3 Mendives help serve District 3

By BRIAN WALKER

Staff Writer

Filling Rep. Ron Mendive's seat this legislative session has been a family effort.

Mendive, a Coeur d'Alene Republican who has the District 3A seat, is recovering from knee replacement surgery.

His son Dirk, a 34-year-old and Boise State University senior, has been his father's replacement at the Legislature for the past three weeks.

Today, it's Ron's wife Sherlene’s turn at the Capitol. She is expected to fill the role for the rest of the week. The legislator plans to return to Boise next Monday.

"It's a group effort," Ron said.

Dirk said he originally planned to fill in for two weeks, but doctor's orders prevented his dad from returning.

"I couldn't take another week from my other obligations, so my mom will finish this week," said Dirk, who works for BCR Land Services, a Coeur d'Alene excavation and construction company in addition to pursuing a history degree at BSU.

Dirk said it was a privilege to serve at the Legislature for his dad.

"It's been an eye-opening experience to see how legislators function and how quickly things happen," he said.

Dirk said he has tried to be as informed as he can on legislative proposals, but has also tapped into the knowledge of his dad and other legislators on some subjects.

Ron attended the first week of the session before having surgery on Jan. 18. He said the rehabilitation has taken longer than expected.

Ron said his son was qualified to be his replacement.

"All things considered, he's graduating (in May), and serving for three weeks in the Legislature looks good on your resume," Ron said. "He's learned a lot. He took to politics immediately even though he's a history major.

"Maybe being a history major is a good thing for a legislator because of the old saying, 'If you don't learn from history, we're doomed to repeat it.'"

Being a legislative replacement isn't automatic.

The legislator submits five possible replacements to the governor for consideration. The governor then makes a choice from that list.

The replacement is also sworn in to office — in this case by House Speaker Scott Bedke — and must be a registered voter in the legislator's district.

Dirk and Ron said Sherlene is a little nervous about serving, but they both believe she’ll settle in and do just fine. Sherlene was traveling to Boise on Monday afternoon and wasn’t available for comment.

"She's not into politics, but she's into me being in politics," Ron said. "It was not on her bucket list."

Dirk added: "It will be an experience for her as it was for me. But, once she gets in, everybody will be gracious, accepting and kind."

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Press Staff Writer Steve Cameron contributed to this report.