Sitting in on election night with Nate Shelman on KBOI 670, we got to hear from several candidates on the losing side of the polls.

These are never easy interviews — and because of that, they tend to tell you a lot about the politico taking the questions.

Canyon County Sheriff Chris Smith sounded downcast and in despair — with all kind of good reason. County officials had scaled back a $72.5 million jail bond issue to $46 million, and still were well short of the two-thirds majority needed to pass. He sounded like a public official genuinely concerned about public safety — and worried that, without adequate jail space, the county lacks the space to lock away the suspects arrested by his deputies.

Boise City Council candidate Dave Litster sounded professional and analytical. He pointed out, accurately, that his opponent TJ Thomson had gotten into the race months earlier. No whining, in my book. Just a factual observation.

Litster's de facto running mates, Lucas Baumbach and Dan Dunham, couldn't resist succumbing to some boilerplate griping about the Statesman's election coverage.

I'm sorry, but when candidates start grousing about media treatment after 11 o'clock on election night, I get a little bit skeptical. I'm not calling this sour grapes. Shelman did, though, on air, and he has no dog in the fight.

Baumbach and Dunham could take some lessons from Nate Mitchell.

The Star mayor led the charge for a $6 million bond issue to buy a golf course and build a city swimming pool. On Tuesday night, his effort landed squarely in the sand trap. Instead of gaining the two-thirds support needed to pass, more than two-thirds of voters said no.

When the numbers rolled in, Mitchell phoned the studio to break the news. No ducking. No ignoring the cell phone. No whitewashing. "I think, well, obviously, it was a bad idea."

No carping about the paper, and I have to say, I was pleasantly surprised. When the Statesman came out against the bond issue, Mitchell fired off a characteristically blunt rebuttal: our editorial, the mayor opined, "was possibly the single most uninformed editorial I've read in this paper."

And you what? I really have no problem with this. Mitchell submitted a rebuttal the morning the editorial ran. We ran it two days later. He made his argument. He had his say — and his passion for the issue became evident. I'll take that over after-the-fact grousing.

On Tuesday night, Mitchell said he was glad 35 percent of voters spoke out on his idea (I'm sorry that 35 percent turnout is cause for celebration anywhere, but that's beside the point). Mitchell pretty much declared the golf course deal dead, but said he would keep seeking new ways to pursue recreational facilities for his city. He's looking ahead, which bodes well for his chances of finding a plan that will work with Star taxpayers' budgets. Very professional.

Mitchell lost big Tuesday night, but showed himself to be a class act.

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