Statesman endorsement: A clear choice in race for 2020 Idaho House in Boise district

Colin Nash may be a relative newcomer to the Idaho political scene, but he has the background, knowledge of issues and temperament to be an outstanding state legislator.

The Idaho Statesman editorial board endorses Nash in the 2020 election for the Idaho House of Representatives, Seat B, in District 16, which includes central Boise and Garden City.

As he did in the primary, Nash impressed us with his knowledge of a wide range of issues, from education funding and property taxes to criminal justice reform and Medicaid expansion.

Two of those issues, education and health care, take on a personal mission, as Nash has a young son with a chronic illness, so Nash has a vested interest in making sure Idaho improves on both fronts.

Nash also demonstrates a firm understanding of how he can still be an effective legislator as a member of the superminority party in the state Legislature.

Unfortunately, QAnon and conspiracy theories have entered Idaho’s politics in this race. Nash’s Republican opponent, Jackie Davidson, espouses conspiracy theories about vaccines, Bill Gates and hydroxychloroquine. She shares social media posts about QAnon and has made social posts with the hashtag #JailFauci. When asked why she posted #JailFauci, her only response was, “I don’t know why I posted that.”

Beyond that, Davidson had a lack of knowledge about a host of issues that she would be faced with if elected. She said she wanted to run for the Legislature because “I want to make sure we don’t become another Portland or Seattle, with the destruction and burning down.”

She’s in favor of school vouchers and a California-style Prop 13 on property taxes.

Nash points to improving the public education system through increased funding, and he supports raising the homeowners exemption and indexing it and allowing school districts to collect impact fees as property tax relief measures.

“There’s not a lack of ideas, there’s the lack of will to do a lot of these things,” Nash told the editorial board. “I wish I could say those ideas were mine, or that not everybody knows about them. We’re just in a situation where we have to put pressure on the people that are in control, to get these bills heard.”

Nash demonstrates a deep knowledge of the issues and the state budget, suggesting that the state Legislature tap the internet sales tax fund, for example, for education funding.

“I’m looking at the $500 million in the rainy day fund, I’m thinking about the hundred million dollars that are in the so called tax relief fund that are appropriated to nothing, they’re just accumulating there,” Nash said. “We’re collecting taxes with the intent of giving that away at some point, which is absurd to me. ... Democrats get a lot of criticism for being so-called socialist, but taking people’s money in the form of internet sales tax with the intention to give that away later probably as an income tax cut is the type of redistribution of wealth that Republicans act like they oppose, and I fundamentally don’t like that and we should be putting that toward something that Idahoans care about and that’s education.”

He pointed to a recent announcement that the state’s endowment lands generated an additional $130 million, which some suggested could be used to build a new prison.

“Without even hesitating, we talked about building a new prison,” he said. “And I wish the powers that be were a little more eager to put that money into schools, rather than in a prison.”

Nash also criticized the state’s two-thirds supermajority requirement for passing bonds, which school districts rely on to build new schools.

Nash speaks equally knowledgeably about the initiative process and not making it more difficult, saying that if an initiative makes the ballot, “I trust the voters” to make the right decision at the end of the day.

He supports raising the minimum wage and favors getting rid of the state’s sales tax on groceries, though he’s open to looking at the possibility of raising the tax credit that offsets the grocery tax.

Colin Nash will be an intelligent, effective legislator for his constituents in District 16 on a host of issues. He deserves your vote.

This story was originally published October 13, 2020 at 4:00 AM.