Eye on Boise: Ysursa advises successor Denney to ‘stay the course’

Idaho Secretary of State Ben Ysursa, as he accepted a major civic engagement award from the City Club of Boise last week, had this message for his successor, Secretary of State-elect Lawerence Denney: “Folks will be watching.”

Ysursa said, “My advice to him is stay the course” when it comes to Idaho elections. He noted that Denney already has decided to keep Ysursa’s current chief deputy, Tim Hurst, and as much of the current staff in the office as possible.

“The other concept is that lots of folks will be watching,” Ysursa said. “Some of us fear the worst; I don’t. I don’t think there’ll be a lot of major changes. If there are, there’ll be people coming out of the woodwork, and I’ll be one of ’em.”

He said, “We need to pass legislation that will improve voter turnout or some way improve us getting into the political process. We don’t need to be exclusionary. Anything that goes that route I will oppose, and other people will too.”

Ysursa, who was asked his advice for Denney after he accepted the award and spoke about his experience in the secretary of state’s office over the past 40 years, said, “We chatted; he’s called.”

“I do have a lot of advice on the Land Board, and the federal takeover and all that,” Ysursa said. “Folks, it ain’t gonna happen. … It’s a legal nonstarter, and you can take that to the bank.”

Ybarra taps Corder

Idaho state schools Superintendent-elect Sherri Ybarra has been mum since the election, but she was at the Capitol during Thursday’s legislative organizational session, meeting with lawmakers and others. Accompanying her was former Sen. Tim Corder, R-Mountain Home, who acknowledged in response to a reporter’s questions that he’ll be a top staffer for Ybarra when she takes office in January.

Ybarra said the title of his full-time job likely will be “special assistant to the superintendent.”

Much attention has been focused on whom Ybarra will hire as her key staffers, given her lack of experience in statewide politics; Ybarra is a school administrator and former third-grade teacher from Mountain Home.

Corder served in the Senate from 2005 to 2012. A trucking company owner, he chaired the Agricultural Affairs and Local Government and Taxation committees. He lost to Sen. Bert Brackett, R-Rogerson, in the GOP primary in 2012 after redistricting forced the two sitting senators into the same district.

Corder was an outspoken advocate of reviewing Idaho’s $1.75 billion in existing sales tax breaks, which prompted the Idaho Association of Commerce and Industry to unsuccessfully target him for defeat in the 2008 election. He co-sponsored landmark child care licensing legislation in 2009 with then-Rep. George Sayler, D-Coeur d’Alene. And he was the lead sponsor of a bipartisan bill in 2008 to extend the Idaho Human Rights Act to ban discrimination based on sexual orientation. A Senate committee voted 6-2 to introduce the bill, which included an exemption for religious organizations, but it never got a hearing.

New Senate chairmen

Sen. Dean Mortimer, R-Idaho Falls, the newly named chairman of the Senate Education Committee, praised longtime Chairman John Goedde, R-Coeur d’Alene, who was defeated in the May primary.

“Sen. Goedde did a very good job of running the committee – he listened to the stakeholders,” Mortimer said. “He set a very high standard. I hope to be equally open.”

Mortimer said he hopes to keep the focus on the 20 recommendations from the governor’s education improvement task force, along with a push for parental involvement in their kids’ education and supporting Idaho teachers. “We need to make sure that we focus on our teachers and supporting our teachers in their role,” Mortimer said. “I want them to know how much I appreciate their sacrifice and their commitment that they have toward education in the state of Idaho.”

Other new Senate committee chairs for the upcoming session: Sen. Jim Rice, R-Caldwell, an attorney, is the new agriculture chair. Sen. Steve Bair, R-Blackfoot, a farmer and the former ag chair, gets the resources committee, whose former chair, Sen. Monty Pearce, R-New Plymouth, was defeated in the GOP primary.

House chairs, leadership

New House committee chairs include Rep. Vito Barbieri, R-Dalton Gardens, who will chair the business committee; Rep. Jeff Thompson, R-Idaho Falls, Environment, Energy & Technology Committee; Rep. Dell Raybould, R-Rexburg, Resources & Conservation; Rep. Lynn Luker, R-Boise, Local Government; and Rep. Christy Perry, R-Nampa, Ways & Means.

Leadership races in both houses saw no upsets; the new leaders, both filling open posts, are Senate Majority Caucus Chairman Todd Lakey, R-Nampa, who won a four-way race; and House Assistant Minority Leader Mat Erpelding, D-Boise, who ran unopposed.