Legislative District 7 Ferris Vs. Mclaughlin: Ardent Conservative Attacks Longtime Lawmaker

As Republican John Ferris sees it, solidarity counts as much as substance.

That’s why he thinks Sen. Marguerite McLaughlin, D-Orofino, should have supported the States’ Rights Memorial when it came up in the Idaho Senate last year. He uses her “no” vote to show that she’s out of touch with District 7 residents - who would do better off voting for him.

“It passed 27-7,” he said of the memorial. “It’s just a memorial, so it’s no big deal. But it’s something the voters in this area are interested in, I’ll tell you.

McLaughlin scoffs at the memorial as a political “fuzzy-wuzzy” that accomplished nothing. More substantial, she said, was her support for setting aside $1 million that the state can use to defend itself in court against federal infringement on its rights.

“That’s much better than a memorial that goes back (to Washington) and goes into everybody’s wastebasket,” she said.

McLaughlin, 67, has served nine terms in the Legislature, two in the House and the last seven in the Senate. This is a first run for office for Ferris, although he’s been chairman of the Benewah County Republican party for 10 years.

Ferris lives in St. Maries. He runs an income tax service and is a consulting forester.

“We’re losing our timber industry,” he said. His words echo one of the deepest concerns in his district, which covers much of rural north-central Idaho.

He thinks state lawmakers should take a greater effort to “stand up for timber and work closely with the congressional delegation.”

Distressed by cutbacks in the logging allowed on federal land, he’d like to see the state take over management of the national forests. McLaughlin has been slow to pick up on that idea, he said.

The state could never afford to manage the vast national forests, McLaughlin said. And while she supports the idea of experimental co-management, she said any such effort is years away.

Meanwhile, she notes that the amount of timber coming off state lands has increased.

“I was a prime mover behind that,” she said.

Like her opponent, McLaughlin has a personal financial interest in timber. She and her husband own a logging contracting business, which they started after coming to Idaho in 1952.

She thinks her years in the Legislature make her a strong candidate.

“If you get someone who has no experience, it takes awhile to become a player,” she said. “I don’t think that just because you’ve been there for awhile, it’s time to get rid of you. There should be a reason for it.”

Ferris sees reason enough.

“She’s a Democrat liberal,” he said, “and I’m a Republican conservative.”

Noting McLaughlin’s 18 years in the Legislature, he’s made his campaign theme “It’s Time for a Change.”

, DataTimes