North Idaho Slow Growth

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    Sheriff Norris and the Multi-Millionaires

    Sep 26, 2024

    Almost everyone in North Idaho who runs for office claims to be an “anti-establishment” conservative and Sheriff Norris is no exception.   But for someone who strives to represent himself as a MAGA republican, at odds with the corrupt, self-serving, globalist ruling class,—it is striking how many of Norris's most dedicated supporters are multi-millionaires.

    It is hard to know what to believe. Skillful politicians always say what their constituents want to hear.  Norris claims that he will defend gun rights, oppose illegal immigration, and protect Kootenai residents from a tyrannical federal government.  But talk is cheap.   How can we know which leaders will serve the common people and which are “establishment” minions.

    Follow the Money

    There is a way.  Anyone who is experienced in tracking down and exposing corruption in public office is familiar with the adage “Follow the Money”.  And it works.  Focusing on where a candidate’s money comes from, rather than on what he promises, is an excellent way to determine his true allegiances.

    For this reason, NISGR has begun to investigate the major donors of both candidates for sheriff.   However, this article will focus mainly on Norris’s supporters because he has many more influential donors than Wilson does.     As of September, Norris’s campaign had registered fifty-seven $1000 donors,—many of them prominent businessmen.  At the same time Wilson had eight $1000 donors,—almost all unknowns.

    NISGR will be researching prominent donors of both camps using public domain sources.   What this means is that we are mainly concerned with people with some public presence, who own businesses, hold public office, or are associated with influential agencies.  If a political donor is minding their own business and is not in a position to benefit from political favors, they are unlikely to show up on our radar.   

    Another thing to keep in mind is that we are not just looking at individual donors, but also for groups of large donors who appear to be working together.  There are several instances where specific conflicts-of-interest with individual donors seem apparent, and we mention these.  But there are problems with organized networks of influential people that are more subtle than an obvious quid pro quo.    

    In other words, a wealthy individual donor is only a cause for concern if he seeks political favors.  But when powerful people congregate and combine their resources, it starts to look like more of a conspiracy, whether or not we are able to determine their ultimate aim.  

    OK, maybe not every group of millionaires that works together is part of a globalist cabal dedicated to world domination.  Maybe some of them are just golf buddies.    And some are undoubtedly well-intentioned, true conservatives.  Still, when millionaires congregate, it can’t hurt to keep a watchful eye on them. 

     For that reason, we’ve organized information about Norris’s millionaire donors into groups so we can consider associations of influential people as well as individuals. 

     These groups are: 1) Prominent “Endorsers”, 2)   KCDSA PAC Donors, 3) Out of State Donors, 4)  Helicopter Donors,  5) KCRCC Large Donors, and 6) KCRCC New Donors.     We conclude with a list of Dan Wilson's largest donors, but they are not nearly as interesting.

     

    Prominent Norris Endorsers

    Several prominent community members that support Norris are featured on his endorsements page.  Most are long time supporters who backed his campaign in 2020, and many are very successful businessmen.  

     

    KCDSA-PAC Donors

    Individual donations to political campaigns are capped at $1000 per election.  However, there are a few ways around this limit.  Political Action Committees (PACs) allow for much larger donations.  There are restrictions against co-ordinating with a particular candidate's campaign, but this is difficult to enforce.

    In 2020 Norris supporters created the KCDSA PAC, supposedly to serve the interests of KC Deputy Sheriffs.   However, all its major donors happen to be Norris/Mattare cronies rather than L.E. professionals, and it spent the bulk of its money promoting Norris for sheriff.  Prominent KCDSA-PAC donors include:  

    • Dan Edwards  ($10,000 to PAC + $2,210),—former Dalton Garden’s Mayor and President of Trafficorp, was Norris’s largest 2024 donor.  
    • Ron Rock  ($3000 to PAC + $4,000),— is a generous supporter of Norris, and one of his “endorsers”.
    • Golf Club at Black Rock ($2000 to PAC),—owned by John F. Magnuson. 
    • Black Rock Marina ($2000 to PAC),—owned by John F. Magnuson, Matt Beck, and Clifford Findlay. 
    • Robert Smith ($1200 to PAC)+$4000),—owner of the Fernan Shooting Range is a dedicated Norris supporters. 
    • John F. Magnuson ($1000 to PAC+$2000+$1000(2020)),— Attorney, Registered Agent of of Black Rock Golf Club and son of Idaho mining magnate Harry Magnuson.
    • David Chapman ($10,000 to PAC in 2020, and  $1,000 to PAC 2024 +$1,200)—owner of Chapman Financial Services (a collection agency) and co-founder of Mountain West Bank.  Chapman was the first major donor to the KCDSA PAC and is well-connected.  Other MW Bank founders (Meyers, Nipp, Dugdale, Patano, English, Parker, Hippler) are big names in KC politics and all RINOs.  (Learn more about the  shenanigans of MWBank founders here).
    • Jason Deegan ($2000 to PAC in 2020)—resides at Black Rock Golf resort, as do several other Norris donors.  

