State Sen. Bob Nonini seeks re-election

COEUR d’ALENE — Idaho State Sen. Bob Nonini announced Tuesday that he will run for re-election in 2016.

Nonini was first elected to the Idaho House of Representatives in November of 2004. He served four terms in the Idaho House, where he spent three of those terms as the chairman of the House Education Committee, one of that body’s privileged committees.

Nonini was elected to the Idaho Senate in 2012 and is completing his second term. In the Senate, Nonini has continued serving on the Education Committee, is the vice-chairman of the Judiciary & Rules Committee and is a member of the Transportation Committee.

During Nonini’s time in the Idaho House he was the lead legislator in creating the Rathdrum Aquifer Protection District, the region’s sole source drinking water supply to 500,000 people in North Idaho and eastern Washington. Nonini led on the legislation referred to as STAR financing, which brought Cabela’s and the Beck Road interchange at Interstate 90 to North Idaho. He also sponsored legislation that led to the early construction and opening of the Kootenai Technical Education Center in Rathdrum. Nonini sponsored the bill that removed the cap on the number of new charter schools that can be opened yearly in Idaho, which has led to national support for Idaho and Idaho charter schools.

Nonini was the sponsor of legislation that allowed Idaho to become the first state in the country that made the coercion of a woman to abort a baby a felony.

During Nonini’s time in the Idaho Senate, some of the successful legislation he has sponsored includes creating the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) Action Center. He was the main sponsor that created the “Pay for Success” legislation to assist in early childhood reading comprehension that will be done by the private sector.

“Pay for Success” has received national recognition from the Excellence in Education Foundation. Nonini has also continued the work on bringing a fourth veterans home to North Idaho, specifically Post Falls, with legislation that was unanimously passed in 2015.

Nonini was born in Wallace and has been a Spokane River property owner for 30 years. He is happily married to wife Cathyanne. They live on Harbor Island.

“I am proud of what I have been able to accomplish in my 12 years in Boise,” Nonini said. “I understand the process and am able to get things done that have benefited my constituents. I look forward to continuing to serve the citizens of District 3, North Idaho and all of Idaho.”