Goedde challenger drops out

Coeur d’Alene Sen. John Goedde is no longer worried that his re-election campaign will pit him against the state teachers union, because his Democratic opponent dropped out of the race Wednesday.

Goedde recently told the Idaho Education Association that if Democrat Jerry Lee, a Post Falls High School government teacher and union member, challenged him in the November election it would become a battle between schoolteachers and Goedde, the chairman of the Senate Education Committee.

He said that could have severely hurt any education policy the union tries to push. As committee chairman, Goedde has the power to control which education bills live and die.

“I’ll put it in real simple terms,” the senator said Wednesday. “If you are going to shoot the bear, you better make sure you kill it.”

“An IEA-supported candidate against me, who failed to take me out, would have made my relationship with IEA strained,” Goedde added.

Lee, an active union member, confirmed that he plans to drop out of the race but not because of the pressure Goedde put on the IEA. Instead, he pointed to a lack of organization and said he will likely run in two years.

“I want to start out on the right foot,” said Lee, who hadn’t yet withdrawn his candidacy with the Office of the Secretary of State.

Lee said he had heard Goedde spoke with the IEA but had no firsthand information.

He said the state union warned him about the difficulties in challenging Goedde but didn’t explicitly ask him to withdraw from the race.

IEA Executive Director Jim Shackleford said the union didn’t recruit Lee or any other candidates. He talked to Lee but declined to disclose details of the conversation.

“This whole situation is really more between Jerry and what his beliefs are and what he wants to do,” said Shackleford, who called Lee a very valuable and highly respected member.

Shackleford acknowledged that Goedde, like any committee chairman, is very influential.

He characterized the IEA’s current rapport with Goedde as a “good working relationship.”

“We certainly don’t agree on all the issues; in fact, we frequently disagree,” he said, adding that they must maintain a relationship where they can work together on the areas where they do agree.

Goedde agreed that they must have a cooperative relationship.

If Lee did run, Goedde said, it would propel the race into the statewide spotlight and attract a lot of players outside Coeur d’Alene. It would also dramatically increase the cost of the campaign.

“Then voters in the 4th District would have to decide whether the union wins or not,” Goedde said.

Kootenai County Democratic Central Committee Chairman Bill Kersting said he was surprised by Goedde’s actions.

“It’s almost an abuse of power,” Kersting said. “To hold IEA hostage because a candidate happens to be a union member is a new low.”

Donna Montgomery, the county Republican Central Committee chairwoman, said she didn’t see anything wrong with Goedde’s contact with the IEA.

She said she hasn’t heard much about the race and doesn’t know Lee.

Goedde so far faces no challengers in the May Republican primary.

Independent candidate Jeremy Boggess, of Coeur d’Alene, is vying against him in the November general election, as is Constitution Party candidate Ray Writz.

Boggess is a political newcomer running as an independent to get away from this exact type of party politics, he said.

He said he thinks Goedde improperly used his power by bullying the IEA, and he anticipates education policy will be a central focus of the race.