Rural candidates could influence direction of Legislature

04/28/2006 — I’ve spoken to 50 primary candidates in the last couple of weeks, finding an excellent crop with wide-ranging ideas. The winners will decide how to tax and spend your money, and will help pick a new House speaker.

Here’s the final installment of my primary election tour, covering seven open seats outside the Treasure Valley in rural Idaho. For links to the first two columns, April 16 and April 26, go to idahostatesman.com/popkey.

* Democrats Dave Holland of McCall and Scott McLeod of Nezperce; and Republicans Lee Heinrich and Ronn Julian of Cascade for retiring GOP Sen. Skip Brandt’s seat in the district that runs from Valley to Clearwater counties.

Holland manages condos in McCall and lost to Brandt in 2002. He said tourists aren’t paying their fair share for services in resort areas and the state needs to compensate the locals. He calls health care “racketeering at its finest” and said he would provide leadership to cut costs. He said school funding should be a wholly state responsibility and a more-progressive income tax should pay the bill. McLeod is a farmer who, like Holland, hails from a pioneer family that came to Idaho in the 19th century. His dad served four terms in the Legislature. McLeod called for a wholesale review of education funding that retains the property tax but relieves the burden. He also wants to tackle health care. He said lawmakers need to realize growth threatens the quality of life even in remote counties.

Heinrich is the retiring Valley County clerk and a former president of the Idaho Association of Counties. He said access to public land must be preserved, and he backs state management as an alternative to selling federal land. He said local governments got a bad rap from Gov. Dirk Kempthorne for high property taxes because the state mandates most of what they do.

Julian worked for the U.S. Forest Service for 32 years, 19 as Cascade district ranger. He was the activist who uncovered that Kempthorne was paying less than $10 a year in property tax on 14 acres because of a break for developers that lawmakers finally repealed. He said sales-tax exemptions should be reviewed. He proposes procedural reforms to shorten the length of legislative sessions and says lobbyists have too much clout.

* Republicans Jim Conder of Filer and Jim Patrick of Twin Falls for the seat of retiring GOP Rep. Frances Field. The winner will face Democrat Peter Rickards in Owyhee and western Twin Falls counties.

Conder is a veteran pilot of the Korean and Vietnam wars who finished second to Field in 2004. He’s a vocal opponent of big dairies and feedlots, and says the Magic Valley “is floating on a sea of cow manure.” He said lawmakers listen more to “money-grubbing, greed-driven lobbyists” than constituents. He wants lobbyists to disclose their pay.

Patrick is a farmer and board member of Intermountain Community Bank, a holding company with 14 banks. He said dairy-odor problems are caused by one in 10 operators and said great improvements have been made. He favors a 1 1/4-cent sales tax increase for $250 million in property tax relief and wants to help resolve the battle between surface water and groundwater users.

* Republicans Timothy Deeg of American Falls, Jim Paskett of Declo and Ben Maggart and Fred Wood of Burley for the seat of retiring House Speaker Bruce Newcomb. The winner faces no November opponent in Cassia, Oneida, Power and Bingham counties.

Deeg, a farmer, is president of the Idaho Groundwater Appropriators and said he’ll focus on water. He said increasing the homeowner’s property tax exemption shifted the burden to farms and business. He’s considering a higher sales tax to relieve school property taxes, but only if there’s a cushion for economic downturns. He favors energy development, including coal gasification.

Maggart is a former House attache, home builder and agribusinessman. He’s concerned about the “brain drain” in rural Idaho and said he’d focus on economic development. He said he supports Newcomb’s move to force big employers with poor health care benefits to buy better insurance or pay a health care tax.

Paskett, a former farmer, sells insurance for the Idaho Farm Bureau. He also favors more rural jobs and aquifer recharge. He opposes lifting the school property tax because there isn’t a stable alternative. He said well-funded schools are critical in a competitive world.

Wood, a retired physician and Air Force veteran, says rural children deserve the same economic opportunity as city kids. Wood is former chairman of the Idaho Fish & Game Commission and would work to preserve game and other resources.

* Republicans Steve Bair and Paul Clark of Blackfoot for the seat of retiring GOP Sen. Stan Williams. The winner will face Democrat John Hulse in a district comprising most of Bingham County.

Bair, a farmer, supports shifting school taxes to a higher sales tax. He said Idaho Power has too much influence. He would work to secure recharge. Williams endorses Bair.

Clark sells and services emergency radios and is a member of the Bingham County Planning and Zoning Commission. He agrees on shifting school taxes to the sales tax. He said he will fight for more state spending in his district.

* Republicans Jim Marriott and Scott Reese of Blackfoot and Kirk Sheppard of Shelley for the seat of retiring GOP Rep. Joe Cannon. in the same Bingham County district. The winner will face no November opponent.

Marriott is a retired medical clinic manager and Army veteran with a small cattle operation. He’s concerned about two federal issues, infringement of privacy by wiretapping and welfare for those who can but won’t work. Marriott said school funds must be better spent and questions tougher math and science requirements to graduate high school.

Reese was mayor of Blackfoot for 12 years until January. He works at Bingham Memorial Hospital, helping negotiate preferred-provider agreements with employers. His parents are retired educators in Blackfoot schools. He wants a review of the tax system, but said local governments and schools provide critical services that must be protected.

Sheppard is controller for the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes. He said Idaho has too many laws, and he observes a “silver dollar principle” for good laws. That means no regulation of those who have committed no offenses, such as building contractors; and funding for implementation and enforcement. He wants to repeal school property taxes and replace them with state funds, but not necessarily sales taxes.

* Republicans Rich Kirkham of Pocatello and Lance Kolbet of Chubbuck for the seat of retiring Democratic Rep. Elmer Martinez. The winner will face Democrat James Ruchti in the rural Bannock County district.

Kirkham owns and manages commercial real estate. He helped found The Academy at Roosevelt School, a charter school based on the Harbor Method that is to open in Pocatello in the fall. He is endorsed by State Board of Education member Karen McGee.

Kirkham has signed a pledge never to vote for a tax increase of any kind. He says he will cut government and taxes, but promote Idaho State University.

Kolbet is past president of the Idaho Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors and one of two Idaho members of the regional Red Cross board. A Navy vet of the first Gulf War, he wants a medical school at ISU, in cooperation with Boise State. An expert on health insurance, he calls for an overhaul of the health care system. He said he supports charter schools, but says they have an unfair advantage over public schools that haven’t been prepared to compete.

* Republicans Leon Clark of Rigby, George Ellsworth of Lewisville and Jeff Siddoway of Terreton for the seat of retiring GOP Sen. Don Burtenshaw. The winner will face Democrat Luke Prange in Butte, Clark, Custer, Fremont, Jefferson and Lemhi counties.

Clark, who taught science at Rigby High for 33 years, has retired to his farm. He’s a member of the local School Board. He leans toward shifting the school property tax to the sales tax, but wants to be sure there’s stability in down years.

Ellsworth, a farmer and manufacturer of farm equipment, spent 12 years on the school board before being replaced by Clark. He’s concerned about unfunded mandates on school districts and the declining proportion of state funds earmarked for schools because of rising health and prison costs.

Siddoway is a state and national leader in the sheep industry and former Fish & Game commissioner. He touts his experience on natural resources as preparation to find a balanced solution to the water wars. He said Idaho Power’s clout makes him “wonder if we’re going to have to ask Idaho Power’s permission to run water down the ditch.”

To readers who stuck through all three horse-race columns, my gratitude. And remember, vote smart on May 23.

Contact Dan Popkey at dpopkey@idahostatesman.com or 377-6438.