Rep. Maxine Bell (R-Jerome) just started her 13th term in the Idaho Legislature.  While she’s part of the Republican majority, she’s also part of a minority group — women.  Bell says she’s worked with smart, influential women during her tenure at the Capitol.  Rep. Bell included Celia Gould, the current director of Idaho’s Agriculture Department and former legislator; Wendy Jaquet, a Ketchum Democrat who retired from her House seat this year; and Rep. JoAn Wood, a Republican from Rigby who started her 16th term this week, among people she’s been honored to work with. Bell doesn’t necessarily think the Idaho Legislature needs more women elected to office.  “They [women] do bring different perspectives, but it doesn’t have to be equal,” says Bell.  “Every issue is family, whether it’s crime, education, health – there are no female or male issues”/Emilie Ritter Saunders, StateImpact. More here.

Question: Do you agree with Maxine Bell that there is no such thing as a strictly female issue in the Idaho Legislature?