "true believers" or be "struck
down."

"The postcard itself was so serious and damaging that we pretty much had
to drop everything and address it directly or people would have believed
it," Bouma said.

Lt. Brannon Jordan of the Latah County Sheriff's Office said county
officials received about 150 of the postcards and each of those cards have
been sent to the Idaho state forensics lab to be individually processed
for fingerprint and other evidence.

"We still don't have a suspect, but we are still actively working on it,"
he said. "We're in active contact with the postal inspector ... we don't
want to let this go."

Bouma has denied the postcard originated from his campaign, and organizers
and candidates from both sides of the political aisle condemned the act.

Bouma said the postcard may have affected the outcome of the election
because the incident cost him valuable campaigning time right before
voters went to the polls.

"After reflecting on it, I think it obviously took us off of our message
for about five days and just weeks before the election," he said. "We
definitely had some fires to put out. We had a policy to stay positive in
our message ... and that got us off of our message."

A $1,000 reward fund from the Bouma campaign is still available for anyone
with information on the creator or creators of the postcard, Bouma said.

Additional money was offered by Moscow Cares and donations from other
various community members. The Postcard Hoax Information Reward Fund has
three directors: Latah County Democratic Party Chairman Dave Nelson, Latah
County Republican Chairman Walter Steed and Tom Hansen of the Moscow Cares
website.

"The way the reward was set up was at the judgement of the sheriff," Steed
said. "If there were no leads by Dec. 1, that money would be refunded to
donors."

The money has not yet been refunded because the parties are still waiting
to see if any more information will surface, he said.

Steed said he was contacted by the Latah County Prosecuting Attorney's
Office after the election to reassure the parties involved that officials
are still pursuing leads in the case.

Bouma said the incident has not changed his mind about his decision for
running for office, and he will not "lay down and roll over" when it comes
to the issues he campaigned on during the election.

The creator or creators of the postcard need to be apprehended, he said.

"When these kind of tactics succeed ... only the people they tolerate will
make office," Bouma said. "We just can't let them win."

Anyone with information on the case is encouraged to contact the sheriff's
office at (208) 882-2216.

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Crank up your speakers and . . .

Be a hero, Moscow.
http://www.MoscowCares.com/Hero

Tom Hansen
Moscow, Idaho

"The Pessimist complains about the wind, the Optimist expects it to change
and the Realist adjusts his sails."

- Unknown