McCurry withdraws from House race

Rich Wills will replace Craig McCurry as the Republican candidate for House Seat 'A' for District 22.

Craig's surprise announcement that he was withdrawing from the race because his Army Reserve unit was being activated stunned observers on the local political scene.

Wills, of Glenns Ferry, is a retired Idaho State Police officer who has been active in drug education efforts in the schools. He and his wife, Connie, own the Opera Theater in Glenns Ferry. She is principal at the Glenns Ferry Middle School. The couple have four grown children, including three sons who are all law enforcement officers. He was on vacation this week and was unavailable for comment.

Just days after arriving at Fort Bragg, N.C., "for routine annual training that all reservists are required to complete," House candidate and Elmore County Commissioner Craig McCurry announced the withdrawal of his name for the November election.

McCurry faxed notice of his withdrawal to Secretary of State early Sept. 5, after learning he could be in for an extended tour of duty. McCurry flies Kiowa recon helicopters for the Army.

The commissioner said he is not planning to resign from his county seat at this time and still expects to return to Idaho by the end of the September for a brief stop before beginning his new tour.

Prior to leaving for Ft. Bragg, McCurry explained that all Reservists are required to complete a minimum of 14 days training annually. But this year, he would be involved in a little extra training he said as he prepared for the trip.

The assignment came just as the fall political campaign season began to move into full swing. Before leaving for Ft. Bragg, McCurry said he did not feel that it would be detrimental to his attempt to secure a seat in the Idaho House of Representatives.

But within just days of arriving at the Army post, new information led to a change of plans.

He explained that while he intends to complete the remaining few months of his term as commissioner, at this point it seems likely that he could be required to leave again for an extended period.

McCurry had been running unopposed for House Seat 'A' in the newly formed District 22 which includes Elmore and Boise counties.

The Secretary of State's office formally notified the District 22 Republican committee of McCurry's withdrawal and requested the committee appoint a new candidate as quickly as possible in order to be able to place the candidate's name on the November ballot. Those ballots were being sent to the printers Monday.

At a special meeting on the evening of Sept. 6, Friday, the District Committee selected the former ISP officer Rich Wills of Glenns Ferry to serve as House Representative in Seat 'A.' A number of individuals had been nominated for the post, or had thrown their own hats into the ring, including two members of the Mountain Home city council, Mark Russell and Alain Isaac, county prosecuting attorney Aaron Bazzoli, Jim Ward, and Bob Ford, a former commissioner from Boise County, and others, not identified, according to sources who were present at the meeting.