00:00:00:00 - 00:00:40:04
Lindsay Allen
Welcome to the 2024 General election meet the candidate forum. My name is Lindsay Allen and I am joined by Naomi Boutz. We will be your moderators for the 2024 Meet the Candidates series. This year's forum is sponsored by the Hagadone Media Group, Quicksilver Studios, and the Joint Public Policy Committee of the Coeur d'Alene regional, Hayden, Post Falls, and Rathdrum Chambers of Commerce in partnership with the Coeur d'Alene and Post Falls Press.

00:00:40:06 - 00:01:05:17
Lindsay Allen
This forum is intended to allow you, the voter, to hear from the candidates representing various Idaho state legislative …

00:00:00:00 - 00:00:40:04
Lindsay Allen
Welcome to the 2024 General election meet the candidate forum. My name is Lindsay Allen and I am joined by Naomi Boutz. We will be your moderators for the 2024 Meet the Candidates series. This year's forum is sponsored by the Hagadone Media Group, Quicksilver Studios, and the Joint Public Policy Committee of the Coeur d'Alene regional, Hayden, Post Falls, and Rathdrum Chambers of Commerce in partnership with the Coeur d'Alene and Post Falls Press.

00:00:40:06 - 00:01:05:17
Lindsay Allen
This forum is intended to allow you, the voter, to hear from the candidates representing various Idaho state legislative and Kootenai County positions who will share their vision and policies to help inform your vote. Candidates will be given one minute to introduce themselves, then asked three questions with two minutes to respond to each question. Candidates will be allowed one minute for their closing statements.

00:01:05:18 - 00:01:49:01
Lindsay Allen
These forums provide a unique opportunity to connect with the candidate who seek to serve our community. By meeting our candidates one on one in a more casual environment, we aim to better inform Kootenai County voters about each candidate's point of view.

00:01:49:03 - 00:02:16:21
Naomi Boutz
Okay. Next we have State Representative district five, seat A, we have Kristy Reed Johnson. Welcome, Kristy. Thank you. Please give us an introduction.

Kristy Johnson
Thank you for the opportunity. My name is Kristy Johnson. I have a long history. I've been in, Coeur d'Alene post falls area since 1996. I was born in Wichita, Kansas.

00:02:17:01 - 00:02:38:08
Kristy Johnson
I was raised in Oakley, Kansas, and I went to high school in a little suburb of Kansas City called Privilege. I went to college at Kansas University. Then I joined Transworld Airlines, and I spent 32 years flying around the world, and it was the most amazing education you have ever experienced. We were an airline that was both domestic and international.

00:02:38:10 - 00:03:00:21
Kristy Johnson
I spent 32 years there. We looked all over when my husband, the pilot, is going to retire from TWA. We looked all over the northwest. We knew this is where we wanted to live the rest of our lives, and we found ourselves. We were the third house to build into a little, place called Riverrun. And we're so happy to be here.

00:03:00:22 - 00:03:22:20
Kristy Johnson
This is the most beautiful country and the most beautiful people, and we want to keep it that way.

Naomi Boutz
Thank you.

Kristy Johnson
Thank you.

Naomi Boutz
What are the top priorities for district five and how will you address them through legislative action? You have two minutes.

Kristy Johnson
There's several issues, in our area right now, one of the primary issues is affordable housing.

00:03:22:20 - 00:03:45:21
Kristy Johnson
I'm not talking about housing the homeless, which is also an issue. But for people like our teachers and our firefighters and our police officers, to be able to afford to buy a house in, our area, both Coeur d'Alene and Post Falls, we have some options that we can come up with. One of mine is a rent to own.

00:03:45:23 - 00:04:02:21
Kristy Johnson
I can explain the details with longer time, but basically, instead of just paying your rent to where it goes just to the lease or to the apartment, you get a part of it back. Like when you have a mortgage, you build equity. And if you sell your house, you have that equity in the house to start over for your next house.

