Harwood, Calabretta fight to keep legislative seats

Controversial Rep. Dick Harwood was battling to keep his seat in legislative District 2 on Tuesday, as was incumbent Democrat Sen. Marti Calabretta. As of press time, the results were too close to call in the race between Calabretta and Republican challenger Joyce Broadsword.

Harwood was leading by 684 votes, according to early results from the district’s 41 precincts, which are spread across Bonner, Kootenai, Shoshone and Benewah counties.

District 2 House

Rep. Mary Lou Shepherd, D-Prichard, easily won a fourth term in the House over Constitution Party candidate Gary Alan Schulte, while Sen. Marti Calabretta, D-Osburn, trailed by 19 votes in early returns behind Republican Broadsword.

Harwood, R-St. Maries, is a self-described “fiscal conservative” who’s made waves with his controversial stands, including comparing compulsory kindergarten to communism. Harwood, 56, a retired welder who operates a cleaning service, serves on the Judiciary, Environmental Affairs and Joint Finance-Appropriations committees in the Legislature. He said he wanted to continue his work on those committees. He also was a cosponsor of unsuccessful legislation to amend Idaho’s Constitution to ban gay marriage.

George Currier, Harwood’s Democratic challenger, is a former longtime St. Maries city councilman, head of the local Timber Plus economic development group and the former civil defense director for Benewah County. Currier, 70, backed increasing Idaho’s $5.15 an hour minimum wage, and focused his campaign on health care, education funding and jobs.

Calabretta was 16 votes behind Broadsword in Kootenai County, with 45 percent of votes counted. In her home county of Shoshone, Calabretta was ahead by 420 votes, with 11 of 19 precincts reporting. With slightly more than half the district’s 32 precinct’s reporting, Calabretta trailed by 19 votes.

Calabretta, 63, is a longtime state senator who also headed the Silver Valley Natural Resource Trustees. A retired social worker, she has championed unsuccessful legislation to allow local-option gambling in a Wallace historic district and has pushed for more education funding.

Broadsword, 46, of Sagle, is co-owner of a log home business, and has been an active volunteer in Republican campaigns and in Idaho Women in Timber. She listed jobs, water rights and taxes as her top issues.

Shepherd, 71, is a retired restaurant/tavern owner.

She is known as a moderate, pro-business Democrat who often seeks input from her district before casting key votes.

Schulte, 59, a semi-retired mechanical engineer from Cocolalla, was making his first run for elected office. According to early results, Shepherd was ahead by a margin of 4 to 1.

District 3 House

A lengthy tug-of-war over District 3’s Seat B was won by Republican Phil Hart. Winning more than 95 percent of votes, Hart survived a last-minute challenge by write-in candidate Wayne Meyer, a fellow Republican. Meyer has held the seat for five terms before being ousted in the May primary.

Early results had Hart ahead by more than 6,000 votes.

The race marks Hart’s second attempt to win the seat from Meyer. Hart, an engineer, ran in 2002 as a Constitution Party candidate. He was defeated by a 3,500-vote margin.

District 6 House

The Moscow district’s House Seat A was retained by Republican incumbent Tom Trail. Democrat Mark Solomon won only 22 percent of votes cast, according to early results from one-third of the precincts. Trail will return the Legislature for his fifth term.

For the district’s B Seat, Democrat Shirley G. Ringo was behind by a margin of 280 votes in a race against Republican Earl H. Bennett, according to the most recent poll results. Ringo had captured 44 percent of votes cast, to Bennett’s 56 percent.