Candidate Bujak battling good old boys

COEUR d'ALENE - John Bujak is tired of the good old boys of the Idaho Republican Party fouling up the political process.

The former Canyon County prosecutor parted ways with the state's dominant political party and is now running for governor as a Libertarian. He wants to be the alternative to Republican Gov. Butch Otter and Democratic Party candidate A.J. Balukoff.

"The good old boys get in the way," Bujak said Monday in an interview with The Press.

The good old boys serve those with money and influence, while the average Idahoan doesn't have representation.

"They get their legislation easily and quickly, even if it's not a good idea" for the state, said Bujak, 45, of Eagle.

He pointed to Idaho's so-called "ag-gag" law, which turns those who secretly film animal abuse within the state's agricultural facilities into criminals. It was a law passed to satisfy the state's powerful dairy industry.

"It's not something the people were demanding," Bujak said. "It got pushed through because of their power."

His fight against the good old boys is three years old, he said.

While serving as Canyon County prosecutor, Bujak was contracted to prosecute misdemeanor cases for the city of Nampa. The Nampa contract was his private contract, allowing him to earn a profit.

A special prosecutor tried to convict him of wrongdoing, charging him with misuse of public funds.

After those allegations were made, he had to resign as prosecutor in the fall of 2010, and lost his license to practice law. He also had to file for bankruptcy protection.

Along with the misuse of public funds charge, Bujak was charged with falsifying evidence. He also was charged with grand theft, and hiding assets in the bankruptcy.

The private firm that lost the Nampa prosecution contract brought outside political pressure to bear on the Canyon County commissioners, he said.

After multiple trials in three years, he was cleared of any wrongdoing, and the special prosecutor's work cost the taxpayers more than $700,000.

"The juries could see what was going on," Bujak said. He regained his law license.

Through that process, he said, he experienced first-hand how politicians and insiders with deep pockets work together.

He wants to rid the state of those influences, and put the power back in the hands of the people.

"I'm a 'no B.S.' kind of guy," Bujak said. "I'm a fighter."

He said tea party and liberty caucus Republicans will appreciate his style.

He predicts that many of the Republicans who supported state Sen. Russ Fulcher in the party's primary in May will now back him.

Bujak believes Idaho needs to "reclaim" its lands from the federal government, the state health insurance exchange has to go, Common Core education standards are bad for students, and any expansion of Medicaid would be wrong.

He said Otter is no longer the classic Idaho Republican he once was, the one who was in Congress opposing President George W. Bush's Patriot Act.

"Now he's in office accepting federal money, which comes with strings attached," Bujak said. Idaho has become too dependent on federal dollars, he said.

Otter is part of the state's leadership that has gotten out of touch with the needs of the average Idahoan, he said.

Cronyism and corruption in state government must end, he said.

"That has been the overriding issue" of his campaign, he said.

Bujak began practicing law in Idaho in 1997, working as a trial attorney. He did some civil work, but practiced more criminal law.

He served as a deputy prosecuting attorney, deputy attorney general and was general counsel to the Idaho Human Rights Commission.

He graduated from Gonzaga University's law school in December 1996.

He has lived in Idaho most of his life. He grew up in McCall, but went to Coeur d'Alene High School, where he graduated in 1986. His father was a doctor in Coeur d'Alene.

After graduating with a bachelor's degree from the College of Idaho in 1990, Bujak served in the U.S. Navy for two years.

Bujak is scheduled to appear for a meet and greet at the Coeur d'Alene Eagles Lodge at 5 p.m. on Oct. 2. He also plans to participate in a gubernatorial debate on Oct. 3.