Nonini, Whalen square off again

POST FALLS - State Sen. Bob Nonini wasted no time Friday at a Republican group luncheon in criticizing his May 20 primary opponent.

But there were no digs related to Pat Whalen's surprise admission Thursday night at a candidate forum that he had a 2006 DUI conviction.

Instead, Nonini said Whalen cheated Republican voters when he failed to complete the Idaho state Republican Party survey, along with two others.

"How are Republicans going to know where he stands on important issues like religious freedom, religious liberty, abortion, traditional marriage, health care, home education and business freedom?" Nonini said.

The two candidates took part in a Republican primary candidate forum at the Red Lion Templin's Hotel, hosted by the Panhandle Pachyderm Club.

Whalen described himself as a "center-right" Republican, who is a strong supporter of the Second Amendment and absolutely pro-life.

"My opponent has stated publicly that government needs to do more to create jobs," Nonini said. Not true, he added, business is responsible for that.

Whalen said he is running because there are not many job opportunities for younger Idahoans entering the workforce.

"I agree with Bob's statement, utterly, that the government doesn't create jobs," Whalen said. "But the government can set a lot of conditions for jobs."

He said there is a lot of untapped potential in that area for Idaho's economy.

"As a high-tech guy, I see there's a great high-tech story for North Idaho," Whalen said. "I'd like to be part of the team that tells that story."

Nonini wasn't done criticizing his opponent, pointing out Whalen supports added state funding for kindergarten through 12th-grade public education, "with no mention of charter schools, no mention of home schooling ... and no mention of private schools, which do a phenomenal job in this state."

"I believe in school choice," Whalen responded. "I believe in charter schools, I believe in home schooling."

Whalen also wants more technology in schools.

"We're on the verge of a tremendous revolution in how technology is used in schools," said Whalen, who works in the software industry.

Republican state Rep. Ron Mendive, also appeared at the forum Friday, along with his opponent in the primary, Terry Werner, a Post Falls Republican.

Mendive, of Coeur d'Alene, went after his opponent, saying Werner doesn't want the state to take over lands currently under federal control.

"I believe our only hope is to take over the federal lands," Mendive said. State control means more logging and mining, which means businesses in the state can make more money.

"The federal lands is our ticket to prosperity in Idaho," Mendive said.

"What I see happening, basically, is that we're not worrying enough about our local issues, our state issues," Werner said, criticizing incumbent state legislators. "We're more concerned about the federal government."

He said there should be more concern about water rights, particularly when it comes to the Rathdrum Prairie-Spokane Valley Aquifer and the Spokane River.

Water quality standards for the river are also a concern, he said. Werner said Idaho must work to protect its rights against any water grab by Washington state.

"That's an issue that we really need to look at and stand up and take notice of," Werner said.

Werner, public services director for the city of Post Falls, is a former Post Falls city councilman and current Post Falls Highway District commissioner.

The winner of the Republican primary between Werner and Mendive will face Post Falls Democrat Michelle Lippert in the November general election for the Legislative District 3A House seat.