One Has Potential, One Has Expertise
The good news is that the next legislator elected to the House District 3B seat will be a true citizen legislator. Republican Kris Ellis and Democrat JoAnn Harvey both are typical local residents who seem energetic and eager to go Boise.
The bad news is that neither seems to have the depth of knowledge on important issues that is critical to success in Boise. Both say they want meaningful tax relief. Neither can say exactly what form it should take. Both mentioned a change in the sales tax on food but neither had a clue how much that would cost. Harvey rightly suggests education should be a priority but doesn’t have any specific proposals.
Of the two, The Idaho Spokesman-Review endorses Ellis because we believe she is better able to get up to speed on the issues. We also endorse Republican John Goedde in his Senate District 3 race against token opposition. State Rep. Jim Clark, R-Hayden, is running unopposed for re-election.
Ellis, once a campaign worker for former legislator Jeff Alltus, R-Hayden Lake, says she plans to stick to the “money issues” such as property tax relief and funding improvements to U.S. Highway 95, and stay away from the polarizing social issues that seemed to preoccupy Alltus.
We’d love to see Ellis develop into the kind of legislator who can take advantage of her majority party status to make a difference for Coeur d’Alene, Dalton Gardens and Hayden Lake constituents.
Our choice of Goedde, a Coeur d’Alene insurance agent, in the Senate District 3 race to replace competent Sen. Gordon Crow, R-Hayden, was easy to make. Not only is he the most promising Republican political newcomer in North Idaho, but his opponent, Constitutionalist Jim Gleixner, hasn’t campaigned. Goedde, a former School District 271 trustee, has expertise in the two areas we deem important for the next session: U.S. Highway 95 repair and school building and safety needs. For years, he has lobbied the Legislature for funding to upgrade dangerous Highway 95, which former Gov. Cecil Andrus appropriately dubbed “the goat trail.” In fact, he’s a founding member of the Idaho Highway Coalition. His Coeur d’Alene School Board service gives him valuable insight into state education needs.