Thanks for clicking into the first blog I have ever written.  This medium allows me to take a bit of a “deeper dive” on some issues I know people care about in this District.  It allows you to get to know my character and point of view.  I am knocking on doors and talking to as many of you as I possibly can between now and November 8, because what matters most is what you think.  I am running to be your representative.  I am not running to foist any agenda.  

Like many of you I am talking to throughout this campaign, I have a lot of concerns about where Idaho has been heading for the last several years.  I worked for a GOP administration as a young lawyer many years ago.  The GOP of today is not the party it used to be.  Today and especially in Idaho, there seems to be a hyper focus on divisive culture war identity politics, and much less focus on solving real problems for real people. With my former GOP employers, if our legal team approached the GOP powers that be, whether in the legislature or in the Governor’s Office, and if we told them that a policy idea was going to be challenged in court and likely could not be defended successfully, they would listen to reason and pull the plug.  They would not waste a dime of taxpayer money on ideology that would never be implemented, and they certainly would not pay a dime of taxpayer money to attorneys who would challenge those policies in court.  Now in Idaho, the legislature has created a $20 million dollar attorney fee slush fund, intended specifically to pay legal costs for these losing battles of ideology.  It is fiscally irresponsible leadership.  The Idaho legislature needs more voices of reason.  That is why I decided to run.  

My late friend and colleague Senator Mark Nye, who represented Pocatello just as I hope to, was a terrific voice of reason in Boise.  I was honored to have his support with this candidacy.  Representative James Ruchti, my friend and colleague, has also served as a terrific voice of reason in Boise, and I am proud to be running alongside him in his candidacy to fill Mark’s vacant Senate seat.  Nate Roberts, who is running for the other House seat, District 29B, is another voice of reason.  Nate is an electrician by trade, but if you chat with him for a few minutes, you will quickly learn how knowledgeable he is about Idaho fiscal policy.  Nate has long been an advocate for the working class.  Together, James, Nate and I wish to represent the common sense view point of reasonable governance.  We will legislate with an evidence based approach, focusing specifically on how legislative policy impacts people in Idaho, and particularly us Pocatelloans, people who live in this community.  

I am concerned about Idaho’s abortion ban trigger laws and reproductive choice.  I will dedicate a blog post to this issue in the near future so I can take a deeper dive, but I stand with pregnant people and their medical providers on this very nuanced issue.  I trust that pregnant people and their medical providers can make these very difficult decisions for themselves, without uninformed judgment, and without interference by the state of Idaho.  I am committed to protecting all of the rights that surround this issue, including rights to access contraception and assisted reproductive technology.  I am committed to defending every Idahoan’s right to privacy in making personal choices about intimate relationships, child bearing, and child rearing.  I am hopeful that the state and federal legal challenges will be successful in invalidating what I think is very sloppy and frankly cruel legislation.  I want to be your legislator in Boise when they re-write these laws.  I will respect the will of my constituency on this issue, and I understand that most people in Pocatello do not support the total abortion ban advocated by the GOP.  Most people I speak with want some reasonable regulations that, as applied, are fair and compassionate.  We can protect and promote the sanctity of life and still allow pregnant people the dignity of autonomous decision making about their lives, their health, and their bodies. 

I am concerned about the economy, as I know so many of you are.  Property taxes are out of control in Idaho.  They were already problematic, but when Idaho property values soared in 2020 and 2021, so did property taxes.  I have some ideas about how the legislature should address this issue, including by implementing reasonable caps.  I will devote another blog post to this issue in the near future.  I will also discuss other ways we can help Idahoans survive this inflation, including by eliminating our grocery tax and implementing a gas tax holiday.  

I am very concerned about housing instability in Idaho.  With inflation, rising interest rates, and a looming recession, and with our minimum wage remaining at $7.25, and with the property values increasing so much over the past two years in Idaho, many working families are struggling to find and keep good housing.  The National Low Income Housing Coalition just released a report last week that found that Idahoans earning minimum wage must work 104 hours per week just to be able to afford a two bedroom apartment..

I will discuss this crisis and potential legislative policy ideas to help in a future post.  

I’ve been a lawyer for more than 30 years with an emphasis in family law and a specialty in child welfare law for over two decades. Based on my professional experience, as well as based on my love and compassion for all kids, and also because I am the mother to young adults, I am very concerned about the mental health crisis facing our youth today.  Suicide is now the number two cause of death among children and young adults aged ten and up.  That horrifying statistic has been true since 2016, and the problem is not getting better, it is getting worse.   It is unprecedented in our nation’s history.  I think there are a lot of causes, and it is important to remember that this was trending up even before the pandemic.  Solutions won’t be quick and they won’t be easy.  I am committed to finding hope and finding help for our kids in Idaho.  

I will post here about other issues as the campaign marches towards November 8.  I look forward to seeing you in the community in the coming weeks.  If you have any questions for me, feel free to send me an email or call me, or find me on social media and message me there.

Idaho is a beautiful state with kind and compassionate people living in it.  I want Idaho to be the best it can be, for all of us.

Mary