District 5 races hit similar themes

David Larsen is making his second attempt to win a local seat in the state House of Representatives. And again he’s going up against Bob Nonini, who was elected in 2004 to represent Seat A in District 5, which covers Post Falls and rural Kootenai County.

Larsen, a Democrat, is a retired high school math teacher who now teaches part time at North Idaho College.

Nonini, a Republican, owns an insurance and finance company.

And there isn’t much the two agree on.

Nonini describes himself as a leader with aspirations to one day be elected House speaker. For now, he said he’s likely in the position to become vice chairman of the House Education Committee.

Larsen said he believes Nonini is ineffective and blindly follows his party’s leadership. He compared his opponent to a circus elephant.

Nonini counters that a Democrat would be ineffective because the party has no clout in Boise. Eighty percent of legislators are Republican.

“Anyone who knows me knows I’m not a ‘yes’ guy,” added Nonini, who replaced longtime Rep. Hilde Kellogg two years ago. “I’m opinionated, and it sometimes gets me in trouble.”

Nonini this year bucked Republican leaders when he opposed a bill to seize about $3 million in annual gas tax revenues that the courts earlier ruled belong to Idaho’s Indian tribes. As a member of the Idaho Council on Indian Affairs, he is working to find a compromise for the 2007 session that starts in January.

He also opposed the GOP’s attempt to launch a state-financed constitutional challenge of the successful voter initiative that legalized limited gambling at Indian reservation casinos.

Nonini added that Republican leaders also opposed a bonding plan to fund statewide highway projects, including upgrades to U.S. Highway 95. He was appointed to a committee in 2005 to help work out a solution.

Larsen, who maintains the Legislature needs more balance in power, criticized Republican legislators for the special session in August that shifted to the sales tax a portion of the property tax that is used to help fund education. He said residents have been calling for property tax relief for years and that Republicans waited to address it recently for political purposes.

“Just when they are in re-election danger, they finally find the light,” said Larsen, who also dislikes the resulting 1 percent increase in the sales tax.

Nonini maintains that his first term was a success, not only for property owners but because of legislation to create an aquifer protection district in North Idaho and to improve U.S. 95. He said he’s working with other Republican lawmakers in District 5 to give residents even more tax relief.

“We’re far from done,” Nonini said. “But we made the first great stride.”

A main focus for the delegation will be a proposal to average property value increases over five years to do away with spikes that make tax increases so unpredictable, he said.

Nonini and Rep. Frank Henderson, R-Post Falls, also want to sponsor a bill to freeze property values for people who have owned their primary residence for at least 15 years.

Larsen said he supported the Democrats’ property tax relief alternative that would have given breaks just to homeowners, not businesses. That would have negated the need to increase the sales tax, which Larsen argues hurts the poorest residents.

Out-of-state residents who own lakefront homes don’t deserve property tax breaks, Larsen said, and they likely won’t buy enough items to make up the revenue with sales tax dollars. As for businesses, he said they already get many tax breaks, such as not having to pay sales tax on production costs.

Like other Democratic candidates, Larsen wants to eliminate the state’s sales tax on food. The Republicans, including Nonini, say they’d prefer to increase the income tax credit on groceries.

Larsen supports Proposition 1, a measure on the Nov. 7 ballot that would force lawmakers to increase funding for schools by an amount equal to what a 1-cent sales tax increase would raise. For the next year, the latest estimates put that figure at $219 million. He said that for years, the Legislature hasn’t funded education responsibly.

Nonini opposes the measure, saying that education should go through the budget process like all departments. He said the Legislature is elected to allocate the money, and it shouldn’t be done by initiative.

Among other accomplishments, Nonini cites his work on an interim committee that will make recommendations to update Idaho’s energy plan, which hasn’t been revised since 1982. He also helped win approval for a new license plate promoting breast cancer awareness.

Besides property tax relief, Larsen wants to work on improving Idaho’s health care system, including ensuring that the state takes every federal dollar available. He also thinks Idaho should join other states to buy prescription drugs in bulk for Medicaid recipients to reduce the cost.

Another idea is to create an insurance pool for people who are uninsured or hard to insure. He said one medical crisis can ruin people who have low-paying jobs and inadequate insurance. That’s another reason he supports increasing the minimum wage.

“A livable wage is closer to $15 per hour,” Larsen said.

Nonini was arrested in 1983 for felony possession of cocaine, with intent to deliver. National Crime Information Center records show the charge was dismissed a month later, and Nonini said he has a clean record. Five years later, Nonini acted as a confidential informant in a major undercover drug operation.

The race also includes Constitution Party candidate Rose Johnson, of Hauser, who is running a write-in campaign. Johnson, 47, also ran against Nonini in 2004. She wants to make English the official language of the state and ensure Idaho doesn’t cater to immigrants. She also would continue her fight for “judicial accountability” and wants accountability for political candidates so they can’t slander and libel their opponents.