Rights Panelist Seeks Second Term

Former Kootenai County Republican Chairman Kathy Sims hopes to focus on employment issues in a second term on the Idaho Human Rights Commission.

Sims, who has served a three-year term on the commission as an appointee of former Gov. Phil Batt, is up for confirmation for an additional term.

“I’m pleased to be asked again,” she told the Senate State Affairs Committee on Monday.

The Human Rights Commission reviews evidence from discrimination investigations and rules on them.

“The first time on the commission is a learning experience,” Sims told the committee during her confirmation hearing Monday. “I think I learned as much from the commission as I brought to it.”

Sims said she brings balance to the commission as she has experienced being both an employer and an employee and can understand both viewpoints. “Ninety-nine percent of the time the cases we review involve employment issues,” she said. Sims said she is the first woman to serve on a national auto dealers’ board. “I represent all the female dealers west of the Mississippi,” Sims said.

Sims said the key to ending discrimination is education. “I’d like to see more education about the law,” she said. “If everyone knows the rules, it makes them a lot easier to follow.”

The committee will rule Wednesday on the appointment, which then goes to the full Senate for final approval.