Your vote counts; please use it wisely

It’s August and summer and hard to come inside to write a letter about the Nov. 3 election. But this year, this election, may be a turning point. We have a real chance to change our fractured politics.   

What’s fractured? If you haven’t noticed, Idaho is essentially a one-party state (no Democrat has held statewide office for over 30 years, and Republicans have had a supermajority in the Legislature since 2010). Maybe you are Republican and think this is a good thing. But without competition there is no accountability. Decisions are made behind closed doors instead of at the voting booth. It shows up when our government works against what the majority of Idahoans support: Medicaid expansion, funding for public schools, local control over libraries, reproductive rights.

We need to elect good candidates outside the Republican Party. This year we have them in a slate of independents. Please take time to acquaint yourself with them now. Steve Johnson for state Senate; Kathryn Larson for state representative; Fred Arn for Bonner County commissioner; Todd Achilles for U.S. Senate; and John Stegner for Idaho governor. More info can be found at bit.ly/Nov2026Ballot

Your vote counts, use it wisely.

JEAN GERTH ANDERSON

Sagle