00:04:03:03 - 00:04:32:20
Kristy Johnson
And that's my strategy for a rent to own strategy. State legislative wise, of course. I'm sit on the Aquifer Protection District board, and I've been there since 2007. We're doing a really good job of protecting this very, very critical water supply here. And we have the legislation to do it. We need to be sure that the Panhandle Health District and Department of Environmental Quality are able to continue to protect the protection processes that they're using.

00:04:32:22 - 00:04:56:22
Kristy Johnson
It's worked wonderfully. There's a lot of conversation about growth impacting the aquifer. Well, the thing that's going to impact the aquifer most is snowpack. So those are the issues that we need to look at to see how we're going to adjust our living structure here to accommodate new people and keep us all in safe drinking water.

00:04:57:00 - 00:05:24:21
Naomi Boutz
Thank you. Legislators often receive input from advocacy groups and organizations. In addition to your constituents, how will you balance these perspectives when supporting or opposing legislation, and what steps will you take to ensure transparency to your constituents?

Kristy Johnson
Well, first of all, the best way to listen to any group is in a town hall structure or in an open setting where everybody is invited to come.

00:05:24:23 - 00:06:01:22
Kristy Johnson
And with respect for everybody's opinion, be able to ask questions and get them answered. As far as, groups that are advocating for one issue or another, that also needs to be heard in a public setting, and I'm willing to come up every weekend from the legislature and meet somewhere. We'll have, you know, the attorney session or a Sunday afternoon after church session, so that everybody can talk about what's going on in the legislature or what they think needs to be done, or if they have an issue that they think needs to be addressed, but it needs to be done publicly.

00:06:02:00 - 00:06:39:23
Naomi Boutz
Okay. Thank you. If proposition one passes, will you support it or will you vote to repeal it?

Kristy Johnson
Personally. I support proposition one. And, I, as a Democrat, we may never see a Democrat on the, the, ballot again because of the way it's it's done. But this does open up the primaries to where a particular wing or arm of the local Republican Party doesn't primary out some very, very good candidates.

00:06:40:01 - 00:07:08:17
Kristy Johnson
And it gives the independent people and the libertarians and people who aren't a member of a specific political party, the ability to participate in those selection processes, because I'm seeing a pattern of getting some very, very good Republican candidates primaried out. And, that's a sad situation for the whole community as far as I'm concerned.

Naomi Boutz
Thank you. Now we have your closing statement. You have one minute.

00:07:08:18 - 00:07:31:08
Kristy Johnson
Oh, wow. Well, most of you who live in district five are going to get a flier in the mail pretty soon. That gives you a little more detail, about me and about the things that I proposed. But the biggest thing to me, and the reason that I'm running for the legislature is to open the conversation.

00:07:31:08 - 00:07:59:08
Kristy Johnson
We need to have discussions and not a dictatorship. We are under a tremendous influence from. Groups that really want to change the way we govern. And that is the heart of that is project 2025. I could speak for hours about it. But I think that is something that we need to have out in the open. It's really beginning to impact us.

00:07:59:13 - 00:08:33:14
Kristy Johnson
And I appreciate your time. I appreciate your vote. And, thank you so much.

00:08:33:16 - 00:08:57:01
Naomi Boutz
We're going to continue on with the State Representative District five seat A race, and we have Ron Mendive, who is candidate and incumbent. Welcome, Ron.

Ron Mendive
Thank you. Good to be here. Thanks for having me.

Naomi Boutz
Yeah, absolutely. Can you give us an introduction? And you have one minute?

Ron Mendive
Well, I grew up in, Kellogg. My dad moved there in 19.

00:08:57:06 - 00:09:14:08
Ron Mendive
We moved there as a family in 1955 when he graduated from from college. University of Nevada as a mining engineer. He and his twin brother actually came to Farragut for basic training for the Navy. So then he went to school on the GI Bill. And then. So we moved to Kellogg. So I grew up in Kellogg. I graduated from Kellogg High Schools.

