U.S. House Chenoweth Vs. Williams: Opposite Ideologies

Thu., Oct. 31, 1996

By Craig Welch craigw@olywa.net

The race for the U.S. House of Representatives seat pits conservative firebrand Helen Chenoweth against Democrat challenger Dan Williams.

Incumbent Chenoweth, 58 and a Republican, is a former political consultant first elected in 1994 after defeating two-term Democrat Larry LaRocco.

Williams, 34, is a Boise attorney who worked briefly as general counsel to former Gov. Cecil Andrus.

The two have occasional, sometimes surprising, similarities; Both want to repeal the Brady act and an assault weapons ban.

But generally the two have opposite ideas and ideologies.

Chenoweth is opposed to abortion in almost all cases, wants the United States to withdraw from the United Nations and supports cutting bureaucracy by eliminating four Cabinet-level federal agencies, including the Department of Education.

She supports the property-tax limiting One Percent Initiative, term limits and turning some federal lands over to the states.

Williams, meanwhile, is pro-choice, supports the U.N., and believes public education needs to be highlighted nationally with a Cabinet-level post. He opposes the One Percent, opposes term limits and believes federal lands should stay in federal hands.

In her first term, Chenoweth earned a reputation as a maverick, who promised to introduce legislation requiring armed federal agents to check in with county sheriffs before working in Idaho. She gained national exposure for refusing to condemn militias and referring to “Anglo-Saxon males” as an endangered species.

She also took heat for frequent campaign financing errors, which led her to amend federal campaign financing disclosure reports more than a dozen times.

Supporters say Chenoweth’s reputation proves she is an outspoken proponent of individual rights and does not adopt party positions that conflict with her libertarian-conservative ideology. Her finance problems, they say, are minor clerical errors highlighted by her opponents for political gain.

Opponents characterize her as a potential embarrassment and paint her as an extremist.

Williams’ campaign has focused almost entirely on a critical review of Chenoweth’s first term. His advertising campaign, paid for in large part by by labor unions, took swipes at Chenoweth’s voting record on Medicare, employee pension funds and student loans.

Chenoweth supporters characterize Williams as a slick, young lawyer with no record and too little experience to serve in Congress.

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Graphic: Where they stand …

MEMO: See individual profiles by name of candidate

See individual profiles by name of candidate

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