Andrus rips GOP for arrogance

Former Gov. Cecil Andrus drew a standing ovation from a packed crowd of local Democrats last Thursday, as he appeared at a fundraiser here to support local and state candidates.

Andrus has been relatively quiet since leaving public office six years ago, but with the Democrats enjoying a mini-resurgence this year across the state, and in Elmore County in particular, Andrus has hit the campaign trail to help his party's candidates.

And it was the old Andrus, energetic, alive and working the room like a master. "A few years ago, I took the cure" and dropped out of politics, he said, "but something has to be done. The people of Idaho are hurting."

He took the opportunity to blast Republicans for their "absolute arrogance" in repealing term limits, "to say I don't care what the people say," in the face of repeated voter approvals of the law, and also took the Republicans to task for short-changing education.

Following a $100 million tax cut by the Legislature, which is dominated by Republicans, the state was forced to order a series of holdbacks after the economy went sour last year, and school districts were among those most hurt.

"There is no reason for what happened last year," Andrus said. "We don't have a money problem, we have a political problem, and that problem is on the second and third floor of the state capitol," he said, referring to the chambers of the governor and legislature.

He said the tax cut guaranteed the state was going to face a fiscal crisis.

"We have to remind people what got us into this mess," he said. "It was Dirkenomics."

Incumbent Gov. Dirk Kempthorne "may be a great next-door neighbor to have, but he has not idea how to solve problems."

For example, he said, Kempthorne's recently established Blue Ribbon panel, which he called "hogwash," was set up "to tell him how to do it," to solve the problems the state is facing, "but that's why he was elected," to make those decisions, Andrus said.

"Good old boys are fine for neighbors, but you don't hire them for heavy lifting.

"It's time," he said, "to bring sanity back into the legislative process," and return the state to a two-party system where issues can be openly debated, instead of decided behind closed caucus doors.

He said the Democrats had managed this year to put up one of the best slates of candidates he had ever seen, praising each one individually (although he admitted he would be voting for Republican Ben Ysursa for Secretary of State -- who is running unopposed).

He strongly endorsed one of the few incumbent Democrats, Superintendent of Education Marilyn Howard, saying she had worked under difficult conditions.

"The Republicans have emasculated our education system," Andrus charged. "Dirkenomics is tearing our public school system apart," he said, noting that "for the first time in the history of this state the public school appropriation is less than it had been the year before," despite a large number of programs mandated by the legislature to local school districts.

Nearly 150 local Democrats showed up for the fundraiser, held in the commons room at the junior high school. Although Elmore County had once been a Democratic stronghold, in recent years the party had waned locally due to a paucity of qualified candidates. Claire Wetherell was the last Democrat elected to the state legislature. But this year, Democrats have two strong candidates running for legislative office, and most of the county offices have incumbent Democrats running unopposed in the fall election.

Last week's Democratic rally, the largest of its kind in several years, offered those local candidates a chance to get their message out.

Dave Phillips, who is running against Pete Nielsen for the District 22 House Seat B, stressed the need for education funding.

"As I have talked to people throughout District 22," he said, "I am often asked what I do. I proudly tell them I am a teacher. The follow up question is usually, 'Why are you running for office?' My answer then becomes, 'Because I am a teacher'.

"We often discuss the fact that $33 million was lost from the education budget last year. We also talk of how this had far-reaching effects throughout the school districts of Idaho. Things not being talked about are the specific and difficult choices the school districts in our state are having to make to cope with an inadequate education budget.

"I would like to give you these specific examples of what one school district in Legislative District 22 has been forced to do. In the months following the past legislative session, the Mountain Home School District was forced to deal with a budget that was not adequate to meet the demands of the student population.

"During the past few months, the Mountain Home School District eliminated 10 certified employee positions and 12 classified employee positions. Due to a lack of funding, the school district was forced to close Stephenson Middle School and move the students to other buildings in the district. "The Mountain Home School District was also forced to make a decision between eliminating entire programs, or turning in a negative budget. Just this week, the decision was made to eliminate an enrichment art program at Hacker Middle School so a teacher could be moved to cover an overcrowding situation in the 5th grade.

"It is a powerful message when you hear an educator who is passionate about her subject describe students who were sobbing due to the loss of this program."

Phillips went on to say, "This problem is affecting the very children educators see every day. These children have names like Billy, David, Cleo or Jane.

"Thousands of other Idaho students are suffering as a result of a shortsighted legislature.

"When I am elected, I will work together with my fellow legislators to right the wrong of the past. I pledge to you to do my best to put action behind the words 'Putting Idaho's Children First'.

"We must not let short-term challenges divert us from preparing future generations for the rapidly changing world we live in today, as well as the world they will live in tomorrow."

Fred Kennedy, who is running for the state senate against Republican Sher Sellman, noted that "businesses don't want to come to a state that doesn't put education first."

He ripped the Republicans for being short-sighted in the tax cut they passed. "Anybody who could read a newspaper" knew that the economy was sliding downhill, even before Sept. 11, he said, but pointed out that the cut did not affect most Idahoans. "You had to make over $80,000 a year before you saw $50 of savings.

And he sharply criticized Republicans for trying to contend they actually added money to the education budget. "When you have a budget of $931 million, and you cut it to $910 million, and then add back $10 million, you're still cutting back" on what they had before, he said, adding, "our entire education system has been put on the rocks."

All of the state candidates, from gubernatorial candidate Jerry Brady to Marilyn Howard attacked the Republican record on education, saying they had shortchanged not only the voters for the state's future.

Mary Stanek, who is running for county commissioner against Arlie Shaw, stressed more local concerns, saying the county needed to develop better guidelines for CAFOs and growth in general, "so that as a property owner, you'd know what you can and can't do."