     

    Note that two "Black Rock" corporations and their owner donated to the KCDSA PAC even though the resort at Black Rock is located in a gated community on CDA tribal land which is NOT patrolled by KCSO deputies.

    So far we have identified $31,000 in KCSDA-PAC donations from millionaire Norris supporters. Now let’s consider KCDSA donors who are actually affiliated with law enforcement.  Their combined contribution to the PAC, over five years is $660.

    • George Howley ($360 to PAC + 2000), —retired NYPD associated with the Fernan Rod and Gun Glub who was a 9-11 First Responder.
    • Captain Andrew Deak ($300 to PAC + $100)—served with KCSO since 2002 and now commands the Operation Support Bureau.

     

    Out-of-State Donors

    Another category of Norris Donors that should be considered is “out of state” millionaires.   Of these, Don Ahern, a Las Vegas Billionaire and helicopter donor, is the most notable.   But he is far from the only out-of-state magnate to back Norris.  So far in 2024, Norris has received more than $14,000 from out-of-State millionaires.

    • Jason Vedadi ($4000)—CEO of Story Cannabis  a multi-state Cannabis dispensaries, based in Arizona.
    • Peter Gambee ($3000)—CEO of Paramount Strategic, a political lobbyist and strategist based in Sacramento, CA.        
    • Michael Lafever ($2000)—Investment advisor, San Diego, CA 
    • Don Ahern ($2000 + $100K to Helicopter)—Billionaire CEO of Ahern Rentals and numerous other companies, based in Henderson/Las Vegas NV.
    • Brandon Main [CEO  ($1000)—CEO of Xtreme Cubes, a manufacturing company owned by Don Ahern, based in Henderson, NV.
    • Jordan Dascalo ($1000)—former football player, resides in L.A., CA
    • Thomas McGlade ($1000)—CEO of Legion of Bloom, a cannabis dispensary based in Los Angeles, CA  
    • Chris Vovos ($4000 in 2020)—CEO of  Tam Burgers, an L.A. area burger chain. Vovos was given Special Deputy Status within LASO.     In another article we discussed Vovos’s involvement in a money laundering and illegal donations scheme during the LASO Sheriff’s race in 2018.

     

    One of the striking things about Norris’s out-of-state contributors is that several of them are heavily involved in the cannabis dispensary market.    Jason Vedadi has a multi-state operation;  Thomas McGlade is associated with Legion of Bloom in LA;  and Xtreme Cubes,  a company owned by Don Ahern, produces growers for industrial marijuana operations.

    And this is from a sheriff who is outspoken against the legalization of cannabis and routinely arrests marijuana users.  Very curious!!!    Why are Cannabis dealers so supportive of Robert Norris?????   Inquiring minds want to know!!!

     

    Sheriff Helicopter Donors

    The sheriff’s helicopter donors are another group of multi-millionaires who are of special interest because their donations are in the hundred thousand dollar range—an immense sum for an “air support” program that is of very questionable value to the Sheriff’s Office.

    Besides the fact that it is extremely expensive, another disturbing thing about the helicopter program is that it is equipped with state-of-the-art sensors, cameras, and KC law-enforcement communication, yet it is privately controlled and operated, meaning that neither the flow of money or the usage of resources is open to public scrutiny.     

    So why exactly, are so many wealthy donors so anxious to support it?    Perhaps it is unsurprising that some of the helicopter donors appear to have a vested interest in influencing either KCSO or BOCC policies.  

     

    The NISGR article  Who is Behind the Sheriff’s Helicopter provides a detailed look at potential conflicts of interest, but we will summarize three of them here.  

    1) KCSO’s Policies regarding CDA Tribal Land:—After the CDA Tribe (whose main source of revenue is the CDA Casino), donated $200,000 to the Sheriff’s helicopter program, KCSO agreed to that it would not patrol tribal land unless a non-tribal resident requests assistance.  What is especially curious about this is that several Helicopter and/or Norris donors appear to own land within tribal boundaries in the Black Rock resort community, which may explain the Black Rock resort and marina donations to the KCDSA PAC.    In summary:

     

    Private KCSO demonstration at Blackrock. 

