The issues at stake
Our Education & Children
Every child in Idaho, no matter where they live, deserves a top-quality PUBLIC education so they have the foundation they need to succeed. I do not support vouchers for private and religious schools.
Our legislature isn’t fully funding schools, forcing local bond initiatives that shift the burden onto property owners. Idaho families deserve an adequately funded education system that will ensure a bright future for their children and attract better jobs to the state.
​This begins with paying our teachers a competitive wage that will keep them in Idaho. By investing in early childhood education, we can better prepare our children for a lifetime of learning. Through the improvement of our technical training programs, we can equip more students with the trade skills necessary for a successful career.
Healthcare and Womens' Health
I'm most concerned about women's health. Idaho's ultra-restrictive laws allow medically needed abortions only when the mother's LIFE is in danger. I want to change that to allow medically needed abortion when her HEALTH is in danger. This is a decision that should be left to women and their doctors.
The voters’ decision to expand Medicaid has provided thousands more with the adequate care their family desperately needed. We must continue to hold the many elected officials accountable who are still trying to undermine that decision.
Our Public Lands
Idaho’s public lands are the envy of the nation. We must protect them. Yet, too often, we are denied access to traditional recreation areas. While respecting private property rights, I want to seek solutions such as conservation and recreation easements. I will also support legislation to keep public roads across private land open.
Idaho’s hunters and anglers have provided funding for non-game wildlife for years. They shouldn’t be the only ones to do so. I want to work with the Idaho Department of Fish and Game to seek a solution to funding non-game wildlife programs that includes other stakeholders that enjoy the benefits of healthy wildlife populations.
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An Ethical Government
It is essential that we elect leaders who will work hard to restore faith in government and keep it accountable to the people it serves. Many of our elected officials refuse to cooperate with standards of transparency. Our legislature lacks an ethics committee and inspector general to keep actions in check.
The legislature has been chipping away at the Idaho Public Records Act by making it more difficult to find out where legislation is coming from. We need to stop this trend and strengthen our ability to monitor what the government is doing. We are seeing efforts to weaken citizen-led initiatives and skew the redistricting process. It is critical that we put a system in place to protect us from these sorts of actions. ​
Abortion Restrictions
Politics is the art of the possible. Idaho is a very conservative state, so it is likely that there will be restrictions on abortion for the foreseeable future. My goal is to see that those restrictions do the least harm to women as possible.
Under current abortion restrictions in the state, there is only ONE medical exception. Abortions are allowed only when the death of the mother is likely. Doctors can’t perform abortions to protect the health of a mother. This puts doctors in an untenable situation. They must decide, often in an emergency, whether or not to risk their medical license and a large fine or save a mother. Will someone second guess them and proclaim that only her health was in danger, not her life?
Even that narrow exception would be eliminated if politicians who signed on to the Idaho Republican Party Platform have their way. That includes my opponent. No abortions would be allowed regardless of circumstances.
I will work to protect women’s health and their right to bodily autonomy.