ZAO: We need a doc in the house

Every once in a great while, a candidate emerges who is head and shoulders above the field, and especially above her opponent. That candidate is Cheri Zao, an Idaho native, reared in Alaska, received her medical training in Texas, and returned to Idaho decades ago to practice medicine.

Cheri is a retired physician, a Republican, and a true believer in individual responsibility, so much so that Cheri wrote Governor Little to refrain from signing H710, for example, which criminalizes the placing of certain books deemed inappropriate for children. Dr. Zao is a mother of two, and grandmother of two, yet fears the heavy hand of government, in this case, the state government, which makes Idaho a more punitive state, especially when added to our recently passed anti-abortion law.

Whatever your view of the aforementioned legislation, many of us who transplanted to Idaho, and especially North Idaho, have done so to escape government intrusion into our private lives. 

It’s inconsistent to say that one is in favor of government intrusion when it agrees with our personal ideology, yet invite intrusion when it violates our personal doctrine. Dr. Zao has demonstrated her consistency in approaching controversial measures in upholding the rights of the individual, including parental rights. Dr. Zao also realizes that with individual rights comes proportionate responsibility, and this is where many of our Kootenai County legislators frankly lose it.

If we truly care about upholding Idaho values in the truest sense of the term, then I urge you to vote for Dr. Cheri Zao in the Republican Primary on May 21. If we elect Dr. Cheri Zao to the Idaho State Senate, she will be the only physician resident in our state government — and one desperately needed. And do vote!

CHRIS FILLIOS

Coeur d’Alene