McGrane seeks secretary office

COEUR d'ALENE - If Phil McGrane has his way, Idaho's next secretary of state is going to be young.

The 33-year-old Boise Republican - an attorney and current chief deputy clerk in Ada County - is seeking the secretary of state post in his first political campaign.

"One of the great things about doing that job is you always get to fight for what's the right thing," McGrane said Monday in a meeting with The Press' editorial board.

As chief deputy clerk in Ada County, he oversees all aspects of the office, which has 140 deputy clerks and a $9.7 million budget. For the clerk's office, he oversees four divisions: the courts, auditors, recorder and elections.

He said he has spent much of the past eight years counting ballots, coordinating poll workers, and securing the right to vote in Idaho's most populated county.

"The secretary's office is very similar to the clerk's office," McGrane said. "They serve pretty much the same functions, just one is local and one is at the state level."

He said running elections is one of the most sensitive areas of the clerk's office.

"If we're going to make a mistake, the place that people will notice the very most is in elections," he said.

His age, he said, gives him the advantage of being more technology-savvy. He could help make the secretary of state's website easier to use and increase transparency and security.

"I'm the youngest candidate in this race," he said. "It's an interesting position to be in because I'm also the most experienced when it comes to the functions that the office does."

If elected, part of his role of secretary of state would include serving on the state land board with the governor and other statewide elected officials. McGrane supports moving away from commercial and residential real estate holdings in favor of traditional natural resource investments.

"We need to get out of the cottage-site industry," he said.

He favors acquiring more timberland and looking for oil-exploration opportunities.

The fourth-generation Idahoan - born in Pocatello and raised in Boise - said current Secretary of State Ben Ysursa's decision not to run for another term was all he needed to hear before jumping into the race to replace him.

"I've got a lot of support from county clerks from across the state," McGrane said. More than half of the clerks have endorsed him.

His supporters also include state Rep. Luke Malek, of Coeur d'Alene, and Rep. Eric Anderson, of Priest Lake.

When not working for the clerk's office in Ada County, he competes on a national award-winning barbecue team: Phil and Lou BBQ. His father-in-law is his teammate.

McGrane earned his bachelor's degree from the University of Washington and his law degree from the University of Denver.

McGrane and his wife, Angella, have two young daughters, Mackenzie and Kennedy.