IDAHO FALLS, Idaho (KIFI) – In one of the closest, contested races in Idaho Falls, firefighter Connor Cook is challenging incumbent Barbara Ehardt in a race for Legislative District 33 Seat A.
The contest has generated heightened activity – with major endorsements and Political Action Committee (PAC) involvement on both sides.
Ehardt is endorsed by the Professional Firefighters of Idaho and Idaho Attorney General Raúl Labrador, while Cook is endorsed by the Idaho Falls Firefighters PAC and the Idaho Fraternal Order of Police.
The distinctions betwen the two are stark – with differences on social issues, budgets, taxes and immigration.
Barbara Ehardt: “I’ve absolutely been out there fighting for families, fighting for parental rights, putting families first. When you have strong families, that’s when you have strong communities, and that’s when you’re going to have a strong state. The next [major issue] would probably have to be about reducing our taxes, particularly our property taxes.”
Connor Cook: “My top priority getting in there is just to stop the bleeding, stop the divisiveness, try and stop the political purity tests, to stop the culture wars and to just focus on Idaho – … having a robust education system, getting our statewide budget back on track and making sure we’re recruiting and retaining state troopers.”
The two have differing priorities when it comes to Idaho’s budget.
Connor Cook: “Honestly, the state of Idaho is run lean. It’s run efficiently, and they’re very tactical with their dollars. If we continue to have this cut mindset, what will we have, right? That’s the thing I’m trying to go beyond. Instead of cut, let’s stabilize. Let’s stabilize the budget. I don’t think we need to come in every year with, ‘Where can we cut? Where can we cut?'”
Barbara Ehardt: “There’s a lot of people struggling just to make ends meet, just to pay their property taxes. I had introduced House Bill 961, which would eliminate property taxes for one’s primary place of residence and would instead replace it with an increase in the sales tax. The Tax Commission – it took them about three months – but said that they would need to replace that with about $932 million, or an increase of sales tax from 6 percent to 7.75 percent.”
They also addressed their differences on social issues.
Barbara Ehardt: “Certainly a big discussion in our debates would have been our stances on protecting women and children, such as the bathroom bills. I think I’ve already explained that I feel strongly that it is government’s role to protect the rights of the people. We have gone to such a place that we are bending over backwards, putting women and children in danger.”
Connor Cook: “If we continue on the same trajectory, I feel like we will become the most authoritative state under this kind of ruse of freedom, right? We became the most authoritative state in the country as far as who goes to the bathroom. We are forcing minutes of silence on kids in schools. We were close to forcing religion on kids in schools, and to me, that’s a clear delineation of church and state.”
Watch our full, in-depth interviews with both candidates below to help inform as you make your own decision who to vote for on Tuesday.
Barbara Ehardt election interview.
Connor Cook election interview.
