Legislative candidates debate libraries, abortion

SANDPOINT — Legislative candidates for the upcoming election shared more about their platform and views during a candidate forum hosted by local media and the Selkirk Association of Realtors on Tuesday.

Questions were generated by the public and local media employees — most being tailored to specific local issues. Libraries, property tax relief, and the effects of a recent abortion ban were all discussed. 

In the Republican race for the District 1 seat in the Idaho Senate, Jim Woodward and Scott Herndon are seeking the right to represent the party in the general election. The winner will face Daniel Rose and Steve Johnson, who are running as independents.

In the race for the  Idaho House 1A seat, Democrat Karen Matthee will face the winner of the GOP race between incumbent Mark Sauter, Jane Sauter, and Spencer Hutchings.

In the race for the Idaho House 1B seat, Republicans Chuck Lowman and Cornel Rasor are both seeking the seat while  Bob Vickaryous and Kathryn Larson are facing off on the Democratic ticket.

One question asked candidates whether they believed efforts to manage library content merit the attention they have received in recent years. Multiple bills have been presented in the past to create consequences for libraries that provide certain materials to minors. 

Rasor said, yes, he does believe that the libraries need attention. He also said he supports control at the state level regarding this issue. 

“I grew up in a time when it was common sense not to put Playboy or Hustler in the library children’s section,” Rasor said. “That common sense needs to come back.”

Larson said she has only seen one book contested in the past year, and that the library board should not be a political position.

“Clearly this is a culture war issue that has been brought to us from out of state,” she said.

Lowman is concerned about what is in local libraries and said he has seen obscene materials that have come out of them. However, he is also concerned about how the law is currently written, noting that eventually, insurance companies could dictate library materials. Current wording could be used against those fighting for the management of explicit materials, with books like the Bible having the potential to be removed.

“As a conservative Christian, I know that the Bible is offensive to some folks,” he said. “What day is the Bible going to be banned from libraries, not because of a law that’s passed, but because an insurance company says it’s not wise to have it there?”

Herndon recently sponsored a bill to reduce library trustee terms from six years to four years. He also supported past bills to penalize libraries for offering materials defined as “explicit” by the law. He shared that if unusual sexual material isn’t currently being distributed to children, libraries have no reason to be concerned about laws managing materials. 

Woodward said that he does not support obscene materials in libraries, but he also does not support censorship. He supports local control over the issue as opposed to state control. 

Jane Sauter supports protecting children from what they might find in libraries, she said, noting that her concern is the children. 

“Once they see something, they can’t unsee it,” she said. 

Having “grown up in the library,” Hutchings said he cares about providing a good library culture to youth today. Recently, he said someone brought a book to read to the Senate floor that is currently in a local library. They were shut down because the book was too vulgar, he said. He said these types of materials should not be within reach of children at the library. 

However, Hutchings also said, “these things can be taken too far.”

Mark Sauter said that he also believes in local control. He voted against library bills that were presented last year. In his current role, he has seen no backlog of complaints about books.  During a recent meet-n-greet in Boundary County, Sauter said there was a lively discussion about a book that was pulled from the library. Therefore, he said the local system appears to work. He also said he is concerned about bill wording encouraging frivolous claims. 

Another question asked candidates if they support property tax relief for full-time residents. Nearly all candidates said that they would support property tax relief in some form. 

Hutchings said he would take the question a step further, supporting the elimination of property tax altogether.

“With an increase in sales tax, we could all stop paying property taxes,” Hutchings said. 

Candidates were also asked what actions they support to reverse the harm caused by Idaho’s abortion ban.

Herndon and Jane Sauter both fully supported the ban the way it is, saying life begins at conception. Both said no exceptions should be made for rape or incest. 

Herndon said that doctors leaving Bonner County are making a political statement, as Bonner Health does not offer abortions. After speaking with officials at the hospital, Herndon said the facility hadn’t performed an abortion in the past 20 years. 

“They’re telling us that they don’t do abortions as part of regular, medical practice,” he said. “We have a very healthy OBGYN ward down at Kootenai Health that’s operating in the same legal environment.” 

He said that physician shortages in Bonner County are caused by demographic differences. 

Woodward said change needs to happen since doctors are leaving and women are suffering because of existing Idaho law.

“We need to go back and visit what we put in place,” he said also noting that Herndon attempted to get rid of the rape and incest exception currently part of the ban — which would further the harm caused by the law in Woodward’s perspective. 

Herndon took advantage of his opportunity to offer a 60-second rebuttal, saying his efforts in that arena were to maintain consistency in his support of the constitution and belief that children should not be put to death for the crimes of their fathers. 

Larson is against the abortion ban, saying that it causes suffering for Idahoan women. After recently speaking with a pro-life doctor who moved to the area to help a year ago, she learned that this doctor told her that after learning more about the restrictions placed on him here, he decided to commute to Spokane instead. 

Lohman said he believes fully that life begins at conception and should be protected, but he also believes that the Idaho government needs to make sure doctors’ licenses are being protected when they are required to make extremely difficult moral decisions. 

“If we are going to be a people that claim a moral right to protect every single life, then we better make sure that we’re doing it in a way that we have full knowledge of the consequences of our decisions.”

Rasor made similar statements about valuing life at conception and also said that based on current law, he believes doctors are given the right to make difficult decisions. 

“I believe the doctors in this state have every opportunity to do the right thing to save the life of the mother,” he said. “I think the current abortion law as it stands is sufficient.”

Mark Sauter said he believes abortion should not be used as birth control in any way. Current law accommodates molar pregnancies, ectopic pregnancies, and some other special cases, he said. However, he said the legislature needs to offer more precise guidance to doctors so that they can be more aware of what they are able to do in special medical circumstances. 

Hutchings said he is against abortion and thinks a better way to combat it is by increasing education about abortion, framing it as a last resort in medical cases and an unthinkable crime in others. 

Other questions ranged from reviving public infrastructure to managing growth. 

The forum can be listened to at this link: krfy.org/podcast.