Menu
Local election candidates express their views
A capacity crowd turned out at the Mountain Home Public Library last week to hear the seven candidates for three contested local elections answer questions from the public about their positions.
The forum was sponsored by the Chamber of Commerce and moderated by Lauri Erickson.
The candidates who appeared at the forum were:
* House Seat B -- Incumbent Pete Nielsen and challenger Steve Millingon.
* District 1 Commissioner -- Incumbent Bud Corbus and challenger Courtney Ireland.
* District 2 Commissioner -- Incumbent Wes Wootan and challengers Doug King and Robin Ellis.
Under the format, each of the candidates was given an opportunity to respond to the same question posed from the audience.
Erickson opened the forum by asking why each person felt they were the best candidate.
Nielsen described his experience. "I've been down the road of life," he said, going on to describe cases where he had taken on the INS and the BLM and won.
Millington cited his extensive budgeting experience as a CPA and later as a CEO of a Fortune 500 company in Idaho, adding that "I have a good grasp of state government." He stressed his belief in facing practical issues before the state, his strong support for education and his concern about the need to protect the state's water resources.
Corbus offered his experience in business and emergency services, and the work he did as a commissioner last year to help deal with the fires in the county, the fact they brought the county in under budget, and his work fighting to keep the road open to Atlanta.
Ireland cited her military experience and budgeting ability, as well as her work on the planning and zoning commission, which made her "want to be a better commissioner than who I was working for."
Wootan stressed that while he represented the rural part of the county it was important to represent both city and rural residents. He said he was in favor of development of "the right kind," and said anything that consumes large amounts of water probably wouldn't fit that criteria.
King, running for the fourth time for commissioner, cited his experience on the county P&Z panel and the fact that his job takes him all over the county "where people talk to me, and believe me, I hear what they have to say."
Ellis, a former deputy sheriff making his first run for office, described his experience on the Elmore County Safety Board and the E-911 board, plus his work helping set up the ambulance service in the Pine/Featherville area as examples of his accomplishments in public service.
One audience member questioned the group about what they though needed to be done to meet the water needs for the airbase, agriculture interests and local communities.
Corbus noted the efforts the state has made recently to acquire surface water rights for the airbase.
Ireland said she would look into the possibility to fixing the breached Fraser Reservoir and using it for a groundwater recharge source.
Wootan said recharge of the aquifer was important, but also the need to be careful what industry was brought in.
King said a committee needed to be formed to look into recharge possibilities.
Ellis suggested a liner be installed from "Little Camas on down" to prevent water loss in the irrigation system.
Millington pointed out that on his property "once that water gets through my headgates, nobody's figured how to get it back," so systems to capture and hold water upstream were vital to water conservation.
Nielsen advocated recharge, but noted it would "take some real work to rebuild Fraser" but that is "the last chance to capture it." He also advocated a liner for Little Camas, saying the ranchers and city residents would have to pay for what he admitted would be an expensive project.
Questions about a variety of problems in the Atlanta area drew a wide range of solutions from the candidates.
Ireland said the county should do "spot check" audits of all the independent taxing districts in the county, citing several cases of mishandling of books in the Atlanta area.
Corbus pointed out the efforts he and the other commissioners had made to solve the road problem there.
Wootan focused on the success of the county to keep the road open to Atlanta.
King said people should be able to come to the commissioners so they could launch investigations when needed.
Ellis offered a short history of the road problems in the Atlanta area since the forest service turned its roads over to the counties.
Millington stressed the need to follow proper procedures and chains of command, starting at the local level, to resolve any issue, and praised the efforts made by Sen. Bert Brackett to find a compromise solution through the state when the two counties couldn't agree on the road issue, adding he wasn't sure why Nielsen had voted against that "practical" compromise.
Nielsen said he voted against it because it was an example of big government interfering with little government. He suggested changing the borders to Elmore and Boise county to solve the problem.
