Mary’s Priorities

I’m focused on Pocatello as a community, not on political games that play to divisiveness. I’ve lived in Pocatello for decades working as a trial lawyer with an emphasis on child welfare cases. I’ve previously been a small business owner, a teacher and department head at ISU, a leader in the Idaho Bar, and, importantly, a mother of three who wants the best for my children.

My legislative priorities reflect the values that all Pocatelloans hold – fairness and opportunity so that our children can lead even fuller lives than we have.

Children’s Mental Health

• Support mental health resources in our schools, including age appropriate coursework to educate our youth about how to care for their own mental and emotional wellbeing in times of stress
• Make sure there are mental health providers available to treat youth, families, and young adults throughout Pocatello, and throughout Idaho
• Support investment in safe treatment facilities for our most at risk youth in South East Idaho
• Support research in all treatment protocols for youth and young adults

Education

• Direct state and local funding to make our education system the best it can be
• Encourage healthy relationships between educators and the families they serve
• Support initiatives that allow our kids to have the tools and skills they need to thrive in a modern economy

Health Care

• Ensure access to quality health care for all Idahoans
• Support community based preventative health initiatives
• Expand Medicaid, as most Idahoans support

Small Business

• Support tax relief, including property tax relief, for small business property owners to help ease the impact of current economic conditions
• Allow business owners to make decisions for themselves and their own bottom lines about important issues such as how to respond to a global pandemic
• Provide resources and support to help address supply chain difficulties that are increasing costs and slowing down business

Employers, Workers, and Union Members

• Increase our minimum wage so that all persons who work full time are able to self support without government assistance
• Make sure we have a capable, trained workforce for the employers doing business in Idaho (support public education, including post secondary education and trade schools)
• Recognize the legitimate role of collective bargaining in fair labor negotiations; remove government obstacles that tilt the scales in favor of one side over the other

Property Taxes

• Make it easy and user friendly for taxpayers to understand the taxation process and to challenge unfair assessments
• Create a task force to investigate whether current housing prices fairly correlate with property tax assessments following the unprecedented Idaho real estate market boom
• Make sure that property taxes are fair and balanced and that local governments have the resources they need to function well

Public Lands

• Preserve our public lands for future generations
• Promote access for all to public lands in a way that respects private property rights as well as the need for preservation of resources

Veterans

• Provide necessary support in all areas of life when our veterans suffer setbacks following their active duty service
• Make sure our veterans have access to quality medical and mental health care

Voting

• Respect the one person one ballot principle; make voting accessible and fair for all
• Remove unnecessary obstacles to voting while maintaining a fair and accountable system
• Don’t turn back policies that work; make sure voting officials have all the resources and support they need so we can continue to trust them in performing their duties

Reproductive Choice and Bodily Autonomy

• Trust medical professionals to guide pregnant people in making private, highly sensitive decisions about their reproductive health
• Rework Idaho’s current trigger ban laws to remove the strict and rigid cutoffs that endanger the life of the mother