    It is interesting that in August 2023 KCSO did a demonstration of their K-9, Air support, and SWAT capabilities for a private audience at the Black Rock Resort.  KCSO has also done such demonstrations for the general public, but this is a good example of “special treatment” for VIPs that makes Norris so popular with multi-millionaires.     

     

    KCSO’s Illegal Alien Policies:—The problem of illegal aliens in Kootenai County is complicated by the fact that some of them have been granted H-2 temporary work visas.  So the ability to identify illegal aliens has a great deal to do with the Sheriff’s willingness to confront companies that hire legal and/or illegal temporary workers.   It’s a difficult problem, but the fact one of the leaders of KCRASU’s board members owns a corporation dedicated to providing temporary foreign workers to Idaho companies is a definite conflict of interest.

    .

    Development Near Hayden Airport:—Another project that involves numerous Norris supporters is a rumored development near US-95 and the Hayden airport.   It is unclear what is being planned or what conflicts of interest may exist.  Hayden City officials have been very secretive about the plans, perhaps for legal reasons or perhaps because the Hayden Urban Renewal Agency (HURA), which uses city taxes to support private developers, is involved.

    This shows properties near US-95 and Lancaster that are owned by Norris supporters. Most notable is Nevada Billionaire Don Ahern, a helicopter donor who recently hosted Norris and Mattare at a private reception at his Las Vegas Hotel. This is a list of all the Norris or helicopter donors who may be involved.   All are either commercial property owners or developers.  

    • Don Ahern ($2000 + $100K to Helicopter)—Nevada Billionaire.  Owns a Las Vegas Hotel, Ahern Rentals, and many other companies. Investor in RAD LCC (with Rock) and RFA LCC (with Robinson).  
    • Alan and Eric Rock ($1000)—Owners of Consignment Furniture, Rock Properties LLC, and RAD LLC (with Ahern).  The Rocks also have business interests in Nevada.  
    • Kirk Robinson ($160)—Nevada developer and co-investor with Don Ahern in the DFA LLC.  Kirk is in Mattare’s inner circle and is husband of RINO CLN trustee Vanessa Robinson.  
    • Todd Stam ($1820 + $100K to Helicopter)—Real Estate Developer and owner of Aspen Homes, sold his Hayden property to Ahern in 2021.  
    • John Young ($1000)—Real Estate developer,  owner of Young Construction. Former chairman of HURA, the urban renewal agency involved with the development.  Founder of NIR and KCRCC PC. 
    • Randy McIntire ($100K to Helicopter)—CEO of Super One Foods, board member of HURA, and business associate of John Young.  

     

    Since we don’t know what is being planned for the area, it is impossible to say why so many of the investors and developers involved in the project are Norris/helicopter donors.  Perhaps the connection is through Mattare and the BOCC than KCSO.  But mysterious developments involving billionaire out-of-state investors and HURA are always cause for concern.

     

    KCRCC’s Largest Donors

    We are now ready to take a look at connections between Norris Donors and KRCC, the Granddaddy of all Political Action Committees.   This is important because there is nothing more valuable to a politician than a KCRCC endorsement.  And Norris appears to have the full support of KCRCC leadership in spite of his serious betrayal of conservative MAGA PC’s in the May election.

    The finances of KCRCC are VASTLY more complicated than are those of most other PACs and NISGR has little knowledge of KCRCC’s internal politics.  All we can do is “follow the money” and assume that those who donate substantial amounts to KCRCC wield a considerable amount of control over the PAC.    

    Supposedly, the KCRCC PCs make the decisions about who to support, and how to use KCRCC resources.  But if donors are not in agreement with KCRCC endorsements or priorities, they can take their resources elsewhere.   Or alternatively, they can work to elect new PCs more in line with their priorities, as the RINOs who left KCRCC over the last few year to form NIR have done. 

    So donors have a significant say in how KCRCC is run, but not all donors are of equal importance.   Large donors who make substantial contributions over many years hold more sway than small donors.    So it is the preferences of the largest donors to KCRCC that are of the most interest.   

    So who are the largest donors to KCRCC, and what connections do they have to Norris?  We tried to find answers by searching through donor information of both the KCRCC PAC and the Norris campaign.  We simplified the problem by focusing only on donors who made substantial contributions to KCRCC.  And in addition, we considered “long term” KCRCC donors separately from “new” donors.   

     

    Long Term KCRCC Major Donors

    The charts below identify known Norris supporters who made substantial contributions to KCRCC between 2020 and 2023.  They are listed in order of total contributions, including those made in the name of a spouse or business.   They are further broken into three donation levels:   1) Over 10K,  2) 5K to 10K,  3) 2K to 5K.   