One questioner, after making some sharp criticisms of the federal reserve system, asked what each candidate would do to "keep democracy at the lowest level."
The county commissioner candidates all, in general, said communication with the voters was the key to effective small government.
Millington said legislators needed to focus on state issues and let the state's congressional delegation deal with the federal reserve.
But Nielsen said the federal reserve was an issue "near and dear to my heart" and used the question to call for the repeal of the 16th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which created both the federal reserve and the federal income tax, while insisting that the state return to using gold and silver to pay its debts, as required, he said, by the state constitution. He added that he's been working on a bill to "create an alternate currency" of gold and silver bullion in Idaho, that could be used to replace the paper money issued by the federal government.
The candidates also were asked, in a question aimed primarily at the county commissioner candidates, about what process they would use to monitor the books of each of the county offices.
Ellis said if their budgets didn't look right, "then you need to find out why" and, if necessary, conduct an audit.
Ireland said if the commissioners were doing their job there wouldn't be a problem in Atlanta, repeating her belief that the county should hire an independent auditor to check the books of the all independent taxing districts.
Wootan said the county has the authority to conduct audits for its own operations, but can only request that any other government taxing district hold an audit, since they aren't in the county's jurisdiction.
King said if there was a question of a problem, the board of commissioners should have the option to conduct a second audit.
Another question dealt with the need to protect resources, in light of last year's fires.
Millington said protecting resources was a critical issue and should start at the lowest government level possible, going upward from the city and county level to the state, or federal, only when the lower levels of government become overwhelmed. "So, the decision making should be city, county, state and federal, in that order, not the other way around."
Nielsen noted the success of the local fire association put together by local ranchers that has become a model for the rest of the state, and went on to add that he would push for state control of all federal lands in Idaho.
Corbus said the county has been very proactive in protecting resources, but Ireland said the county needed better disaster plans and better communication with the public to prepare them for disaster.
Wootan said the county has an extensive disaster plan "and we were the first county in the state to implement rangeland fire protection."
King commended the commissioners for the work they did during last years fires, and Ellis described the work done to create the disaster plan and implement the E-911 system.
The candidates also were asked what they would do for this community?
Nielsen said he would fight "for life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness," but went on to say that "you can't have that if you don't have protection of property rights." He said people should be able to have 100 percent control over their own property "and anything less than that is socialism and I'm 100 percent against socialism."
Millington said he believed District 23 deserved "the very highest representation." Noting his successes in life, he said, "It's not about me. I believe in paying it forward. And I'm in a position now to pay it back. I want to maximize the return for District 23."
Corbus said he would ask people to look back at what the county had done in the last year and stand on his accomplishments there, especially with the fire response and the Atlanta road issue.
Ireland said she would work every day of the week, not just Monday, adding "I am here to care about this county."
Wootan said he would work to enhance people's lives and help build a strong future for county residents.
King said he cared greatly about the county.
Ellis said the key would be good communication with the people. "Listen, then act," he said.
In their closing remarks, Ireland said if she were elected "you will see a difference. I'll be a guardian of your tax dollars."
Corbus said he would represent all of the county, "including Glenns Ferry, which has some significant (economic) issues" that need to be addressed.
Wootan described his willingness to "go get answers" from experts on the subjects that come before the county.
King said he promised "to just do the best job I can do."
Ellis said his strength was his ability to listen and then act.
Millington talked about participating in "The Great Conversation."
"It's a cultural thing," he said. "We talk to each other. We don't always agree, but we talk and we listen to each other. And after you get through the Great Conversation, then you act." He added that the legislature needs to work on practical solutions to state issues and not get distracted with issues beyond its jurisdiction and control.
Nielsen used the opportunity to wrap up his positions by stressing once again his opposition to the 16th Amendment, his desire to see the state return to a gold or silver standard, his opposition to any attempt to tax, zone or in any other way control a person's property, and the "need to get our heavenly father back in the classroom. I will do my darndest to get religious principles back" in the schools, he promised.