SENATOR: Risch should visit more

That’s the question North Idaho voters were asking last week as we heard Senator Jim Risch teed off in the Governor’s Cup golf tournament in Cd’A while making zero time for the people he’s supposed to represent. No town halls. No meet-and-greets. Not one public constituent event anywhere in the state.

Meanwhile, independent candidate Todd Achilles was also here, in Cd’A, but he spent his time differently. Achilles met with hundreds of constituents throughout the week and spoke at a packed community forum, answering hard questions and making his case directly to voters.

The contrast couldn’t be clearer. One candidate is out there earning this job. The other believes he’s already entitled to it.

Risch hasn’t attended a single public forum in 17 years, my entire lifetime. Let that sink in: he’s had 17 years of avoiding the people he asks to re-elect him, layered on top of 50 years in elected office. He won’t debate Achilles. He won’t host a town hall. He shows up for golf, not for us.

North Idaho deserves a senator who shows up, listens, answers questions, and treats this job like the privilege it is rather than a lifetime entitlement. While I understand that 83-year-old Jim may be intimidated by someone more than 60 years younger than he is, I am still his constituent, and my voice still matters.

My peers and I need someone who will fight for us. Sen. Risch has already mortgaged our futures by rubber-stamping record national debt, letting housing and health care companies drive up costs, and getting us into another forever war in the Middle East.

It’s time to retire Jim Risch and send someone to Washington who actually wants to earn our support. After meeting Todd Achilles this past week, I’m more confident than ever and urge people to vote for the independent for U.S. Senate.

WILL SHARON

Hayden