00:09:14:10 - 00:09:41:15
Ron Mendive
I like Idaho. It's been good to me. I, I married 54 years last week. We have six, grandchildren and three children, and, I have my work history. I've mined. I grown up in Kellogg. I worked in the mines, I logged, I've built houses, been home construction. Been a principal in a, corporation that developed, pellet stove for the first stuff, igniting power stoves.

00:09:41:17 - 00:10:03:00
Ron Mendive
1988, we came to market. Still on the market. It's been pretty successful. Sadly, the, royalties run out, but. And the patents have expired. But it was a good run. So, anyway, I'm happy to be. I'm here, doing this. I think it's important. I think it's good for the people to see the they're they're actually especially they're incumbent at this point. So, Let's go.

00:10:03:00 - 00:10:25:08
Naomi Boutz
Thank you. Ron. As incumbent, what would you see as the top priorities for district five? And how will you address them through your legislative action?

Ron Mendive
Well, 11 years ago I went to a, Friedman Foundation at that time. Now they call themselves their choice and choice. And I was introduced to an idea for education savings accounts.

00:10:25:10 - 00:10:45:00
Ron Mendive
I've been working toward that end for 11 years. We're getting closer. Every year, more and more states are doing this. There's data now, before we had to kind of guess on some things, but now there's data that shows how many people take advantage of this. The numbers are good as far as the success that people are having with different types of education, and that's one of the biggest things.

00:10:45:00 - 00:11:13:17
Ron Mendive
Last year, I got a bill through that allowed parents to teach their children to drive driver's education. That was not an option prior to that. So there there are a number of things are that the legislature is a work in progress, and you really don't know exactly what's going to happen until you get down there each session. I've been fortunate to chair the, resources and Conservation Committee, and with my background logging, mining, various things, I was actually quite active in the water adjudication that happened up in North Idaho.

00:11:13:17 - 00:11:32:18
Ron Mendive
And, and as you probably are well aware, there are issues in southern Idaho with the water. Still, we have, challenges. The, I'm afraid at the end of the day, what actually happened is the water has been over appropriated for the dry years. And so there will be some legislative challenges this year, I'm afraid.

00:11:32:18 - 00:11:56:05
Ron Mendive
I meet with somebody tomorrow about, what's been going on as far as, their, negotiations. There's two groups, the surface water and the groundwater, and it's that they're just all kinds of challenges in the legislature, and that's what we do. I my primary reason for being there is, I have, children and grandchildren, and I my goal and hope is to try to keep America free and safe for them.

00:11:56:05 - 00:12:19:02
Ron Mendive
So, as I, began this journey, I, my wife introduced me to a fellow that described the difference between a statesman and a politician. And I've stuck with that. A statesman has his eyes on the next generation and a politician. As I said in the next election, my goal and all this has always been to be a statesman. Thank you.

Naomi Boutz
Thank you. Legislators often receive input from advocacy groups and organizations in addition to your constituents. How will you balance these perspectives when supporting or opposing legislation, and what steps will you take to ensure transparency to your constituents?

Ron Mendive
Everything we do is transparent down there. All the committees are filmed. We do every session. We come up here and have to open town halls.

00:12:48:18 - 00:13:08:03
Ron Mendive
People are welcome to come. And that's the best way, actually, to communicate with us. You can see as face to face that we're all really good about showing up and and defending what we do and don't do. And so, we're quite available. That's one of the beauties of our system, is that the legislators, all your representatives are elected, and we're subject to you.

00:13:08:03 - 00:13:24:11
Ron Mendive
There's if we work for you. So you come to us, tell us what you think and people do, which is what they're supposed to be. So when it's actually going on down there, it's so busy, we typically, vote on up to 500 bills in a year. And it's it's kind of like, why don't you get started?

00:13:24:11 - 00:13:46:17
Ron Mendive
You just can't look up. You just you just you there's so much reading, so much to do. And, people are discovering email more and more. And I guess at this point we're almost inundated. We have no staff. So it's pretty much us as the chairman of resources. I do have a secretary while I'm down there, but for the most part, there's no staff.

