June 19: On the Campaign Trail. Summer is almost here with my door to door campaigning underway for about two months now. The people I’ve talked with are greatly concerned about gas prices and are especially concerned that they are likely going to continue to go higher as the year advances. Improved bus service and long term investments in public transit systems come up frequently as realistic responses to this trend. Improved fuel efficiency and hybrid alternatives are also cited as approaches worthy of promotion by public policy choices. In many ways John and Jane Q. Citizen appear to have a more realistic notion of what makes sense. While nuclear power was mentioned as another alternative, the scale of capital investment, the rather long time frame to provide any realistic impact, and the nagging concern with the handling and storage of waste products made it less desirable to many.
Interim Committees. I have been selected to serve on a joint interim committee made up of members from the House Revenue & Tax committee and the Senate Finance Committee, Appropriations, and Judiciary & Rules. The committee is charged with reviewing the funding of Idaho’s trial court system, much of which is dependent on local property tax revenues. Concern has been raised about the difficulty of funding a uniform and effective statewide system, county by county, when many of Idaho’s less populous counties have very limited revenues available to them. As a former prosecutor and public defender in Valley and Adams counties I saw first hand this issue. Local taxpayers were frequently saddled with providing a properly funded criminal justice system in situations where the defendants were from elsewhere, both in and out of state; needless to say this does not make for happy campers. Hopefully a more equitable and financially sustainable approach can be developed.
ESGR. One of the bills I drafted and sponsored last session was H 385. It provided that non-resident members of Idaho’s National Guard would be entitled to attend Idaho’s universities and colleges paying resident tuition rates, rather than non-resident rates. Out of some 4,600 Idaho guard members about 200 fit this category. I like to characterize this bill as a means of saying thank you to our neighbors for their service to us. Since our neighboring states of Oregon, Washington and Utah provide a like benefit to Idaho citizens in their guard units; it was a no brainer as far as I was concerned. A number of ROTC officers indicated it would be a big plus to their recruiting efforts as well. This summer the Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve (ESGR) presented me a certificate of recognition at their June meeting for my efforts, recognition I was extremely pleased to accept.
July 25: Door-Knocking. Since the last entry a lot has happened. I’ve been into precinct’s 67, 68, and am now working my way through 82. The responses at the doors have been great with a lot of interest and concern about gas prices being the number one concern. Right behind comes creating a more robust public transportation system, which makes a lot of sense, since it gives all of us a realistic alternative to constant fill ups at the gas pump. It clearly will not cover all our transportation needs, but if one has a nine to five job that can be reached by bus, it would make a huge difference in the pocket book for five days a week.
Interim Tax Committee. I attended the first meeting of the interim tax committee meeting; we heard from a number of speakers about how our present court system, both civil and criminal, is funded, what the trend lines are, and some of the alternatives being considered. These presentations generated requests for more specific information and data in certain areas which are to be presented in two weeks at the August 7th meeting. Remember, all of these meetings are open to the public, so come if you can. I would love to hear from you as well by phone or e-mail. The upcoming meeting is scheduled for the Capitol Annex (old Ada County Courthouse) starting at 9:30 a.m. in Room 204.
Stay posted.
August 27 - Keep on Keeping On. As Summer moves closer to Fall, the people I listen to on the campaign trail are becoming more aware of the issues facing us this next session and the importance of making changes in legislative priorities. With the continual weakening of the economy we can no longer afford to while away time on irrelevant wedge issues; rather, we need to concentrate on the core issues that really make a difference to the citizens of Idaho - adequate health care, a living wage, helping businesses thrive and prosper, and preserving our quality of life. Talking to people on their doorsteps has made it clear that they share these concerns as much as I do. I firmly believe that more and more of the legislators, on both sides of the aisle are equally concerned - convincing their leadership is the challenge. If you are not yet registered to vote, do so now; also absentee ballots can be requested from the Ada County clerk and will be mailed out starting September 14th. Take advantage of the opportunity to get your vote registered now and make a difference in November.
September 22: Vote by Mail? The decision by David Navarro, Ada County’s Clerk, to mail absentee ballot applications to all registered voters put a blip into the plans of many campaigns to launch their own like mailings. Good news is that it saved us from buying a lot of stamps but results in a much less focused absentee ballot drive. The best laid plans of mice and men… Right now the campaigns are focusing on getting their supporters to request and vote by mail to the maximum extent possible. Not only does it reduce the crowding on Election Day, it “banks” a substantial number of favorable votes if done successfully.
In addition to door knocking (currently in Precinct 80), I attended the Idaho Women’s Network’s Candidate Forum last Thursday at BSU. It was well attended by most local legislators, but not a single challenger from the majority party put in an appearance. I understand they do not view this as a supportive venue; to me that would appear to be the ideal venue – all they can do is improve if their reading is truly accurate.
The rather disastrous news on the economic front has started to dominate the conversation of doorsteps, though as one gentleman said, if you've already been laid off, everything else is secondary to simply getting a new job. We are fortunate in Idaho in having funds in "rainy day" accounts; if ever there was a year to utilize them it is now. It will surely be reflected in a much more cautious session in 2009; hopefully we can keep higher education whole in addition to K-12. These are the institutions that will be fueling new and existing businesses with innovation and inspiration, both of which will be key to our long term economic health and quality of life.
