Mike Bullard (opening): Says he was a child of single parent and served three dozen years as a Presbyterian minister in southern Idaho and Coeur d'Alene.
Marge Chadderdon (opening): Says she is running for fourth term. Served on business, education, and local government committees.
Mike (legislative priorities): Budget, budget, budget. We know there's going to be some form of readjustment as far as education goes to do the least damage as possible.
Mike: We need to make sure that everyone is paying taxes. We have $250 million in taxes not collected because Tax Commission doesn't have enough auditors. We have over $1 billion worth of tax exemptions. We're looking at historical cuts for third year in a row, not adjustments.
More below
Mike (re: protecting environment): We need to be proactive to protect air, water and land for our kids.
Marge: Sorta non-answer. We need to protect water for food.
Marge
(overcrowding in prisons ... need for prison reform?): I sit on
education committee. We often have corrections department come in.
They've done a superb job operating with the limited money they have.
Mike:
The most important thing is to go upstream a bit. A few years ago, I
was called to ICU for young man who had been beaten up. You could add up
to $250,000 in his cost to taxpayers in drug busts, incarcerations.
Later, he enrolled in alternative school, got straight A's, and later
graduated from police academy. We're 50th in nation in education
funding.
Mike (for new education funding): repeats need for tax
auditors, they haven't made own members to pay taxes (got first applause
of the night), and look at tax exemptions.
Marge: touts Idaho Eduation Network and attempt to increase math & science scores.
Closing
-- Marge: Compares difference in 2005 when economy was robust to today.
She denies that Legislature is cutting. It deals with the revenue
that's there. We'll provide the service we're mandated to do at lowest
cost possible.
Closing -- Mike: Big mistakes were made this
year. Legislature allowed doctors to withhold truthful information to
medical patients, to drive up cost. Blue Cross and Regence were allowed
to be attacked. Reason we are one of the 3 most improved is because we
were 50th in the nation before.
D.F. Oliveria started Huckleberries Online on Feb. 16, 2004. Oliveria's Sunday print Huckleberries is a past winner of the national Herb Caen Memorial Column contest.
