Senate race offers options

Sen. John Goedde, R-Coeur d’Alene, has competition coming at him from nearly every angle in his campaign to win a fourth term in the Idaho Senate.

Three candidates are vying to oust the chairman of the Senate Education Committee in the Nov. 7 election.

Democrat Steven Foxx, 29, argues that Goedde is arrogant and abuses his power, specifically when Goedde openly warned the state teachers union of the consequences of running a teacher and union member against him. The incident occurred when Jerry Lee, a Post Falls teacher and union member, entered the race.

Soon after, Lee dropped out of the race but said it wasn’t because of the pressure Goedde put on the Idaho Education Association. The Democratic Party put Foxx, who just came off a Coeur d’Alene City Council loss, on the ballot.

“That’s not the leadership we want in a chairman in charge of the education committee,” Foxx said. “He uses it in a way that’s not productive for education or Idaho.”

Political newcomer Jeremy Boggess, 35, is running as an independent, saying voters are disillusioned with both Republicans and Democrats. He wants to get more people involved in the legislative process and advocates for weekly town hall meetings.

“We need to get more people involved in how taxes and resources should be utilized,” Boggess said.

Constitution Party candidate Ray Writz, 55, wants the Legislature to hold to the Founding Fathers’ vision and not stray from the U.S. Constitution and Bill of Rights. He said both documents are biblically based, and the 10 Commandments are the foundation of all laws. He wants morality in public office.

“I think we need to shake up the political spectrum,” said Writz, who is running his first campaign. “We need to keep the two parties on their toes.”

Goedde, 57, is unfazed by the competition, relying on his experience and seniority. He’s so comfortable that he took several days off from the campaign trail and his insurance company to hunt elk in the St. Joe area.

“I don’t consider myself arrogant,” Goedde said in response to his critics. “It helps to know the players. The longer you’ve been there, the easier it is to get things done.”

He added that his chairmanship of the education committee helps give North Idaho clout.

One of his main priorities is carving out a statewide community college system, something the Legislature failed to do last session.

Goedde wants a state system that would preserve local control for North Idaho College, one of only two community colleges in Idaho. Goedde is co-chairman of an interim committee whose recommendations likely will result in legislation during the 2007 session. The issue is how to fund the colleges and who should control them. NIC and the College of Southern Idaho levy property taxes on residents for part of their funding.

Goedde wants to reduce the super-majority vote needed for a county to create a community college district, and he also supports giving residents who pay property taxes that go to a community college district up to a $500 tax credit on their income taxes. He said that would give people more incentive to vote for a district even though it would increase their property taxes.

He opposes Proposition 1, which is also on the November ballot and would force lawmakers to increase funding for schools by an amount equal to what a 1-cent sales tax increase would raise. For next year, the latest estimates put that figure at $219 million. Goedde said the language doesn’t give the Legislature direction on where to find the money, and it could likely mean cuts in other departments. He added that managing the education budget by initiative isn’t good policy.

Instead, Goedde advocates giving teachers pay for performance, saying it would reward teachers who excel.

Foxx supports Proposition 1 because it would put the burden on the Legislature to seriously look at education funding. He said it would increase teacher pay, likely attracting more math and science instructors and providing money for school counselors.

Foxx, who recently quit his job working as a mental health advocate, has taught in private schools for troubled youth. He said the state needs to work with high-risk children to keep them from falling through the cracks. If he loses his bid for the Senate, Foxx likely will go to law school. For now he’s buying and remodeling homes.

As for the community college system, Foxx doesn’t trust the GOP’s motive for giving property taxpayers an income tax credit for paying into a community college system. He said that during the August special session on property tax relief, the Republicans shifted some property tax burden to sales tax, which isn’t deductible.

Goedde supported the special session but said more work is needed, including increasing the income tax credit on groceries. The Democrats, including Foxx, prefer to eliminate sales tax on food.

Goedde said the problem with eliminating the sales tax on food is how to make up the $180 million in sales tax revenue. He is drafting a proposed bill to sunset all sales tax exemptions and order an annual review of each. The businesses or groups receiving a current exemption would have to justify the need. Goedde said perhaps by eliminating some exemptions, it would make up the revenue for removing the sales tax on food. Until then, increasing the food credit would give families relief.

Foxx doesn’t believe Republicans eventually want to eliminate sales tax on groceries, calling it an election-year ploy. He questions why it was never a top concern previously.

Writz said government should never tax necessities such as food and medicine. He said government spends too much money and doesn’t enforce the principle of self-responsibility. That means too many people rely on the government for needs that they should provide themselves, he said.

Boggess, who was raised in the Silver Valley and graduated from Coeur d’Alene High School, disagreed with the special session. He argues it only resulted in a tax shift when Republicans took the property tax levy from school operation and maintenance costs and replaced the money with a 1-cent sales tax increase. He said the state needs to restructure its budgeting system before even considering raising taxes.

One of his top issues is stronger sex-offender laws and creating categories for different levels of sex offenders. He also wants Idaho to focus on finding renewable sources of energy.

Foxx, who grew up in Rose Lake and graduated from Lake City High School, also advocates for smart growth, giving cities and counties tools to plan and not giving breaks to big developers.

The one thing Foxx and Goedde agree on is opposing Proposition 2, which would enact a sweeping new regulatory takings law, requiring government to pay property owners if any land-use regulation or change in farming or forest practice rules diminishes their potential profits from full development of their land. Boggess and Writz both support Proposition 2.