00:13:46:17 - 00:14:07:03
Ron Mendive
It's it's just us. And so especially now it's we get I get maybe a hundred or so emails a day and and you try to keep up, but if you miss them for 4 or 5 days, you're toast. So anyway, that's it's, that's a challenge, but, I'm happy to do it. I think, I fit my district pretty well.

00:14:07:05 - 00:14:28:19
Ron Mendive
I know I wouldn't fit some of the other districts down south, but I'm quite conservative. And I believe in freedom and, personal responsibility, and I've. I vote conservative for those reasons. And that's the beauty of being an incumbent, because people I do have a record. And so people can look see what I've done, whether they like it or don't, if they don't like it, that's our system.

00:14:28:19 - 00:14:51:20
Ron Mendive
They can term limit me and send me out fishing. So anyway, thank you.

Naomi Boutz
Thank you. If proposition one passes, will you support it or will you vote to repeal it?

Ron Mendive
I'm hopeful that it won't pass. I think we've had initiatives before and like the Luna laws when I came through and people, the, people in Idaho seemed pretty savvy about these things.

00:14:51:20 - 00:15:09:22
Ron Mendive
And there was a lot of deception and getting this on the ballot in the first place. It would be terrible. There have been ever since, there have been elections. There have been people trying to figure out ways to rig the elections. That's a big one. I think it would, go a long ways towards, taking away, people's rights and freedoms.

00:15:09:22 - 00:15:29:03
Ron Mendive
It's there are two parts to that, and, they're both, they both have their problems. We fought years ago for, close primary and in Idaho, each party should have the ability to choose the candidates that they want to run for, whatever office. And then, then have the general election. We're primarily a two party system.

00:15:29:03 - 00:15:49:23
Ron Mendive
There's arguments for and against that. But, each, party should be able to choose their candidate they want to run. And so if you open it up, then you create problems there. I actually had dinner one night with a Democrat and she said, I told her, I said a lot of the Democrats voted Republican primary because the Democrats don't run two people generally for each position.

00:15:49:23 - 00:16:07:07
Ron Mendive
They they just run one so they don't have to vote their own primary because there's no choice there. So they vote in the Republican primary and picked the candidate that would be most favorable. And she looked at me right in the eye, unapologetically and said, all nuts. All my friends vote in the Republican primary, which I found very interesting.

00:16:07:07 - 00:16:24:22
Ron Mendive
So, we thought about that, and then the ranked choice saying, well, you vote for more than just one person that's, that there's was a case in Maine where, a person that got 6% of the vote on the first round ended up winning the election, because most people are going to vote in an election. You vote for the person you want.

00:16:24:22 - 00:16:42:09
Ron Mendive
That's how I've done it. That a lot of elderly people, that that's what they would do. And you're telling me I have to vote for 4 or 5 different ones, rank them. You might end up voting for somebody you don't want. They're not going to do that. So if they don't do that, then their vote would be exhausted and they'd lose their their right to vote.

00:16:42:09 - 00:17:00:20
Ron Mendive
So it's a it's a bad idea. Other states are trying to get rid of it and we need to do the same. And I think the voters will do that. I don't expect it to pass.

Naomi Boutz
Okay. Thank you. We're at your closing statement. So you have one minute to give your closing remarks.

Ron Mendive
Okay. I've been, I'm doing this is my 12 year now.

00:17:00:20 - 00:17:31:05
Ron Mendive
I, I, I'm amazed how quickly this has gone at, I, I've equipped people that my wife's probably better off with me being in the legislature than actually at home yelling at the television set, because that did occur. So. So I guess, the I guess I'd probably be happy to go back. I would like to point out to people, if you want to know more about me, if you look at the Idaho State Republican platform and look at the preamble, the preamble as a bunch of we believes there.

00:17:31:06 - 00:17:47:02
Ron Mendive
If you read those, we believe, I believe in every one of those. That tells you exactly what I think. When I first ran for precinct committeeman, I photocopied that and I passed that around to the precincts. And this is why I'm a Republican and this is why I'm running, because these are the things that actually these are ideals that I hold on to.

