Ballot initiatives receive endorsements

Idaho Sheriffs’ Association endorses Prop 2

The Idaho Sheriffs’ Association has endorsed Proposition 2, the Medicaid expansion ballot initiative.

“The vote for this wasn’t even close” said Chris Goetz, Clearwater County Sheriff and ISA Government Affairs Chair. “Sheriffs voted overwhelmingly to support Proposition 2 to save taxpayers money, to keep people out of the jails, and to keep people out of the emergency room. By expanding coverage to low-income people with health issues or mental health issues, they’re more likely to contribute to society and less likely to end up back in the system.”

The ISA is a nonprofit professional organization consisting of 44 county elected sheriffs. The ISA facilitates communications between its members and other government entities that it typically works with such as the Idaho Department of Correction, State Police, city police departments, State Legislature, Health and Welfare, Emergency Communication Center, DEA, FBI, Homeland Security, U.S. Marshals Service, and numerous committees and sub-committees within these organizations. The ISA also helps to implement procedures and policy as a result of new laws.

IEA and ISBA endorse Prop 2

The Idaho Education Association (IEA) and the Idaho School Boards Association (ISBA) endorsed Proposition 2, the Medicaid expansion ballot initiative.

The two organizations issued the following joint statement:

“... Expanding Medicaid will help provide critical services for families and individuals that desperately need it. Each of our respective Boards of Directors have voted to endorse Proposition 2, and together, we encourage all voters to do likewise in November.

“Student achievement is the primary goal of our associations’ advocacy for the public education system, and studies show that a population with robust access to health care has increased chances for success. Having a parent or guardian whose health is poor has a direct impact on a student’s opportunities. Decreased academic performance, spotty or intermittent attendance, increased dropout rates, and more serious behavioral problems have an overall negative, long-lasting effect on a student’s cognitive skills and attitudes. Healthy families are essential to a student’s academic success.”

Idaho Freedom Foundation endorses Prop 1

Wayne Hoffman, President of the Idaho Freedom Foundation, endorsed Proposition 1, a ballot initiative to reinstate historical horse racing in Idaho, Friday in his weekly column that is posted on the organization’s website and published in newspapers across the state. In his column, Hoffman criticized lawmakers who voted in 2015 to repeal Historical Horse Racing terminals that were generating revenue essential to supporting and sustaining Idaho’s live horse racing industry.

Citizen “initiatives do have a place when they rein in government; stop government overreach, and correct injustices perpetrated by politicians or their handlers,” Hoffman wrote. Proposition 1 “seeks to revive the state’s horse industry, which, at its core, is as much a part of Idaho’s culture as clean water, safe communities, and a free economy.”

Hoffman also pointed out how the 2015 repeal led to the closure of Les Bois Park, put the brakes on private investment, resulted in the layoff of hundreds of horse racing industry employees and the preservation of a tribal monopoly on gaming.

“If Idahoans vote in favor of (Proposition 1), and I hope they do, they’ll be able to tell the politicians in Boise and their special interest friends that they were wrong to deny Idaho’s equine industry due process,” Hoffman wrote.