Here’s the Idaho Statesman’s endorsement in this purple Boise legislative district
Idaho Rep. Steve Berch earns the Idaho Statesman’s resounding endorsement for reelection to his House seat in Idaho legislative District 15.
The Democrat is running against Republican Steve Keyser, who did not respond through his website or via email to invitations to interview with the editorial board. The Statesman will not endorse someone who does not agree to an interview.
Regardless, Berch has proven himself as an effective legislator. The retired computer programmer and marketing manager for HP has served two terms in the House in District 15.
He said his priorities are informed by his constituents, and he estimates he has knocked on 33,000 doors during his election campaigns, including 3,000 doors this time around, listening to the concerns of residents.
His top priority is addressing the cost of living, and that includes skyrocketing residential property taxes, rents, housing, groceries and wages.
He favors eliminating the cap on the homeowners exemption and indexing it so that it rebalances the tax burden with commercial and agricultural property taxes.
He favors eliminating the state sales tax on groceries.
Next is government management of growth, including addressing infrastructure, police, fire and EMS needs, traffic and transportation and water.
Third, he wants to address public education by increasing funding for public schools, which would also reduce property taxes by reducing the need for supplemental levies paid from property taxes.
He supports school choice but opposes school vouchers.
He’d also like to use at least some of the state budget surplus to pay off school bonds, which are also a property tax burden, and alleviate the nearly $1 billion in lagging school building maintenance.
Next, he’d like to address access to public lands, rightly noting that millionaires and billionaires are buying up private land and cutting off access to public lands.
As a testament to his ability to compromise, Berch voted in favor of the recent House Bill 1 in the special session last month. While he didn’t like parts of the bill, he recognized the importance of increasing public education funding.
He said he opposes the constitutional amendment that’s on the ballot in November that would allow legislators to call themselves back into special session, arguing that legislators would start calling themselves back into session to score political points days or weeks before an election.
“If you’re going to have a truly special session under extraordinary circumstances, there is going to have to be a meeting of the minds between the executive branch and the legislature as to what it is they are prepared to jointly agreeing on to pass,” Berch said. “Which is exactly what happened a month ago. That special session just didn’t come out of whim.”
Berch’s priorities are not liberal or radical, and he prides himself on being a moderate who works across the aisle.
As a member of the minority party, Berch is an excellent representative and a voice of reason. Even if Republicans jam really bad legislation through committee or through the House, Berch makes them earn it. He often makes eloquent, cogent and well-reasoned – if sometimes long – arguments in committee hearings and on the House floor, making his point for or against certain pieces of legislation.
That voice is more important than ever.
“There is a level of extremism that is really creeping into Idaho state government that is not interested in representing everyone in a constituency but forcing a very particular and oftentimes very extreme view onto people and not showing any respect for differences of opinion and steering the state in the direction I think in an even worse condition,” Berch said. “So I feel that it’s important as a legislator to make sure that I give voice, to stand up to some of that extremism, bring us back to the middle where we work together and we have an ‘us-and-them’ environment, instead of this increasingly ‘us-versus-them’ environment that I think is really toxic to the community and the state.”
BEHIND THE STORY
MOREHow we write endorsements
Who decides the endorsements?
Members of Idaho Statesman editorial board interview political candidates, as well as advocates and opponents of ballot measures. The editorial board is composed of journalists and community members. Members of the Statesman editorial board are: Statesman editor Chadd Cripe, opinion editor Scott McIntosh, opinion writer Bryan Clark, assistant editor Jim Keyser and community members John Hess, Debbie McCormick and Julie Yamamoto.
What does the endorsement process entail?
The Statesman editorial board meets with political candidates and asks them a series of questions about policy issues. The editorial board discusses the candidates in each race. Board members seek to reach a consensus on the endorsements, but not every decision is unanimous. The editorial board generally will not endorse a candidate who does not agree to an interview with the board members.
Is the editorial board partisan?
No. In making endorsements, members of the editorial board consider which candidates are well-prepared to represent their constituents — not whether they belong to a particular political party. We evaluate candidates’ relevant experience, their readiness for office, their depth of knowledge of key issues and their understanding of public policy. We’re seeking candidates who are thoughtful and who offer more than just party-line talking points. The editorial board will endorse both Republicans and Democrats. We make recommendations about who the best-qualified candidates for these jobs are.
Why are endorsements unsigned?
Endorsements reflect the collective views of the Statesman’s editorial board — not just the opinion of one writer. Board members all discuss and contribute ideas to each endorsement editorial.
Do I have to vote for the candidate the Statesman endorses?
Of course not. An endorsement is just our recommendation based on the candidates’ backgrounds and their answers to editorial board questions.
Can I disagree with the Statesman’s endorsement?
Of course you can. We encourage voters to do their own research and choose the candidate who best represents your views.
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