Last Friday, Oct. 25, ASUI and the Moscow League of Women Voters held an open forum for local candidates who wished to speak on their candidacy in the upcoming election. A variety of students and community members attended.
Ten speakers were present, including the three candidates for Latah County Sheriff, Richie Skiles, James Fry and Christopher Middleton, and the four candidates for county commissioner, Tony Johnson and Mark Thorne who are running for District 1 and John Bohman and Jason Stooks who are running for District 3. Julia Parker, candidate for State Senator District 6, Lori McCann, candidate for State Representative seat A and Kathy Dawes, candidate for State Representative seat B were also present.
The initial address and explanation of events was given by Bryant Sitts, Director of Legislative Affairs for ASUI and the moderator of the forum.
To begin, each candidate was given one minute to introduce themself and the position they are running for. For clarity, the candidates were split into groups: candidates for Latah County Sheriff (Skiles, Fry and Middleton), candidates for county commissioner (Johnson, Thorne, Bohman and Stooks) and candidates running for state positions (Parker, McCann and Dawes).
The first candidate to speak was Fry. He talked about his personal history as a University of Idaho alum and partner, and dove into what he intends to reform in the community should he be elected as Latah County Sheriff. The topics he touched on included improving the jail, acquiring drug dogs and working on student engagement.
According to KLEW, the Latah County Jail has issues with maintenance and the Moscow City Council has had discussions about its possible closure.
Following him was Middleton. He dove into his experience in law enforcement, as well as mentioning the positions that are driving him to run. His idea for local improvements includes figuring out the jail and community-driven policing.
“My main goal is community policing. I am a community policing person,” Middleton said. “I’m also an educator, and I do understand that we have a drug issue in this county, and in this state and in this nation, but we want drug dogs, and we want head on confrontation with drug dealers.”
Last up for Latah County Sheriff candidates was Richie Skiles, the current county sheriff. He also spoke on his past in law enforcement, as well as his personal history. He mentioned his accomplishments in the position including getting 24/7 coverage of sheriffs in the county, as well as appointing a full time SRO officer position.
Next to speak was Jason Stooks, a candidate for County Commissioner for District 3. He explained his experience from California to Moscow and how his experience would qualify him for this position, which includes experience with accounts payable, project management at an international level, expense manager experience and more. If appointed, he wants to figure out how to lower costs across the county in regard to service fees, and he also wants to minimize spending and lower property taxes.
John Bohman, the current Latah County Commissioner for District 3, explained his history in farming. He also discussed the need for urgency in dealing with the jail, and he wishes to retain his position in the county.
“I bring some of the old time Latah County values of what it used to be,” Bohman said.
Next up, Mark Thorne, a candidate for County Commissioner for District 1, explained how his past in farming has kept him grounded in Latah County. He touched on his education, which includes degrees from Oregon State, Washington State and Ohio State University. On top of that, he also offered his support for land grant universities; it’s a topic he’s passionate about. Included in the issues he’d want to look into should he be elected are department budgets, land use and resource management and housing availability and costs.
Tony Johnson, another candidate for County Commissioner of District 1, spoke next. After explaining his past and connections to the area, he spoke about his career experiences in Latah County. Some topics he’s motivated to work on would be hiring a drug dog and earning more funding for various sections of the county.
The next to speak were the state candidates. Julia Parker, a candidate for State Senator for District 6, spoke first. She talked about her history and career as a nurse and how it has bettered her as a person and professional. Should she be appointed, she wants to better education and birth control rights throughout the state, and to ensure that infrastructure and farmland remain healthy.
“I’ve been a nurse for about the past 20 years, and that experience has helped me be a more compassionate person, helps me see people for who they are, and not judge people by things that society labels them with,” Parker said. “You have to see every person as another human being that you can care about.”
Next to speak was a former Vandal who currently lives in Lewiston, Lori McCann, who is running for State Representative Seat A. She noted her experiences as a teacher in paralegal systems, and how her family roots lie in farming. Her career experiences include business connections, educating and an agriculture background.
Next to speak was Kathy Dawes, a candidate for State Representative Seat B. She spoke on her history as an educator prior to retirement, where she then decided to run for a governing position to better her state after seeing issues arise after watching Idaho’s legislature work. She said that between the government overreach and political decisiveness overtaking the state, she felt a need to run for this position.
“As a trained moderator that has successfully brought both sides of the partisan divide together to understand each other better and even find common ground, I want to use my skills in the legislature to bring Idahoans together,” Dawes said.
Although unable to attend, Brandon Mitchell, Dawes opponent, sent in a speech that Sitts read. He explained that while he couldn’t be there in person, his door is always welcome to those who are invested in the community and want to make things better.
“It has been a privilege to represent this district over the past four years, and I remain committed to partnering with the university to advance its roles in education, research and economic development,” Mitchell said.
After all the candidates had a chance to speak, the open question segment began.
For the sheriff candidates, the questions commonly revolved around safety issues: what they plan on doing to commit to community safety and what policies they plan on enacting, such as reevaluating the jail issue, enforcing a drug dog and investing more in SROs.
In all of these, something brought up amongst the candidates was the importance of proactiveness, especially from Fry.
“Moscow Police does a great job patrolling, but they’re also preparing,” Fry said. “We need to prepare in the county as well, we can’t just sit back and say, ‘well it would never happen here.’ I’ve worked here long enough to know that anything can happen [in Latah County].”
They were also asked how they plan to best work around the funds allotted to the department, and they made sure to mention they want to reallocate between their deputies and various areas to maximize their budget while getting the best coverage.
For the runners of county commissioner, questions concerned what would gain their attention and what issues they would address. Like the sheriff candidates, most issues were fairly agreed upon. For the commissioner candidates, the main topics were that of the water and housing issues that Latah County has been experiencing.
UI was also brought up as an integral part of the community, both economically and academically; appreciation for the education the institute provides was shown by all candidates.
After those questions, it moved onto inquiries for the state candidates. For positions of State Senator, and Representative for District 6 Seats A and B, only one candidate showed up for each race.
When asked the question of what’s the biggest issue facing students, Parker, Dawes and McCann all had similar opinions on how education and the proper funding is a critical issue to focus on. Parker and Dawes also made sure to discuss how important personal healthcare, birth control and self-autonomy are to Idahoans.
They were also asked how they plan on best communicating with students should they be elected. They all want to make their lines of communication direct and open so they’re readily available through meetings, messages and Zoom.
The issue of civic engagement was also brought up. Each state candidate said how much they value voter turnout and education, something Dawes has been working on by canvasing across the UI campus for the past few weeks.
After all questions were answered, closing statements were given by all present candidates. Each expressed their appreciation for being at the forum and the democratic process.
Paige Wilton can be reached at [email protected].