Stallings will stay put, continue to lead Demos

POCATELLO, Idaho – Former Idaho Congressman Richard Stallings has changed his exit strategy and will remain chairman of the Idaho Democratic Party.

Several months ago, Stallings had said he wouldn’t be seeking re-election to the Pocatello City Council. More recently, he said he would be stepping down as party chairman because he may be moving to Nevada so his wife Ranae could care for her ailing mother.

But now, Stallings says his mother-in-law’s health has improved and he’s staying put in Pocatello, seeking another term on the City Council and plotting strategy for Democratic victories in Idaho next year.

“I’m totally engaged with city issues and running the Democratic Party for the state,” he said Wednesday. “I see a lot of enthusiasm for the party.”

Stallings said the Democratic National Committee chairman, former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean, has helped energize the party by providing money that will allow Stallings to hire communications and fund-raising staff in Idaho.

Dean is scheduled to appear Friday in Boise at a $100-per-person fund-raiser.

Stallings, a four-term congressman first elected in 1989, said he believes the political tide is turning in Idaho, one of the most Republican states in national politics.

“When I was running for Senate (in 1992) I couldn’t draw flies,” he said. “We had 100 people show up for a Democratic Party picnic on a cold, wet day in Idaho County a few months ago, and Idaho Falls just had their largest Democratic fund-raising dinner ever.”

Stallings said he’s working to raise $10,000 to $15,000 for his City Council re-election bid. He appears to be unopposed. Idaho State University Alumni Relations Director Graham Garner had planned to run for the open seat, but took his name out of consideration when Stallings told him he’d decided to seek re-election.

Stallings said he wants to continue to help the city recover from the $1 million debt it had when he took office in 2001.

“We had to tighten our belts and make some tough, tough cuts,” he said. “But we’re just about through that mess.”