    Thirteen KCRCC donors contributed more than $10K between 2020-23, but only the eight listed above are known Norris supporters. The preference of the other five (Mitchell, Thrasher, CDA Rental, Loren, Coins Plus) is not known, but their combined donations were $67,290. The total contribution of KCRCC’s most generous pro-Norris donors is over $286K!!   

    The next group of KCRCC donors to consider are those who contributed more than $5K but less than $10K during 2020-23.   Of this group, only four are known Norris supporters, but these include both Mattare, and the KCRWF, which is currently dominated by Norris loyalists. The preferences of the other nine $5K+ donors are not known.   They are: Knudtsen, Barbieri, Rutan, Missional Development, Bierman, Golub, Mendive, Decker, Migliore Olive.

    When we extend our sample size to include KCRCC supporters who donated between $2K and $5K during the same period, we get similar results.  Only 7 of 32 are active Norris donors.    

    Conclusions:   

    It seems that, while there is significant support for Norris among all levels of KCRCC donors,  it is at the highest level among the largest donors.  This is where his most stalwart supporters are, and where the influence of pro-Norris money on KCRCC is the most apparent.  

    Furthermore, it appears that the contribution of the dozen largest donors to KCRCC  is so substantial this group has decisive influence over how KCRCC does business.  Just the top eight pro-Norris donors:  Redman, Pinkerton, Regan, Damiano, Price, Toews, Van Noy, and Rock donate significantly more than the next 50 most generous KCRCC donors combined. 

    So it appears that Norris has solid support among KCRCC leadership.   The average Kootenai Conservative may not know exactly who the multi-millionaire, head honcho, mega-donors of the KCRCC are, but Norris certainly does.

     

    KCRCC’s “New” Donors

    We’ve considered the “Old Guard” of KCRCC Major Donors, now let’s look at the New Arrivals.  Our next chart examines New KCRCC Donors—that is, Republicans who made their first substantial donation to KCRCC in 2024.  As of September, there were 12 “first-time” Donors, who contributed over $1500 to KCRCC in 2024, and by a remarkable coincidence, eight of twelve of these new donors happen to also be Norris loyalists. 

     

    And this list doesn’t even consider the contributions of several other Norris Loyalists, who have donated to KCRCC before, but dramatically upsized their 2024 donations.  The pro-Norris donors below all donated more to KCRCC in 2024 than they did in the previous four years combined.

     

    So things are looking good for Norris at the KCRCC in spite of his unpopularity with certain disgruntled conservative former PCs. The Multi-millionaire major donors of KCRCC are solid behind him, and a substantial majority of the new major donors,—who expect to wield more influence in the future,—are Norris supporters.    

    And best of all, from the pro-Norris viewpoint, most of those who might have stood against him, lost their KCRCC PC position in the pro-RINO May Massacre, and the RINO PCs who replaced them are partially indebted to the traitorous tactics of Norris’s KCSEA-FOP backers for their position.   As usual, the unbeatable combination of Money and Deception has won the day, and the fate of KCRCC is now in the hands of a group of PCs divided nearly in half between patriots and RINOs. 

    So the Norris camp can expect smooth sailing, at least for a while. Thanks to the new infusion of RINO PCs, and the machinations of KCRCC leadership, his supporters were able to eke out another endorsement.  The pro-Norris PCs still maintain a majority and it appears that the mega-donors of KCRCC are all on board and happy to work with the new crew of RINO PCs, that Norris helped elect.

     

    Dan Wilson’s  Donors

    That’s all for now folks, but still lots of interesting research to do into Kootenai County multi-millionaires.    And for those who would like to help investigate Wilson’s donors, and any potential devious networks of multi-millionaires behind him,  the Idaho Sunshine website is a great start.   

     

    After an initial investigation, we don't seem to be able to find anything more incriminating among Wilson donors than a troublesome group of patriots associated with Stop Smart Cities Idaho.     But more information may be out next month and we'll continue to investigate.  If you have any tips, let us know!!

    Wilson does have one very suspicious endorser, Blaine Holt, a former general and member of the Council of Foreign Relations, which is a hot-bed of globalist connivery.   So who is Blaine Holt?   Innocent patriot, duped into associating with globalist miscreants?  Full-fledged globalist scoundrel?  Crypto-RINO snake?  Smear Carrier?     Not sure at this point, but we are looking into it. 

     

Comments

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    Bill Miller says (Oct 13, 2024):

    This is absolute gobbledegook. You prove nothing except innuendo and uncertainty on a good Sheriff. What about the simple explanation that because he did a good job during his first term the successful people in the county want to support him instead of some guy who runs on everyone else is bad. Most of Norris’s supporters did not support him 4 years ago. Can you not be less biased?

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