Educators face off in Idaho’s District 6 election

Two former teachers from the Palouse are campaigning to represent District 6 in the Idaho House.

Democrats Kenneth Williams and Kathy Dawes are competing to win the May primary election for Seat B. The primary is May 19. The winner will advance to face Republican incumbent Brandon Mitchell, who isn’t facing a primary challenger, in the November general election.

Dawes is a retired Moscow science teacher who ran for the Idaho House in 2024. Williams was a longtime substitute in Genesee and is now a University of Idaho facilities staff member.

Both candidates are motivated by a desire to support education in the state. They are unhappy with recent legislation they feel is hurting Idaho’s schools.

“The fact that it seems to be a concentrated attack on our education system, just really disturbs me,” said Williams.

He spoke about the cutting of budgets and last year’s House Bill 93, which funded a tax credit for families to use toward nonpublic schools.

“When you start privatizing education, you’re creating a tiered system and you’re taking money away from your public education system,” Williams said.

Dawes criticized HB 516, which prohibits schools from allowing unions to deduct dues from teachers’ paychecks and it prohibits taxpayer resources from accommodating teachers’ unions.

Dawes, who is a member of the Idaho Education Association, said it is misleading to say that money from the state was being used to pay union dues. She said teachers should be allowed to pay their own salaries toward these dues, and restricting this is punishing teachers.

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“We have a hard time getting good quality teachers and to have this be a slap in the face is inappropriate,” she said.

The IEA recently issued a vote of no confidence in Gov. Brad Little following the bill’s signing.

Williams echoed this sentiment, saying the bill takes away teachers’ voices in their districts.

“Teachers need to have a say in their classroom,” he said. “Teachers need to have a say in their schools. Decisions need to be made at a district level with input from teachers.”

Another controversial debate on the state level is the one over abortion. The group Idahoans United for Women and Families is working toward getting a citizen initiative on the ballot to end Idaho’s abortion ban.

While Williams and Dawes have different views on abortion, they are aligned in supporting this initiative.

Williams is opposed to the act of abortion, but believes it is not the state’s right to make that choice for an individual. He believes banning abortion will lead to women seeking abortion operations in unsafe or illegal manners. Williams prefers reducing abortions through education.

Dawes said she has been helping collect signatures for the citizen initiative, because she wants to return the state to the days of Roe v. Wade. She believes legislators are interfering with women’s ability to receive healthcare.

Neither Dawes nor Williams are happy with how the state has handled its budget deficit through significant cuts.

“The fact that we went from having a surplus to a deficit speaks volumes for their ability to manage our budget,” Williams said.

Williams, who identifies as a fiscal conservative, said he does not want Idaho to give large tax breaks to corporations while cutting budgets in other areas like education, law enforcement and roads.

Dawes said legislators used a “chain saw” when making cuts to the budget rather than a precision tool. She said Idaho needs to invest in preventive programs such as child care in order to keep vulnerable populations healthy and safe. She said this is a less expensive solution than having to house people in jails or hospitals, where they often end up if they do not receive support.

She specifically wants to protect Medicaid expansion for this reason, and noted that legislators who want to cut Medicaid are ignoring the citizens who voted for it.

Williams similarly wants Idaho to support health care so that Idaho can attract more physicians and not drive them away.

Both candidates support Latah County’s effort to build a new jail that meets modern standards, and would like the state to allow Latah County to impose a local option tax to fund it.

Dawes said Moscow and the surrounding communities should have the right to utilize this tax, because otherwise the county will be left with the difficult task of funding a jail through a bond.

Generally, giving cities and counties more local control over their issues is one of the main reasons why Dawes is running for office again, she said.

Williams disagrees with county officials that say a brand new facility is needed. He would rather the county try to renovate the existing jail, instead.

Kuipers can be reached at akuipers@dnews.com.