Stallings may head state Demo party
POCATELLO, Idaho – A former U.S. representative is in line to head the Idaho Democratic Party when its chairwoman steps down in two months.
Richard Stallings, now a Pocatello City Councilman, said he’s the front-runner to replace Carolyn Boyce in March after others who had been interested in the post learned he was running and backed out. The party will vote on a new chairman March 5 at its annual banquet in Boise honoring Frank Church, the former U.S. senator who died in 1984 of cancer.
Democrats are keen to boost a well-known, well-liked figure such as Stallings to the party leadership after losing more than two-thirds of the presidential vote in the Nov. 2 election, where their rival Republicans cemented a nearly five-to-one majority in the state House and four-to-one majority in the Senate.
Stallings, 64, served four terms in the U.S. House and also was executive director of an affordable housing group in Pocatello before retiring in 2003.
“The party needs a centrist Democrat like Stallings who understands how Idahoans think to take the Democratic party to the next level,” said James Ruchti, chair of the Bannock County Democrats. “Everyone’s really excited about it because he’s just a great choice.”
Stallings told Democratics that he’d run for the post if people wanted him.
“I’m sure there are a lot of people qualified, but I’m not sure there’s anyone else interested in it,” he said.
Stallings was a member of Congress from 1985 through 1993. He lost the 1992 race for the U.S. Senate and failed in his bid in 1998 to return to his former eastern Idaho congressional seat when he was beaten by Mike Simpson.
But Democratic leaders say Stallings, a moderate, pro-life Mormon, has the appeal to bridge the divide between Democrats and Republicans who were emboldened by President George Bush’s landslide victory in the state two months ago.
“Look what he was able to do get elected as a Democratic congressman from the Second Congressional District,” Ruchti said of Stallings’ service in Congress. “That’s quite a feat.”
Stallings also served as executive director of Pocatello Neighborhood Housing Services, an organization aimed at providing affordable housing in the city, until he retired in July 2003.
If he is elected to head the party, he’d remain on the City Council for the duration of his term but wouldn’t run again in November.
“I think the city is in good hands,” Stallings said.
As Democratic chairman, Stallings would oversee party organization, fund-raising and recruitment and would also assist with getting out the party’s message.
Stallings said many Democrats are also excited about the prospect of having a leader from outside of Boise, the state’s largest metropolitan area. Democrats still face an uphill battle in Idaho, Stallings said, but he believes their influence will grow.
“I think the legislative session will give us some issues,” Stallings said. “I think nationally there will be some issues develop as the economy continues to struggle. Rural economies are going to take some harder hits than urban.”