When Rep. Dennis Lake, R-Blackfoot, suffered a stroke during a House debate last Thursday, he was debating against a bill sponsored by his seatmate, Rep. Jim Clark, R-Hayden Lake, to shore up Idaho’s judges’ retirement system by creating a stabilization fund. Today, with Lake back in the House, Clark gave the closing debate that he’d started last Thursday, and the House voted – and the bill failed by one vote, 34-33. “That’s the first one he’s beat me on on the floor,” Clark said of his seatmate, recalling besting Lake similarly on a bill the two differed on back in 1999. “So we’re even.” Clark said he’s worked on the measure for two years, but he was philosophical about the loss. “Big issues like that take time,” he said. “So we’ll come back next year.”

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