00:17:47:04 - 00:18:05:22
Ron Mendive
And it pretty much sums it up. And there again, as with the voting record, people can decide, you know, if they want to send me back or not. That's how this works. So anyway, thank you very much.

Naomi Boutz
Thank you.

00:18:25:09 - 00:18:58:07
Naomi Boutz
Next we have State Representative District five seat A candidates, and we're going to start with Bob Nonini. Bob, can you spend a minute giving an introduction?

Bob Nonini
Sure. Thanks so much, Naomi. And in the chambers for sponsoring this again, as Naomi said, my name is Bob Nonini, born and raised in Wallace, Idaho, lived in Coeur d'Alene for 42 years, has served 14 years previously in the Idaho Legislature, eight years in the House and six of those eight years in the House.

00:18:58:07 - 00:19:23:04
Bob Nonini
I was the chairman of the Education committee. I served six years in the Idaho Senate. In 2018, I decided to run for lieutenant governor. When Brad Little, left the lieutenant governor's office, I was unsuccessful, but of course I had to give up my Senate seat, decided to run again because I'm frustrated with what's going on. Primarily with, the Kootenai County Republican Central Committee.

00:19:23:06 - 00:19:43:08
Bob Nonini
And I accomplished a lot of things. You'll probably hear a little bit more about them as the interview continues. But, just looking forward to being on the ballot and trying to help the people in my district, my constituents.

Naomi Boutz
Thank you. First question is, what are the top priorities for district five and how will you address them through legislative action?

00:19:43:10 - 00:20:13:02
Bob Nonini
I believe that probably. Well, not probably the number one issue, not just for district five, but for the state of Idaho. So education, education is the largest part of the budget. And in my previous 14 years I served on education committees. As I mentioned in the opening, I was, chairman for six years in the House Education Committee, but I also sponsored and brought forward the Stem Action Center, and I sponsored and brought forward the Stem diploma for high school seniors.

00:20:13:07 - 00:20:42:01
Bob Nonini
I created the bipartisan Stem caucus. They were all very successful. And if you read the Coeur d'Alene Press, which I hope we all do, I subscribe to it online. There have been a lot of articles recently about Stem education, and nobody in the legislature from Kootenai County, particularly district five, is doing anything to address Stem. If you watch the local news out of the Spokane stations, they talk about Stem all the time.

00:20:42:06 - 00:21:06:15
Bob Nonini
What happened to it? No one picked it up. I'm frustrated about that. I want to get back and encourage that stem, because Stem goes with the second issue economic development, whether it's logging, mining, agriculture or high tech, those things are what Idaho needs in Stem provides all of that. And then the third issue I want to address our natural resources, our water, our aquifer.

00:21:06:15 - 00:21:29:14
Bob Nonini
I created the Aquifer Protection district. We see articles in the paper regarding, the aquifer and how important it is. It's a sole source, drinking water to 500,000 people in northern Idaho and eastern Washington. Our lumber, our agriculture and our water are very important issues. So I believe those are the three top issues that we're addressing. And I would like to address.

00:21:29:15 - 00:21:57:23
Naomi Boutz
Okay. Thank you. Legislators often receive input from advocacy advocacy groups and organizations in addition to your constituents. How will you balance these perspectives when supporting or opposing legislation, and what steps will you take to ensure transparency to your constituents?

Bob Nonini
The advocacy groups. Are chambers, and we always did a chamber call when I was in the legislature.

00:21:57:23 - 00:22:19:04
Bob Nonini
I don't know if they continue to do that. And I proudly attended just about every one of those and listened to the chambers and what they wanted to see done locally. We hear from lobbyists all the time, but the problem with lobbyists is they're paid by an employer, whoever they represent. So you have to kind of discount a little bit about a lobbyist.

00:22:19:06 - 00:22:50:23
Bob Nonini
What lobbyists say, constituents are really the most important. And typically the chamber members, are going to be constituents or at least surrounding the Kootenai County area. So it's the constituents I want to help and address. And I believe that my opponent, the incumbent opponent in my district five seat race, only follows one group, and that's the Kootenai County Republican Central Committee.

