Bitter debate as House passes bill to create zones, boot out some current elected college trustees in 2017

After some fairly bitter debate, the House has voted 55-15 in favor of HB 387 , Caldwell Rep. Greg Chaney’s bill to require community college trustees to be elected from five zones – and to boot out of office those currently serving from the same zones and replace them with new appointees in 2017. “We want representation that represents the communities throughout the state of Idaho,” Chaney told the House. “Different communities have different needs. … Nearly every other type of taxing district has zonal representation.”

Chaney argued that residents of rural areas have gone unrepresented, because current elected trustees for Idaho’s three community colleges tend to come from the larger communities within their districts. “It’s the product of the population centers over time disenfranchising those rural areas, making them feel as if their vote and their voice didn’t count,” he said.

Rep. John Gannon, D-Boise, said, “I am very sympathetic to the idea of district elections; I think it improves representation.” But he objected to the boards themselves appointing new trustees in 2017 to replace those currently elected to serve. “That is not democracy, and I think that’s an affront to democracy,” he said.

House Minority Leader John Rusche, D-Lewiston, said, “I see continuation of the rural-urban infighting that we see in state government here, and it just makes me wonder if, when elections don’t give us the results that we want, we need to go and change the rules.”

Rep. Gayle Batt, R-Wilder, objected. “You’re questioning the motives of the sponsor,” she told Rusche. Batt told the House, “In the six years that I’ve been here, this is the third time that we have seen this legislation. … Every time a draft comes forward, there’s something wrong with the bills. I’m starting to have a problem when we have our college presidents coming and weighing in on how their bosses are elected.” She said, “For those of us that represent the rural areas, take a look at those maps. … We have every right to be concerned. I plead with you, that’s probably why the Food Producers of Idaho and the Farm Bureau took a position on this, because they’re recognizing that we have special needs in the rural areas.”

Rep. Brent Crane, R-Nampa, said the College of Western Idaho board of trustees voted 4-1 to oppose the bill, and the one dissenter was from his district. “This is an issue about fairness, this is an issue of taxation without representation,” he said.

There was a delay before the debate began, after Rep. Lance Clow, R-Twin Falls, tried to get the vote delayed for a week; after the delay, he withdrew his motion. Clow said the bill moved through committee to the full House “at rapid speed,” noting that it was printed on a Wednesday, noticed for hearing on Friday and heard in committee and sent to the full House on Monday. When a trustee from his local community college, the College of Southern Idaho, asked him about the bill, Clow said he sent the trustee a link to it – not realizing it had already been sent to the floor of the House. That meant the CSI trustees never got a chance to weigh in. “I’m going to vote against this primarily because I didn’t have an opportunity to properly represent my district,” he said.

North Idaho College Vice President Mark Browning did speak at the committee hearing, but he said his board hadn’t met since the bill was introduced and hadn’t had an opportunity to take a position on it.

Rep. Pete Nielsen, R-Mountain Home, said he’d favor “more of a rural flavor to the board of trustees than what currently exists.” Rep. Maxine Bell, R-Jerome, also spoke in favor of the bill. “I’m truly sorry that those in the CSI area were unaware of this sooner, I’m sorry for that,” she said. “Things move quickly here. … No reflection on the fine people who are serving right now.” But she said she’s motivated by “the right of the people who are taxed in Jerome County to have a voice on a college we all love.”

Although the bill would require trustees to come from five geographic zones, they’d still be elected at-large by the entire district. Chaney said he patterned it after how school board elections work.

The 15 “no” votes on the bill came from Reps. Anderst, Chew, Clow, Erpelding, Gannon, Hartgen, King, Kloc, Malek, McCrostie, Nye, Rubel, Rusche, Smith and Wintrow; they included four Republicans and 11 Democrats. Those voting “yes” included 52 Republicans and three Democrats, Reps. Jordan, Pence and Rudolph.  The bill now moves to the Senate side.