GOP candidate for superintendent defends campaign

BOISE - Idaho superintendent candidate Sherri Ybarra said she's not worried about her campaign despite facing recent criticism that her public absences could cause her to lose the seat.

Earlier this week, Ybarra, a Republican, declined to speak at a conference in Boise attended by school administrators from throughout Idaho. Her Democratic opponent, Jana Jones, attended the event and won a key endorsement from a Republican superintendent from one of the state's larger school districts.

The absence contributed to a growing concern that Ybarra's political profile won't be enough to win the November election despite being a Republican candidate in a GOP-dominated state.

"I think my track record speaks for itself, we can always do more but I'm here today and I'm moving forward," Ybarra said. "There's events being scheduled left and right ... Like I said, we can always do more but I can't be everywhere at once."

Ybarra has drawn attention since a surprise victory in Idaho's Republican Primary in May against three fellow GOP newcomers. She raised less than $3,000 in the primary election, the lowest of all the candidates, and rarely campaigned outside her small hometown of Mountain Home.

Ybarra has said repeatedly that she's not a politician. That sentiment might appeal to voters, but it could cause problems when trying to implement major policy changes, Idaho political analyst Jim Weatherby said.

"The emerging narrative has been that she's not totally engaged with the stakeholders and not meeting with various groups, now she's being attacked for not attending this conference," Weatherby said. "Not just from the Democrats but from the perspective from those who she will want to work with."

However, Ybarra said her support is growing and that she has endorsements from 10 of Idaho's 85 Republican lawmakers.

She declined to give the names of school administrators who support her, but she said a list would be posted soon on her website. As of Friday, just Senate Pro Tem Brent Hill and the 10 lawmakers who sit on the House Education Committee- including House Speaker Scott Bedke - were on the list.

Ybarra said she turned down the three-day school administrator conference because of a medical appointment as well as explaining she had already made plans to attend the state department's superintendent meeting later that week. She was a participant but not a speaker.

Jones countered that unlike the state's conference, meeting with school administrators was critical because it allowed her to speak with stakeholders. She said these are groups that the state superintendent must work with and rely on while in office.

"Sherri later mischaracterized me for my rigid support of Common Core, but if she had been there, she would have heard what I really said." Jones said, referring to a press release Ybarra sent out criticizing Jones' remarks at the conference.

Jones said she supports Idaho's Common Core education standards, but she wants to create a bi-partisan coalition of educators and lawmakers to review how to implement policy changes.

Jones, an educator from Boise, narrowly lost to Superintendent Tom Luna in 2006 by just 11,000 votes.

Back then, Jones was chief deputy to state superintendent Marilyn Howard, the last Democrat to hold a statewide office in Idaho.

Both candidates support the 20 recommendations designed to reform Idaho's education system. And both have raised questions about implementing new standards without feedback from school districts.

Yet in her latest press release, Ybarra said Jones was more concerned with raising taxes rather than educational reform. When later asked if she would approve a tax increase to boost education revenue, Ybarra said "Until I have the opportunity to get in there and look at the budget, there is no 'yes' or 'no' to that. I will always advocate for appropriate funding."

Jones said she considers raising taxes as a last resort, but she said the state isn't investing enough in public schools.

"I'm not listening to the rhetoric," Jones said. "I am campaigning hard and visiting as many non-partisan groups as I can. I know the realities of a Democratic candidate running in Idaho, but I want voters to know they have a choice."