GOP candidates Cheatham, Riggs, square off

POST FALLS — Republican candidates seeking to serve District 3 in the Idaho House of Representatives participated Friday in a forum.

The forum, hosted by the Panhandle Pachyderm Club during its lunch meeting in Post Falls, allowed those in attendance to ask Rep. Don Cheatham, R-Post Falls, and his challenger, Peter Riggs, questions on a variety of topics. Rep. Kathy Sims, R-Coeur d'Alene, gave the first question, asking both candidates how they would address terrorism in Idaho.

"One of the best ways to address terrorism in Idaho is to keep the citizenry informed and keep us working together," Riggs responded. "We need to make sure that we don't do everything from a fear-based position — we need to be bold as Americans, we need to stand up to the threats that we are facing."

Riggs added that, often times, he feels people put too much faith in the ability to "legislate problems away." Citizens should always be mindful and aware of good legislation, he said, but should also participate in the process by being informed and protecting their communities.

In his response, Cheatham said Idaho is "not immune to terrorism." He discussed two bills he co-sponsored in his first session as a representative that relate to fighting terrorism.

"One was for protection of critical infrastructure building plans from being released to people that might want to destroy our economy," he said. "Another bill was to protect our linear infrastructure, underground in addition to what's above ground, because you can really cause a lot of damage to things that are underground."

Cheatham added that, in the future, he believes there are multiple things the state can do to enhance security.

Art Macomber — a Coeur d'Alene attorney challenging Rep. Luke Malek, R-Coeur d'Alene, in the May primary — began his question by stating that 36 percent of Idaho's budget is from federal funding.

"Do you see that as a problem?" Macomber asked. "If so, what do you think the Legislature should do about it?"

Riggs fielded the question first, and began his response by stating he does feel it is a problem.

"Anytime you have reliance outside of your own house, then that's an issue that should be of some concern," he said. "But it is important to remember that you can't just pull the plug on it, nor should we — they're still our dollars."

The state, Riggs said, needs to hold its representatives in Congress accountable for managing federal funds, while also limiting reliance on federal dollars. In addition, Riggs said Idaho should continue to be a model to the federal government and "lead by example."

Cheatham began his response by stating he agrees with Riggs before discussing a variety of federal grants offered to states. A lot of the grants, he said, changed regulations and ended up becoming mandated programs at the end of the grant-funding cycle.

"You gotta be careful what you sign up for because there are strings attached and ramifications," Cheatham said. "We should take opportunities to cut back where we can."

Brent Regan, an Idaho Freedom Foundation board member, told the candidates urban renewal districts take incremental tax dollars and spend those dollars to make improvements in towns. The urban renewal district's board is not elected, he added, and "have no real accountability."

"I'd like to hear both of your positions on how the URD law should be changed in Idaho," Regan said.

Riggs stated, when used properly, he believes urban renewal districts are a valuable tool to improve blighted areas in communities. Having legislation to ensure the districts are "truly accountable," he added, is important.

"But to say they have no accountability is not necessarily true because they're accountable to the city councils," Riggs said.

"But what changes would you like to see to the law?" Regan interjected. "If we're sending you down to Boise to legislate, what changes would you envision are needed?"

"I think more transparency and more direct levels of oversight," Riggs replied. "Like I said, it's not that there is zero accountability. There is accountability, it's just not necessarily good enough."

Cheatham responded by referencing a sub-committee that investigated urban renewal law prior to this year's legislative session. He also spoke of a bill that was passed addressing the districts during the session, calling it "good legislation."

Both candidates responded to a follow-up question from Regan by stating they support elected urban renewal district boards.

Legislative District 3 voters will decide between Cheatham and Riggs during the May 17 primary. Since there are no Democrats running for the position, the winner will likely become the representative, barring a write-in candidate winning the vote in November.