Bannock County candidate forum heats up
With the election just a little less than two weeks away, local candidates are speaking on the issues at public forums. Wednesday was a candidate forum for Bannock County, and District 28 and 29 offices.
Major issues were addressed big issues like, guns, abortion, and Medicaid expansion but there are some local issues candidates discussed. The event was moderated by station reporter Kaitlin Loukides.
Debating immediately began during the introductions, when Democrat Jared Stein accused incumbent Bannock County Assessor Dave Packer of selling properties for hundreds of thousands of dollars more than they were worth after having them reassessed the previous year.
Packer responded, saying his opponent doesn’t understand how the system works and the assessor that valued his properties did so fairly.
Tamara Code, candidate for Bannock County commissioner, said it was unfortunate that her opponent, incumbent Karl Anderson, did not show up to the debate. She said she has become very aware of concerning actions of the commission, including commissioners giving themselves a pay raise for a salary of almost $70,000 per year.
The three Republican candidates for Idaho House Matt Bloxham, Dr. Kert Howard and Terrel “Ned” Tovey, said a campaign focus was on building a medical school in Pocatello to address a need for medical care.
Current Sen. Roy Lacey said they’re too late, because during his terms as Senator he has been working on increasing funding for Idaho State University, which he says is the best place to start.
Another disagreement was between the candidates for Bannock County clerk. Challenger Dave Bowen said he doesn’t support the Affordable Care Act and Medicaid expansion because he says it costs more.
Current Clerk Robert Poleki said Medicaid expansion would reduce costs in the County Indigent Services, in turn reducing costs to taxpayers.
It is those kinds of issues people need to be aware of, according to the American Legion Pocatello Post Four, which hosted the event. The Legion said it is vital to have these forums, not just for veterans but everyone.
“You want to make sure that they’re voting your values as well as voting to do the things you want them to do,” said George, aka Woodman, commander of Pocatello Post Four. “And the only way to do that is to get out and get to know them and find out where their positions are.”
To find out more about the candidates, follow the links below. Not every candidate had a website, so we provided the information we could:
Karl Anderson (did not in attend forum): bannockcounty.us/wp-content/uploads/karlbio.pdf
Radene Barker (running unopposed): bannockcounty.us/treasurer
Matt Bloxham: votebloxham.com
Dave Bowen: davebowen.us
Tamara Code: codeforcommissioner.com
Kert Howard: ballotpedia.org/Kert_Howard
Roy Lacey: roylacey.com/
Matthew Larsen:www.matthewlarsen.us
Mark Nye: marknye.com
Robert Poleki: votepoleki.com
Elaine Smith: elainesmith4house.com
Jared Stein: facebook.com/Stein4Assessor
Terrel “Ned” Tovey: facebook.com/ToveyforIdaho
