Rep. Kelley Packer announces run for Lt. Governor

If you happen to see a giant, purple bus driving across Idaho, chances are, that’s Rep. Kelley Packer.

And yes, she’s the one hauling it.

On Monday morning Idaho House Rep. Kelley Packer from McCammon formally announced her candidacy for the 2018 race for lieutenant governor.

The republican representative made the announcement at Idaho State University’s Holt Arena, saying she chose that particular spot since it symbolizes her hometown and the people in District 28 she represents in the legislature.

She said she has four main goals if she wins the seat.

“First, I want to work with our agencies to create better efficiencies and to ensure the services we are providing are at the most cost-effective manner,” Packer said.

As the 2017 legislative session came to a close, she mentioned this being a point of discussion among state lawmakers. Particularly, the proposed changes to healthcare.

“Right now we spend a lot of money on healthcare at the most cost-expensive manner,” Packer noted. “It makes no sense to me. We need to fix it. To keep ignoring it and kicking it down the road is not conservatism to me.”

On the flip-side of her initial goal, she said the state walked away with a success when it comes to moving transportation forward. She said lawmakers were able to carve-out a small portion of general funds which now has them moving in the right direction as far as infrastructure need.

For her second goal, she said she hopes to grow, not only the number of jobs in the state, but the quality as well. Packer said she hopes better-paying jobs will retain recent graduates within the Gem State.

Third, she said she wants to make sure the state’s education system will meet the workforce demands.

Last, she said she hopes to address infrastructure in a better manner, saying by taking care of roads and bridges, it will ensure the safety of the economy.

Packer said she hopes to visit all 200 incorporated cities across the state, plus the five reservations in the next six months.

She said, a few years ago two republican women ran unsuccessfully for the same seat. This year, she and former Rep. Janice McGeachin of Idaho Falls will be running for the same seat.

The third candidate is Sen. Marv Hagedorn, a republican from Meridian.