I don't follow CdA politics that much. The Kootenai County GOP is very good (that's where CdA is located). The Idaho Republican Platform is very good (but not as good as the one Texas prepared).
Here's a letter recently published in the CdA Press (a VERY liberal rag) about RINOs in Kootenai County...
ELECTION: Resist RINO invasion
April 10, 2024
By Coeur d'Alene resident Stephanie Schad
She is worried about "RINOs putting up over $1,000,000 to unseat current precinct committeemen across the state. Much of their effort will be aimed at the Kootenai County Republican Central Committee (KCRCC) because our county is the most conservative. There is now a RINO challenging almost every PC in Kootenai County."
On other quality of life matters...
I am disappointed that the city council does little to protect the small-town charm of CdA. They approved a 19 story mixed-use building adjacent to the CdA resort which is going to block views of the beautiful lake and Tubbs Hill. That got rolling when Duane Hagedone got the whole resort and golf course going in the 80s. The town transitioned from a working-class lumber town to a resort town which brings good and bad.
There's a Human Rights Commission in CdA which always has the same complaints that all such commissions have around the country. I think it was created to attempt to undo some of the damage done by the Aryan Nations in nearby Hayden.
Housing prices have gone crazy in the area, the farmlands are getting sold off and turned into developments, the towns are all running into one another, and traffic congestion continues to get worse. There is construction everywhere. A lot of the small-town charm has disappeared with the huge population growth.
The police force in CdA is excellent and has a highly respected, no-nonsense and well-liked Sheriff. There are very few bums about town and not much graffiti. On my hikes around the area, if I see graffiti in CdA, I report it to the city council and it's taken care of immediately. Idaho is hard on drug traffickers and dealers.
The whole area is very friendly. You'll find the high school kids working at the local supermarkets always ask about your day and what you are doing. It is a very patriotic, faith, God, guns and family area.
There was a report out a few months back that the out-of-state people moving to Idaho have made it even more red, so that's good. But the Democrat party is active and competitive in Idaho and pushing horrible things like ranked choice voting. The RINOs in the state legislature have helped quite a few Democrat initiatives.
The biggest problems are the state capitol (naturally) and the college town of Moscow (naturally, again) with Twin Falls coming in third (big agribusiness needing cheap labor).
That's a more expansive answer than what you asked for. I hope it is helpful. If you want to take an exploratory trip to CdA, send me a FReepMail and we'd be glad to have you and your wife over to discuss our thoughts...and take you out on the lake on our boat!