Candidates at forum focus on jobs, taxes

Bringing good-paying jobs to North Idaho, reducing taxes and the Democrats’ struggle to provide more balance in the Republican-dominated Legislature were the topics of Wednesday night’s North Idaho College Young Republicans candidate forum.

About 100 people attended the gathering that put 11 legislative candidates for District 4 and 5, which include Post Falls and Coeur d’Alene, in the spotlight at NIC’s Student Union.

The candidates for the two District 4 House seats had varying ideas when asked how they plan to stimulate economic growth.

Republican Dan Yake said as a freshman legislator he wouldn’t have a plan. He said any candidate who does is fooling voters because that’s not how the system works.

Democrat incumbent Rep. George Sayler shot back.

“To fail to plan is to plan to fail,” Sayler said.

During a second term, Sayler said, he would continue to support education funding and back plans for Coeur d’Alene’s education corridor that would create a combined campus for the University of Idaho, Lewis-Clark State College, Idaho State University and NIC.

Republican Marge Chadderson, a retired businesswoman who is challenging Democrat Mike Gridley in the second District 4 race said she would strive for a business-friendly tax structure to attract small businesses that offer good-paying jobs.

Gridley, Coeur d’Alene’s city attorney, said Idaho needs to offer small businesses more tax incentives so they can offer good wages and benefits.

In the two District 5 House races, the talk was taxes.

Three of the five candidates support increasing the homeowner’s exemption, which gives people a tax break on their homes. Constitution Party candidate Rose Johnson, who is running against Republican Bob Nonini and Democrat David Larsen, said she wants to know what people in her district want in terms of tax relief and that she is a good listener with no aspirations to become a career politician.

“It’s your Legislature, not mine,” Johnson said.

Nonini, former Kootenai County Republican Central Committee chairman, said he would support an increase in the homeowners’ exemption and is also working with the county assessor to offer property tax relief to long-time residents. He said that must be done without transferring the tax burden to business owners.

Larsen, an NIC math instructor, proposed a similar plan last week with Sayler and Gridley. He questioned why everyone is talking about tax relief when the 2004 Legislature killed four bills that would have helped.

The candidates are running to replace retiring Rep. Hilde Kellogg, R-Post Falls. Larsen criticized Nonini for wanting to continue Kellogg’s legacy because she was the vice chairman of the committee that killed the tax relief bills.

In the other District 5 House race, Republican Frank Henderson, a former Post Falls mayor and Kootenai County commissioner, said he had mixed feels about the homeowners’ exemption increase because he doesn’t want to discourage new businesses from moving to the state.

He has already drafted a proposed bill that would require county jail inmates to pay for their own prescription drugs while incarcerated, saving counties thousands of dollars each year.

Democrat challenger Lyndon Harriman said he supports increasing the homeowners’ exemption and also finding a way to freeze long-time residents’ property taxes.

The District 5 Senate race has a 24-year-old challenging former Kootenai County Commissioner and Sen. Dick Compton, R-Post Falls.

Democrat Ian Stenseng said he’s running to bring a young adult’s perspective to the Legislature. That voice is needed as young families try to make a living, he said.

Compton said his local government and corporate business experience will help him form coalitions needed to represent North Idaho. He sees water issues, especially concerns with the Snake River Plain, as an issue that will dominate the 2005 session. Even though it’s a southern Idaho issue, North Idaho must get involved because it could cost all Idaho taxpayers money, he said.

Stenseng said the biggest issue facing Idaho is attracting living way jobs.

“We can’t continue to subside on Wal-Mart wages,” he said.