A Paquin Win In Primary Would Be A First
Tony Paquin has history against him.
If the Coeur d’Alene computer entrepreneur succeeds in his attempt to unseat two-term U.S. Rep. Helen Chenoweth in the Republican primary, it would be a first.
According to Idaho political historian Randy Stapilus, it’s never been done. Never, since formation of the 1st Congressional District in 1918, has anyone replaced a congressman of their own party by defeating them in the primary.
It’s happened in the 2nd District, though. In 1974, Rep. Orval Hansen’s bid for a fourth term - after several landslide re-elections - was stopped in the primary by former Rep. George Hansen.
But Stapilus said George’s supporters played a religion card to help swing the race.
The incumbent’s wife had been interviewed for a Washington Star feature story on her return to professional theater after 19 years, and she was asked how her busy schedule allowed time with her husband. She said they often tried to set aside a quiet evening for togetherness, with dinner, candlelight and wine.
In heavily Mormon southeastern Idaho, the “candlelight and wine” reference took on its own life, as the church prohibits drinking.
“The story I heard was that in 48 hours, Orval was in deep trouble,” Stapilus said.
Orval Hansen himself doesn’t think that was the deciding factor in the election, but he said, “It was an interesting little twist at the end of that campaign.”
Primary-election upsets have happened more often in Senate races. Idaho Sen. D. Worth Clark, a Democrat, lost to Glen Taylor in the 1944 Democratic primary. Then, six years later, Sen. Taylor lost in the 1950 primary to Clark. But when it came to the general election that year, the Republican won.
Said Stapilus, “You never know what’s going to happen, you can never write anybody off. I think you’d have to say that as he (Paquin) starts out, that his odds are not good. But who knows what might happen in the space of a year?”
Just sunshine and flowers
Asked whether he’ll “go negative” in the campaign, Paquin said he’ll refrain from personal attacks. It is, after all, an intra-party contest. But he said he won’t hesitate to attack Chenoweth’s public record.
That’s clear already from the Virginia consultant he’s hired to research Chenoweth’s record. Terry Cooper has worked for lots of Republican campaigns, but one of his most famous clients was Lt. Col. Oliver North.
North lost a bitter Senate race in Virginia to Sen. Charles Robb in 1994, in a campaign that made headlines for its nastiness.
What will they think of next?
The city of Mountain Home, Idaho, 30 miles south of Boise, looks to its Air Force base as the main force in its economy. But local officials have long tried to come up with other types of economic development to give the town of 10,000 a boost.
The latest? A huge private prison.
City officials had talked about developing a prison with a few hundred beds, but now say they can build 500 or more with expansion space for up to 3,000. That’s the number the state is looking for in its giant prison privatization project, for which it is now soliciting bids from private companies and other groups.
Mountain Home has signed up with Cornell Corrections, a private prison firm, to do its project. So, naturally, the city wanted the state prison system to guarantee that it’ll fill the beds.
“I don’t think that’s going to happen,” Board of Correction chairman John Hayden told the city’s mayor this week. The state is in the midst of its bid process, with bids due Aug. 4.
But Hayden added, “I think the needs for the state of Idaho are never going to be satisfied.”
The prison plan hasn’t been entirely without controversy in Mountain Home. But it’s not as controversial as a private proposal for a mega-dump that will import garbage to the county. Despite lots of opposition, that one won county approval.
, DataTimes MEMO: North-South Notes runs every other Saturday. To reach Betsy Z. Russell, call 336-2854, fax to 336-0021 or e-mail to bzrussell@rmci.net.