ELECTION: Steps to improve Idaho

I want to thank the nearly 45 percent of voters who voted for me on Nov. 4. It is clear that there are a lot of voters in Coeur d’Alene that want changes in our state government. Let’s hope for the sake of the future of Coeur d’Alene and Idaho that the representatives who were elected will actively seek the advice of those who did not vote for them. We must understand that democracy is a way to find common ground and make progress solving the problems of this rapidly changing world.

The vote did not even count a majority of citizens eligible to vote, who did not fulfill that responsibility. I suspect a good majority of the workers in our state were too busy working and living their lives.

In Idaho, I am quite aware we have been solving our problems with a set of “conservative solutions.” But we have not been making a great deal of progress. Many voters I talked to at doorways know this. It is a well-known fact that we are at the bottom of almost every list of economic and educational security. Our currently elected officials need to reconsider what the causes of these failures are, and not just treat the symptoms. For like a good physician, those who govern need to look at the source of the problems.

The federal government currently helps us generously. So you can’t entirely blame that branch of the government. Idaho citizens get back more from the federal government than they give. For every $1 we pay to the federal government in taxes, we receive in kind services and monies of $1.38 that is returned to us. In other words we currently require federal help to balance our budget.

The elected officials from Coeur d’Alene need to listen to the voters more, I think. They need to have more town halls where all people can ask questions, refraining from controlling the agenda and limiting questions. This is especially true because in the Coeur d’Alene area there are no representatives from the Democratic Party; only the Republican Party is represented. And even more significantly we need an impartial Voter’s Guide, published by the Secretary of State’s Office, sent by mail to every citizen’s address, that includes local candidates. A Voter’s Guide, like the states all around us have, that will help each citizen to be more informed and capable of voting wisely.

ANNE NESSE

Coeur d’Alene