00:22:51:01 - 00:23:13:12
Bob Nonini
And I'll probably get a few people that watch this, maybe fired up or upset with what I'm going to say. But Regan, the chairman of the Central Committee, has ruined things around here, in my opinion, and that's why I'm running as an independent. I'm not running as a Republican. I've been a life long Republican, but I had to register as an independent to run this way.

00:23:13:14 - 00:23:37:19
Bob Nonini
But if you look at my voting record for 14 years, I was the most conservative member of the legislature and very proud of that. But as I mentioned earlier, I accomplished a lot of really good things down there. And I don't want to reiterate what I've already said, but, I would just say Stem the Stem diploma. The Stem caucus, which is bipartisan, were great things in the economic development, things that I was able to do.

00:23:38:00 - 00:24:08:14
Bob Nonini
I brought Cabala's here through what's called star financing. I was a lead legislator that brought Cabala's here. They wanted to be in Idaho, and we did it through sales tax anticipation revenue, which would be probably further questions.

Naomi Boutz
Okay. Thank you. If proposition one passes, will you support it or will you vote to repeal it?

Bob Nonini
Oh, that's a good question because before I got elected, the citizens through a citizen's initiative have done term limits and passed term limits.

00:24:08:20 - 00:24:34:18
Bob Nonini
And in 2002, I believe I was elected in 2000. And for the first time in 2002, the legislature repealed it. And I thought that was terrible for the citizens initiative to pass and then have the legislature repeal it. Idaho's got a unique way of passing legislation or passing laws. If the legislature won't do it. And that's you citizens initiatives.

00:24:34:19 - 00:24:53:13
Bob Nonini
And if the citizens initiative passes, I will support it as it passes. But I will not fight to repeal it.

Naomi Boutz
Okay. Thank you. Now you have one minute to give your closing statement.

Bob Nonini
Well, that time went fast. I can go on and on and on. So if I have extra time, maybe I can add it to that one minute.

00:24:53:15 - 00:25:17:00
Bob Nonini
Would that be okay? Oh, I'm just teasing with everybody and stuff. I have a sense of humor, and maybe we need a sense of humor right now, because what's going on with local politics is become very nasty. And that bugs me. There is no bipartisan support. Idaho has a supermajority in the legislature, meaning they can override a governor's veto.

00:25:17:02 - 00:25:34:17
Bob Nonini
They can get anything done they want to get done. But we have to work across party aisles for what's good for our district. And that's what I want to go back there and do. As my proven record shows it. I stand on that record. You can look at my record, it's all online with the with the state of Idaho.

00:25:34:19 - 00:26:02:02
Bob Nonini
I just I just want an opportunity to go down there because of my frustration. So I would hope that those who are watching tonight would consider looking at the ballot. Don't just vote our disc, don't vote D but look at the people there, listen to the people and vote for Bob. No need.

00:26:02:03 - 00:26:27:10
Naomi Boutz
Thank you. On behalf of the Joint Public Policy committees representing the Coeur d'Alene regional, Hayden and Post Falls and Rathdrum chambers of Commerce in partnership with the Hagadone Media Group and Coeur d'Alene Post Falls Press. Lindsay and I thank all candidates for participating. I would also like to thank the production team members at the Quicksilver Studios, the Hagadone Media Group, and the Coeur d'Alene Press. And of course, thank you to those who have taken the time to learn more about each of the candidates featured in this year's Meet the Candidates series.

00:26:27:12 - 00:26:50:09
Naomi Boutz
This series has made it possible to hear from 23 Kootenai County local race candidates. We sincerely thank candidates who took the time to discuss what is important to voters in Kootenai County. We hope this townhall forum has helped inform those still uncertain about whom they will cast a final ballot for in the coming weeks. Please remember to vote.

00:26:50:11 - 00:27:15:17
Naomi Boutz
It's one of the most significant rights and responsibilities as Americans. The fundamental message this year is cast informed votes. Thank you.