Competition equals accountability

It’s August and summer and hard to come inside to write a letter about the November 3 election. But this year, this election, may be a turning point. We have a real chance to change our fractured politics.

What’s fractured? If you haven’t noticed – Idaho is essentially a 1-party state (no Democrat has held statewide office for over 30 years, and Republicans have had a supermajority in the Legislature since 2010). Maybe you are Republican and think this is a good thing. But without competition there is no accountability. Decisions are made behind closed doors instead of at the voting booth. It shows up when our government works against what the majority of Idahoans support: Medicaid expansion, funding for public schools, local control over libraries, reproductive rights.