Some Made it Easy
Candidates Brian Schad, Tim Corder, Rich Wills, Connie Cruser, Judy Mayne and Art Nelson showed up and made the decision to vote for them easy. They were well spoken, explained their positions and impressed me enough to get my vote.
Some Made it Difficult
- US Senate Candidate Tom Sullivan showed up in a big way. He was extremely well spoken, explained why he is qualified to be a US Senator and even looks like a statesman. This makes my decision on who to vote for in this race very difficult. Why? Sullivan’s opponent, Mike Crapo did not show up for this forum. Guess Mountain Home isn’t important to Mr. Crapo so maybe my vote isn’t important to him either.
- Idaho’s Governor race just got tighter in my opinion. While Keith Allred did not show up at least he had someone who knows his platform stand in his stead. The formidable Mrs. Allred made a good case of why we should vote for her husband Keith. A few days ago Butch Otter may have been a a shoe-in to get my vote, but he didn’t didn’t show up and neither did Jana Kemp or Ted Dunlap. Sorry Butch, Jana and Ted. My vote will likely go to Keith.
- Eldon Wallace the Democratic candidate for Idaho’s Lieutenant Governor will likely get my vote. Even though he didn’t appear to be a real personable guy or well spoken, he did show up in Mountain Home. That goes a long way towards telling me he cares about us little city folks. Would I want Mr. Wallace as my Governor if something happens to the standing Idaho Governor? No but what are the chance of something happening??? Eldon may be hungrier and more eager to do a good job for Idaho than Republican Brad Little.
- The race for the Superintendent of Public Instruction / Education is a toss up for me. Stan Olson sent his aide to schmooze the Mountain Home citizens. Tom Luna, the Republican incumbent didn’t send anyone. So unless Tom has a letter from his mom, he may be looking for another job. In any case a few weeks of detention is in order for not showing his face. I’m a little scared of what will happen with Stan Olson as “Idaho’s School Principal”.
Impression of Meet the Candidate Night
In short, the Senior Center did Mountain Home proud. They hosted 19 candidates and about 45-65 citizens. I do think future “Meet the Candidate” meetings need to be advertised more. I’d also like to see some youngsters attend these important functions. The average age of the attendee was much closer to “retirement age” than “legal drinking age”. It was also good to see one City Councilperson in attendance. Alas, our city government legally must conduct business but I would excuse Mayor Rist and the other 3 City Council members if they wanted to attend this meeting once every couple years.
The important part, and you probably don’t care, is I learned about some of the candidates that will be on my ballot next week.
Please vote but vote intelligently on Tuesday November 2nd 2010.
Tim Bondy
The Bondyweb.Com author