Semanko launches bid for Congress
Republican Norm Semanko came home to Kootenai County on Monday to kick off his campaign for the U.S. House of Representatives, telling supporters his politics emulate those of Ronald Reagan.
He added that it’s been more than 50 years since Idaho had a congressional representative from the Panhandle.
“We are going to make history,” Semanko told about 30 supporters gathered on the lawn in front of the County Courthouse.
Semanko, 39, grew up in Rathdrum and lives in Eagle. He is the director of the Idaho Water Users Association, which represents irrigation districts and other water users, including 10,000 irrigated acres in Kootenai County. The University of Idaho graduate has a law degree from Georgetown University, and he is the National Water Resources Association president.
He joins a crowded Republican primary with five other challengers. There also are three Democrats in the race to replace U.S. Rep. Butch Otter, who is running for governor.
Semanko said he is the only candidate who has experience working with Congress, stemming from his years as a legislative adviser for Idaho Sen. Larry Craig. Even though he now lives in Southern Idaho, Semanko said he is the only Republican candidate raised in North Idaho and the only one who understands how to unite and represent the entire state.
He believes the federal government is spending too much money and would oppose all efforts to raise taxes to cover the bill. Semanko opposes abortion rights, supports the Patriot Act and thinks every American should support President Bush and the troops in Iraq.
As an attorney, Semanko said his top priorities are doing away with activist federal judges and cracking down on illegal immigrants. If elected, he wants to sit on the House Judiciary Committee, where he could work on those issues.
He said too many federal judges make decisions based on their own views and politics instead of sticking to the Constitution. Semanko said Congress needs to investigate these jurists and perhaps remove them from the bench.
“I’m not saying going on a witch hunt,” Semanko said. He added that the problem needs a solution before “real tyranny” occurs.
He also opposes illegal immigrants who take jobs from legal immigrants, such as his wife, Lana, who emigrated from the Soviet Union as a political refugee.
“Illegal means illegal,” Semanko said. “We must have comprehensive immigration reform.”
He supports the federal government’s partnering with local governments along with Idaho and Washington to protect and study the Rathdrum Prairie/Spokane Valley Aquifer, which is the region’s sole source of drinking water. Yet he thinks the states and local entities should remain in control of anything that happens with the aquifer.
In the May primary, Semanko is battling state Sen. Skip Brandt of Koosia, Idaho State Controller Keith Johnson, state Rep. Bill Sali of Kuna, former state Sen. Sheila Sorensen of Boise and Canyon County Commissioner Robert Vasquez.
In the Democrat primary, former Micron Technology vice president and general counselor Larry Grant is challenging two Coeur d’Alene candidates: businessman Cecil Kelly and Rand C. Lewis, a retired counterterrorism expert with the U.S. Army.