OPINION: Looking forward to the New Year
Evan Koch
What might America encounter in 2025? Strange social media pronouncements from the President-Elect give us good reason to wonder about what’s to come.
Will the U.S. declare sovereignty over Greenland, or reclaim the Panama Canal, or use military force to detain and deport 12 million individuals and their families?
We just don’t know. What we do know is this: even considering such extremes is strange. In the upsidedown of a second Trump presidency, we must never lose context for what is beyond the pale.
Just because the President-Elect is discussing these catastrophes, does not mean that we have to expect them or to accept them.
We can stand as steadfast bulwarks against the worst outcomes, and even be forces for positive change.
In North Idaho, we have recently seen the power of diligence.
Our beloved North Idaho College was on the brink of losing accreditation. That catastrophe now seems to have been averted.
All four Kootenai County School Districts seemed poised for massive budget cuts and retrenchment without supplemental levy support. Now, only the Lakeland School District is dealing with those threats.
A year ago, the Coeur d’Alene City Council seemed on the verge of a MAGA takeover. In the end, highly qualified candidates won all those elections by large margins.
Voters woke up to the dangers of shortsighted policies and leadership. They educated themselves, raised community awareness, then collectively said: “No, not in my back yard.”
The year 2025 will offer us plenty of similar challenges. We have a Consolidated Election coming up May 20 where schools and their future will be impacted. The County Board of Supervisors will continue trying to eliminate City Link, our only means of public transportation. They might purchase license plate readers that many experts say are prone to abuse. This is particularly worrisome in a state with a law against “abortion trafficking.”
The Idaho Legislature will undoubtedly try to further bankrupt our already cash-strapped schools by enacting a predatory and costly school voucher system.
These and other challenges loom just over the 2025 horizon. So, brace yourselves, and resolve now to be part of the solution.
Request your 2025 absentee ballots now.
Contribute some money to a favored cause. Attend events, get involved. Your first opportunity is coming up soon.
The Kootenai Democrats will host our Annual Democracy Dinner Gala on Saturday, Feb. 15, at the Best Western Plus Coeur d’Alene Inn.
Our keynote speaker will be Jim Jones, the great former Idaho Attorney General. Jim carves the MAGA Republicans down to size in a column that appears regularly in the Press.
Watch our website for details coming soon.
Get to know us at the Democracy Dinner. And then resolve to stay with us as we hold these powers to account.
Join the struggle with us. Together we can restore Idaho to its traditionally more open-minded ways. Help us to rebuild a more perfect union.
Democrats welcome you to our extended family and wish everyone a Happy New Year.
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Evan Koch is chairman of the Kootenai County Democrats.