Pickens hears from Cd'A voters on affordability and change

Democratic candidate for governor Terri Pickens made her latest stop in Coeur d’Alene to speak with and answer questions from prospective voters. Pickens started her “Coffee with Terri” event by sharing her reasoning for running. When her daughter, Maya, went away to college, she told Pickens she wouldn’t be coming back to Idaho.

“I know why she's not coming back,” Pickens said. “It's because she lost bodily autonomy, she is a gay woman and she does not feel safe in Idaho. That is the most heartbreaking thing that a mother can face, that your daughter doesn't feel safe in the place where you were born and raised and where she was born and raised.”

Kholt Moore, who attended and got to speak with Pickens, can empathize with how Pickens’ daughter feels.

“I’m a gay man living in North Idaho,” Moore said. “With a governor like Pickens, it wouldn’t feel like someone’s trying to dissolve my marriage every five minutes. I wouldn't feel like I have to leave to be accepted. That I can be accepted in the place I call home.”

Pickens feels her experience as an attorney and extensive work helping voiceless groups makes her an excellent candidate to stand up for what Idahoans really want. The first step was making the state more affordable, a theme consistently brought up by Pickens and those who attended.

“Her message of trying to make Idaho a little more affordable for the people who live here is important,” Moore said. “The people who grew up here can't afford to live here anymore, so I think that's something she's really got an understanding of.”

Pickens said that Governor Brad Little and the Idaho GOP have created a “budget crisis” that has hurt all but a wealthy few in the state.

“Hearing the actual impacts on affordability has been heartbreaking and it makes me want to fix it,” Pickens said. “It makes me want to advocate for every single person in the state, and that's what I've been doing.”

One misunderstanding Pickens has run into is that the Democrat label next to her name gives people the idea she’s against the values of Idahoans. As a former Republican, she argues that the GOP does not have the best interest of citizens in mind. Pickens says that wanting affordability, access to healthcare and funding public education are not political issues, but human issues.

“I want to hear what voters have to say, what their struggles are and help them find solutions to their problems,” Pickens said. “This campaign has been about bringing a platform for their voices, because a lot of people either don't have the capability, don't have the resources or don't have the platform. I have those things.”

According to polling numbers Pickens cited, Little polls at 37% with Pickens in second at 27%. Twenty percent of those polled were undecided, a group Pickens feels confident in picking up.

“Women vote and they're going to look at the governor's race and decide who's going to preserve and protect Prop 1,” Pickens said. “That’s going to be me. Women are going to stick with the woman in this race.”

Lisa Snyder, who attended, said that if voters want to see change, the first step would be a vote for Pickens.

“The state's been run by Republicans for a long time,” Snyder said. “If the public is not happy with the state of Idaho, they need to put another party in office."

    Lisa Snyder (front) and others watch Terri Pickens speak with potential voters.
  

    Democratic candidate for governor Terri Pickens speaks at her "Coffee with Terri" event in Coeur d'Alene.