Phillips seeks legislature

Frustrated by recent votes on education and term limits, Mountain Home teacher David Phillips will seek a seat in the Idaho House of Representatives, for the new legislative district 22B position, which includes all of Elmore and Boise Counties.

"I've always said, don't complain unless you're willing to step up and do something about it," Phillips said, describing himself as a middle-of-the-road, moderate Democrat.

"It really does irritate me when you talk to folks who are so far to the left or the right they can't even envision another opinion. That's tunnel vision and that's what's hurting the legislature.

"You need a good debate to get the best result. But you have to have two opinions to do that. In Idaho, with a one-party legislature, it's just not happening."

Phillips was raised on a farm in Bogard, Mo., population 273. He and his wife, Michele, came to Idaho eight years ago, glad to move West because of their love of hunting, skiing, fishing and snowmobiling.

He is the band and music teacher at Hacker Middle School. Their family now includes two sons, Blake, 7, and Bryan, 5, who helped motivate Phillips to run.

"My kids are one reason I'm doing this. My boys need a future and right now their future in education looks bleak."

Phillips noted that he has been a cancer survivor for four years. He said that realized "the little things just aren't as important as you think, the big things are worth fighting for and there's no time to waste."

He also discovered he has more perseverance than he thought. "I figured, if I can survive cancer, I can certainly survive a political campaign. Someone asked me, 'Aren't you afraid of losing?' Heck, I had a doctor tell me I'd be dead in six months if he couldn't fix me. So losing an election isn't the worst that can happen to you,"

But Phillips doesn't intend to lose. He's angry about a legislature unwilling to move forward in educating Idaho's children and unconcerned about the long-term costs. "If you don't fund education, other costs will increase -- like crime, incarceration and social problems that have bigger price tags. For democracy and the economy to work, you have to have an educated populace. If we don't make the effort now, we won't reap the benefits in the future." Phillips' is also surprised at the legislature's "we know best" attitude.

"Even though my own opinion is that the ballot box is a term limit, I couldn't have voted against the people in my district," Phillips explained.

"I heard one legislator say they were there to vote in the best interest of their constituents, not necessarily to do what they wanted. Well, that's what a mother says to her child, not what a legislator does to the people they represent.

"The people have voted twice in favor of term limits. That's pretty clear. If you're a legislator who voted against the way your district wanted, then I believe you did wrong."

Phillips believes his professional and personal background make him a candidate voters can relate to. "You have to sincerely care about what matters to the people in your district," Phillips said.

"A Representative should be someone you could sit down and talk to over coffee at the coffee shop. As a legislator, I hope people would feel comfortable with me. Because if you're not comfortable, you're not going to become involved and we need people to be involved and participating in their government. That's the only way democracy works."

Phillips invites interested citizens to contact him at home by calling 587-3764, or on the Internet at: dephouse@earthlink.net