Idaho guv candidate makes big promise to cut ‘wasteful’ state budget
Where is that going to come from?” said Jaclyn Kettler, a Boise State University political scientist, citing her initial reaction to the claim.
She noted that the majority of Idaho’s state budget goes to education, and BSU’s annual public policy surveys long have shown strong citizen support in Idaho for more funding for education, not less. “I don’t know how you propose to cut that much money and not look at education,” she said. “In the Idaho budget, there’s just not necessarily a lot of fluff.”
Pressed for specifics on his proposed cuts during an interview this week, Ahlquist offered three: Shifting the state employee health insurance plan to self-funding, consolidating and competitively bidding all state broadband services, and pressing for more competition to find savings on state infrastructure investments.
“We have 11 months to go before the election, we’re early,” Ahlquist said. “I’ve got big buckets I’m studying like crazy, I’ve got data and reports I’m looking through. I will have specifics very soon.” Full story. Betsy Russell/SR
