Capurso looking to provide a fresh voice as commissioner

A candidate for Boundary County Commissioner is no stranger to the political landscape.

Bonner’s Ferry resident Donna Capurso will square off against incumbent Walt Kirby in the May 17 primary election for the opportunity to advance to the general election in November. Asked why she decided to run for the seat, Capurso said it was a matter of reaching her breaking point with federal government intrusion.

“To put it simply, I am absolutely fed up with the incursion of all the federal government alphabet soup agencies that are trying to control our lives, all at the behest of a federal administration that tramples our U. S. Constitution, ignores the rule of law, seeks to take away our God given rights and is methodically taking away the land in Boundary County through the U.S. Forest Service, the Bureau of Land Management and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, she said. “It has been my experience in life that if you want to make a difference, you have to get involved in the process in order be in a position of authority to make things happen, which is more important than ever.”

Taking the federal government to task is nothing new for Capurso, who has locked horns with various federal agencies in the past. The owner/broker of Selkirk Mountain Real Estate since 2005, Capurso has also served as a volunteer for eight years on the Idaho Real Estate Commission Education Council, making monthly trips to Boise in order to improve the education of real estate licensees to better serve and protect the public. While living in Bonner County, she served as chairman of Hospitality for the Festival at Sandpoint as well as Lost in the 50’s, both for eight years. She also served as a board member of both the Selkirk Association of Realtors as well as the Multiple Listing Service, as well as having served on the Board of Directors for the Bonner County Food Bank.

“As a resident of Boundary County, taking the federal government to task is not new to me, Capurso said. “In 2011, as chairman of the Boundary County Republican Central Committee, I stood up to the federal government when the USFWS went after Jeremy Hill to prosecute him for shooting a grizzly while protecting four of his six children. In 2012, I was vocal and stepped up for our county by pushing back on the USFWS and the USFS on their proposed closing of 365,562 acres for 1 – 4 visiting Canadian Caribou. This past December I became aware of the issue and possibility of Islamic refugees being relocated to Boundary County. I wrote the resolution on the Islamic refugee issue that was presented to the 325 people at the commissioner’s meeting held at the fairgrounds, which was unanimously approved by the commissioners, signed and sent to the governor.”

Should Capurso be elected, she promises to work tirelessly against federal intrusion, as well as water adjudication issues.

“With over 74 percent of the 1278 square miles of Boundary County being controlled by governmental entities and of that land mass, 475,236 acres of our county are dominated by federal agencies, those being the USFS and BLM, working towards getting the federally controlled lands into Idaho hands would be my first goal,” she explained.

“Our county only has 25.6 percent of private land here to sustain our public services and to make a living on. Issues we must deal with as a county are the ESA (Endangered Species Act) enforced by the USFWS with the introduction of the Canadian Grey Wolves and the grizzly bears. The Wolverine and Canadian Lynx will be next. In addition, the EPA is attempting to control all of our waterways with the “Navigable Waters Rule.” But of much more concern to me is going to be Boundary County’s water adjudication issues, in particular the United Nations renegotiated Columbia River Basin Treaty which affects not just our county but all of Idaho. This is a complicated issue, but the core of the plan is to implement “ecosystem management” and will control our water, in particular flooding via Idaho dams, our hydropower and irrigation management. Because this is considered an international treaty, decisions will be controlled by the United Nations and they will make determinations based on “environmental and social factors” which do not include people.”

To that end, Capurso has become a member of the American Lands Council and the Coalition of Western States, joining both of these organizations for the simple fact there is power and strength in numbers.

“Every year we lose more and more land on which to enjoy the great outdoors as the feds continue to gate off access to what is labeled as public land, which is far from reality,” Capurso said. “This is why it is so important to get control of the federal lands, and especially vital for Boundary County.”

Faith also plays a large part in Capurso’s life and that of her family. Should she be elected, those values will remain at the forefront.

“I am a Christian and a Constitutional conservative that believes in liberty, freedom, patriotism, justice and the rule of law,” she said. “I understand just how important the U.S. Constitution, the Bill of Rights and the concept of self-governance are and I believe that now is the time for “We the People” to be fearless in defending our God given rights. That means I have the right to believe that the sanctity of marriage is between a man and a woman and that life begins at conception. I have the right to freedom of religion, freedom of speech and that I have the right to bear arms as guaranteed by our Second Amendment. We must remain vigilant, dedicated and stand strong when it comes to the safety and welfare of our community as well as safeguarding our way of life and our love of freedom and liberty.”