Woodings seeking secretary of state post

COEUR d'ALENE - Idaho state Rep. Holli Woodings, the Democratic Party's candidate for secretary of state, is wasting no time.

Eight days after the state's political parties' primaries, Woodings was in North Idaho campaigning prior to the Nov. 4 general election.

Woodings, 35, of Boise, faces Republican state Rep. Lawerence Denney to replace Idaho Secretary of State Ben Ysursa, who is not seeking re-election.

In the Legislature, Woodings serves on the House State Affairs Committee, which oversees all of the state's election laws.

"So I became very familiar with the election laws and kind of what's at stake," she said. She is one of 13 House Democrats, out of a body of 70, and is serving her first term.

In the past legislative session, she had a bill that would allow people to register to vote when renewing their driver's license.

"You already have to get your driver's license, or update your driver's license, you might as well register to vote at the same time," Woodings said. "Getting more people involved in voting, and getting more people practicing that right is really something that I think we should focus on."

She also co-sponsored legislation with Republican state Rep. Luke Malek, of Coeur d'Alene, that would protect individuals' constitutional rights of privacy by encouraging federal agencies to stop bulk collection of data.

"It's a huge deal to both of us," she said.

Outside public service, she works as a renewable energy consultant. Woodings and her husband, Ryan, own a technology company that designs WiFi troubleshooting software.

"We've been able to grow a company from five people, just a few years ago, to 28 people now," she said.

If she is elected secretary of state, Woodings would be one of five members of the Idaho Land Board.

"Up north you have so much state endowment land that's timber land, and I come from a logging family," she said. "So that's really important to me, that we're managing our forests for our use now and our use later."

One of the primary beneficiaries of the endowment lands is public schools.

She believes there is no more important issue than education in Idaho, which ranks at the bottom nationwide in education spending per child.

She promises to push to use excess revenue from the lands to reinvest in public schools.

She praised Ysursa's job of keeping Idaho's elections open and accessible.

"I would absolutely continue in that spirit," she said.

She would like to make online voter registration available to Idahoans.

"There's been efforts in many other states in the country to limit people's access to the polls," she said. "I just don't want that to happen here."

She believes another key responsibility of the secretary of state is monitoring lobbying activities in the state. Lobbying should be transparent, legal and ethical on every level, she said.

Woodings is a mother of two, with a 3-year-old daughter, Mary; and a 10-month-old son, Arthur. Woodings is a graduate of Boise State University.