Idaho Statesman editorial board welcomes two new community members
.jpg "Former Idaho Secretary of State Ben Ysursa and former Idaho state senator and Boise City Council member Maryanne Jordan have joined the Idaho Statesman editorial board.")
The Idaho Statesman editorial board has two new community members: Ben Ysursa and Maryanne Jordan, each with a long history in Idaho politics.
Ysursa is a former Republican Idaho secretary of state, and Jordan is a former Democratic state senator and Boise City Council member.
Ysursa served as secretary of state from 2003-2015. Before that, he was deputy secretary of state from 1974 to 1976 and chief deputy secretary of state from 1976-2002.
His expertise with elections will be invaluable.
Jordan was an Idaho state senator for Boise’s District 17 from 2016-20. Before that, she was a Boise City Council member for 15 years, starting in 2003, including eight as council president. Before that, she was on the Boise City Planning & Zoning Commission from 1998 to 2003.
Jordan and Ysursa replace outgoing board members Christy Perry and J.J. Saldaña.
I have to give a special thanks to Perry and Saldaña, who served for a year-and-a-half, starting in January 2021. That’s longer than we are generally shooting for. The term for community board members will be just a year, starting in June and ending just after May elections. But Perry and Saldaña started a little early, just before the 2021 legislative session.
They also stepped in right in the middle of the pandemic, and we’ve been meeting via video conference the entire time. It’s hard to believe that we haven’t had an in-person editorial board meeting since the pandemic started.
Part of that is because of the pandemic, but part of that is because we’ve been without a home. The Idaho Statesman sold its massive building on Curtis Road during the pandemic, and it’s only until this month that we’ve been able to locate a new office to move into, at 827 E. Park Blvd. in Boise.
Once all the furniture is moved in, the paint has dried and the internet is hooked up, we’ll get back to having in-person board meetings, with the option of calling in via video.
Just as a reminder, the editorial board consists of me; opinion writer Bryan Clark; Statesman editor Chadd Cripe; newsroom editors Dana Oland and Jim Keyser; and community members. In addition to Ysursa and Jordan, we are considering adding a third community member, so stay tuned for that.
The editorial board meets every week at 1 p.m. on Wednesdays to discuss issues of the day that we want to weigh in on. We also communicate throughout the week via email to discuss stories that are happening so that we can write editorials as the news is happening.
Whether it’s an attempted insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, a hearing at the Idaho Legislature or a decision by the Boise City Council or Central District Health, we try to get our editorials out as quickly as possible, while readers are still digesting the issue and want more information.
It’s probably the most challenging part of the job, but it’s also the most rewarding, as opinion isn’t just some afterthought; opinion pieces are part of the news as it’s happening.
Some of the most well-read editorials over the past year included one about Boise State professor Scott Yenor’s comments about women being “medicated, meddlesome and quarrelsome,” one about Rep. Priscilla Giddings’ ethics hearing and our endorsement for governor in the Republican primary.
If you like opinion content, I put together a weekly email newsletter called The Idaho Way. It comes out every Friday morning and includes a collection of editorials, columns, guest opinions and letters to the editor from that week. You can sign up by clicking on “Newsletters” under “Customer Service” at idahostatesman.com.
In the meantime, if you have an idea for an editorial, column or feedback or a story tip, send me an email. I’d love to hear from you.
This story was originally published June 6, 2022 at 10:12 AM.
