OPINION: Pulling back the curtain on state government

After eight years of representing Coeur d’Alene in the Idaho Senate, I voluntarily retired from my seat in order to run for secretary of state this past year.

Election honesty, integrity and the power of your vote have long been my areas of focus and priority. But politics is a blood sport where experience and qualifications often do not matter.

The battlefield is controlled by money and power, with candidates used as pawns and outside operators as the real players. I wouldn’t play the game. I didn’t follow their commands, so I didn’t win. But my integrity is intact and my head is held high. We worked incredibly hard, all over the state, and left nothing on the table. No regrets.

Now it’s time for me to speak out. During my Senate years, I gained tremendous insight and information about how our state government really works. It’s quite different than you might think. There are important key elements to success or failure, and enormous influence wielded by outside groups from lobbyists to partisans to citizen coalitions and everything in between.

Now that I am retired, I cannot be canceled, though some tried during the secretary of state campaign. And I can speak freely, without professional filters because I will not run for office again.

My information for you will be candid and forthright. I’ll name names, explain what did happen as well as what should have happened.

“Uncanceled and Unfiltered” will be the brand of my column and newsletter going forward and I look forward to pulling back the curtain on state government for you.

You can sign up for my free email newsletter at marysouzaunfiltered@gmail.com. I’ll be writing them as issues come up, so stay tuned. This should be an interesting year.

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Mary Souza, a Coeur d'Alene Republican, represented District 4 in the Idaho Senate for eight years from 2014 to 2022.