Blog / 2024 Legislative Session News

Why I am running and what I want to continue doing

I LOVE MY COMMUNITY

I discovered Boise, and met my husband, in 1996 on a 4,000 mile cross country bicycle trip from Astoria, OR to Portland, ME. I loved Boise immediately, and I’m so happy we settled here. Boise is a thriving metropolitan city with a vibrant business and arts community nestled at the base of the foothills, giving us one of most livable cities in the country. We welcome people from all walks of life, and it’s clear from the variety of flags, from PRIDE to “everyone is welcome” signs, the heart of our city is rooted in kindness and inclusion. It is an honor to serve this district and represent its diverse needs.

STANDING UP FOR SURVIVORS OF VIOLENCE

I took my knowledge and experience as Boise State’s Women’s Center Director, working with survivors of sexual and domestic violence, to the Statehouse and passed a series of bills that has transformed how Idaho processes, tracks, preserves, and pays for sexual assault kit evidence. For the last 10 years, I have worked on legislation to improve system responses and create resources to assist survivors of violence, including legislation to prohibit firearms from convicted domestic abusers and pedophiles. In 2019, I introduced legislation to provide for civil protection orders for sexual assault survivors, but the NRA voiced opposition which killed the bill.

I am persistent, and I will continue to fight for this common sense bill and provide protections to survivors of sexual assualt. (photo of me, gov otter and ISP).

REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS

The right to make decisions about when and if to have children are fundamental rights of liberty and the ability to pursue happiness. Conservative legislators have chipped away at our rights to abortion care for years, and have now enacted abortion bans triggered after the Dobbs decision from SCOTUS in June 2022. Idaho’s attorneys made their position clear in the latest oral argument in the Idaho Supreme Court confirming that the state values the life of a fetus more than the health of the mother. This harmful stance hurts lives in danger and takes control away from citizens and puts it in the hands of the government.

I have fought year after year to advance women’s reproductive rights and those who are pregnant. I fought to expand access to prescription contraception for year, and finally in 2024 my bill passed by one vote! 

I will continue to fight for reproductive justice and access to the full range of reproductive health care including abortion care.

I VALUE EDUCATION

Education changed my life, so much so that I made it my profession and devoted over 30 years to supporting thousands of college students to achieve their goals. It is the legislature’s responsibility, according to our constitution, to “maintain a general, uniform and thorough system of public, free common schools.” I take that responsibility seriously.

I will continue to fight to fully fund education at all levels; invest in early learning; advocate for funding to support opportunities for higher education; support our teachers and work on ways to recruit and train our talented teachers for the future.

STANDING FOR DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION

Everyone deserves to live in a community where they feel safe and belong. In the heart of Boise’s downtown, our Human Rights Center strikes at the heart of our values – diversity, inclusion, and a deep respect for human rights and dignity. I will continue to stand firmly against bigotry, hate, and discrimination.

I vow to continue to be a strong voice for inclusion and equity, advocating for policies that protect human rights and dignity.

ACCESS TO PUBLIC LANDS

When my husband and I moved to Idaho, we immediately began exploring our public lands. We enjoyed the wildflowers and lichens at Craters of the Moon. We climbed the great heights of Mount Borah. We backpacked in the Sawtooth Mountains and explored the Frank Church Wilderness. I found Balanced Rock and Hagerman Springs. Brad fished the pristine Middle Fork of the Salmon and Loon Creek, and we both tried “combat fishing” for salmon in Riggins. Our wilderness and recreational areas, public lands, rivers, and wildlife, make Idaho special.

I am committed to protecting Idaho’s greatest resources: access to public lands, clean air and water.

ACCESS TO HEALTH CARE

Affordable, quality health care is essential to anyone’s success. Providing preventive health care is the responsible, ethical, and cost effective way to treat people. Thanks to the people of Idaho, who did something our GOP controlled legislature wouldn’t do – they passed the ballot initiative to expand Medicaid, providing health care to thousands of working Idahoans and creating jobs and prosperity to our state.

I will continue to fight for access to health care, including behavioral health, and fight any attacks on our healthcare system and Medicaid program.

A GROWING ECONOMY THAT WORKS FOR EVERYONE

In an unprecedented time of growth, we must enact policies that make growth pay for itself. Impact fees for new schools and infrastructure provide a fair and reliable way to build new schools and roads. Property taxes are soaring, largely due to a law passed in 2016 by the GOP controlled legislature that capped the homeowner’s exemption at $100K. That law shifted the burden of taxes significantly from commercial property to residential, going from about a 40/60 split to about 70/30 shift on residential properties. So, now the burden rests on the backs of longtime homeowners, many of them elderly and on a fixed income. The Governor called a special session of the legislature in September 2022, where among other things, the legislature created a flat tax and gave another income tax rebate. While headlines of $500M rebates look good politically, the rebate is not equitable and still gives the wealthiest taxpayers the biggest break. How will $300 help an 80 year old on a fixed income pay a $7,000 property tax bill on a small home in the north end, where they have lived a lifetime? It doesn’t.

In 2022, I passed a bill to provide property tax relief for in-home caregivers for people with disabilities. I will continue to fight for a fair tax structure so elderly folks or those who have lived here the longest aren’t taxed out of their homes.