Politics front and center as commissioners interview CDH Board candidates for open slot
The politics of COVID-19 dominated interviews for an open seat on the Central District Board of Health as the nationwide debate surrounding the pandemic has reached a fever pitch.
The Ada County Commission interviewed three candidates — Drs. Sky Blue, Stan Moss and Ryan Cole — after deciding in June not to retain Dr. Ted Epperly, who has since alleged the commission removed him for political reasons.
Of the available candidates, Blue and Cole have thus far received the most attention for their previous statements, as well as the political support each has received for the position.
The interviews Monday coincided with a rapid rise of COVID-19 cases in Idaho and across the country, due in large part to the highly contagious delta variant, reigniting conversations on whether to mandate masks and vaccines in public settings.
“Those that are decrying politicization are the very ones that are bringing politicization,” Commissioner Rod Beck said. “It’s not us.”
Yet, those same political debates took up large sections of each interview. Commissioner Ryan Davidson told each candidate the health board makes political decisions and asked for each candidate’s thoughts on recent restrictions implemented by the health department.
Blue, a partner at Sawtooth Epidemiology, strayed away from giving opinions on certain restrictions, saying that which strategies the board takes depend on a given situation and that tactics can be adjusted as need.
“The most difficult issue during this pandemic is that we lead with an opinion, and then we look for data that will support that opinion,” Blue said.
Cole and Moss said they don’t support mandates requiring people to wear masks or get vaccinated. However, Moss, a retired orthopedic surgeon, said current COVID-19 vaccines are safe and effective, and encouraged people to wear masks if they feel sick.
Cole told commissioners that vaccines are not effective against the delta variant, going against the views of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The CDC says, while transmission is still possible, vaccines are largely effective against the delta variant for preventing serious illness and death. St. Luke’s recently reported 98% of its COVID hospitalizations were among those not vaccinated.
Outside the interview, Cole has been much more critical of vaccines. He has repeated a debunked claim that they’ve killed thousands worldwide and promoted treating the disease with ivermectin, an anti-parasitic drug the Food and Drug Administration has cautioned the public not to take for COVID. Cole told reporters after the interview that he has not received the COVID-19 vaccine, citing safety concerns.
Blue told commissioners vaccines could be an important tool in fighting the disease on a mass scale.
“If we had to look at a tactic to help promote and protect the health of our communities, you have to look at vaccination,” he said.
While there are three candidates, Blue and Cole have been at the center of the debate, as hundreds of letters have been written for and against them, largely on political lines. The Ada County Republican Party recently launched a campaign in favor of Cole, encouraging supporters to write letters to commissioners.
“Dr. Cole is a strong conservative and we need to help the commissioners get him over the finish line with their appointment,” a statement encouraging supporters’ emails reads.
On the other side, the Idaho 97 Project recently posted on its website that its supporters had sent more than 1,000 emails to commissioners in support of Blue. The organization’s statement said Blue “is the only candidate with the experience and expertise to effectively shepherd our community through this extremely dangerous time.”
Many in the medical community also wrote letters in favor of Blue, with the Idaho Medical Association sending a letter to commissioners in support of his appointment, while others have spoke out against Cole’s views on COVID-19.
Cole told commissioners he believed physicians opposed him for “financial interests,” a claim he has often repeated as many peers vocally disagree with him.
“There’s backings of big systems and big money,” he said.
The Central District Board of Health consists of seven members from four counties — Ada, Boise, Elmore and Valley — and can vote on health-related matters. Whoever is selected will serve a five-year term.
State law requires one member to be a physician. Currently, no physicians are on the board, because the commissioners allowed the term of Dr. Ted Epperly, who had served 15 years, to lapse. Filling this position with a physician will meet the law’s requirement. All three candidates are licensed with the Idaho Medical Board.
After voters in November flipped the three-member commission to a 2-1 GOP majority, Republican commissioners Beck and Davidson passed over Blue for an opening on the health board in favor of former U.S. Rep. Raúl Labrador, who previously served as chair of the state Republican Party. Democratic commissioner Kendra Kenyon called that decision political, and she has supported Blue’s application now.
The board voted in 2020 to for those in Ada County to wear masks in public and prevented gatherings of more than 50 people. It lifted the mask order in February, citing declining case numbers.
However, mandates have reentered the debate as cases increase at an alarming rate.
Last week, the Boise School Board voted to require students and staff to wear masks. The city of Boise has required since July 28 that masks be worn inside all city facilities, while a new mandate requiring masks on certain floors in the Ada County Courthouse started today.
No masks were required on the third floor, where interviews were taking place. None of the commissioners wore masks, and Blue was the only candidate to wear one during his interview.
All the candidates agreed that politics and health care do not mix.
The commission is expected to make a final decision on the position Tuesday.
This story was originally published August 9, 2021 at 4:05 PM.
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