State Representative, position B
Election Results
| Candidate | Votes | Pct |
|---|---|---|
| Paul Amador (R) | 13,202 | 63.31% |
| Tom Hearn (D) | 7,650 | 36.69% |
* Race percentages are calculated with data from the Secretary of State's Office, which omits write-in votes from its calculations when there are too few to affect the outcome. The Spokane County Auditor's Office may have slightly different percentages than are reflected here because its figures include any write-in votes.
About The Race
Just a dozen years ago, two of the three state lawmakers from Coeur d’Alene were Democrats. Now District 4, like the rest of the Panhandle, is all-GOP in its legislative representation. Local school board member and longtime resident Tom Hearn is hoping to change that this year. He intended to challenge Rep. Kathy Sims, R-Coeur d’Alene, over her votes against public school funding, but Sims lost in the primary to Paul Amador, a relative newcomer to the community who just registered as a Republican this year. Amador counts education, the economy and health care as his top issues. “I think I bring a vision for the future, somebody that’s forward-thinking and looking to improve the community and create a better opportunity for future generations, and I think I have a lot of experience that will be helpful serving in the Legislature,” Amador said. He wasn’t affiliated with any political party before this year, he said, but he noted that’s true of nearly 45 percent of District 4 residents.
Hearn’s campaign co-chairman is former Rep. George Sayler, who represented the district as a Democrat until he retired in 2010. “People know me,” Hearn said. “Whether you like me or not, I’ve been in this community for 35 years, I know the community, my positions are reasonable and moderate, I’ve been in involved in both the public and private sector. I feel fairly confident that if people pay attention, don’t just vote for the party but also look at the candidates, look at their backgrounds and look at the issues, I’ll do well.”
The Candidates
Paul Amador
- Party:
- Republican
- Age:
- 42
- City:
- Coeur d'Alene, Idaho
Education: Graduated from Thomas Downey High School in Modesto, California; Eearned bachelor’s in agricultural economics from California State University, Fresno; earned master’s degree and doctorate in educational leadership from the University of Nevada.
Work experience: Current director of program development at University of Idaho, Coeur d’Alene; Aaffiliate faculty in the College of Letters, Arts, and Social Sciences at U of I; owner of Amador Education Consulting and Development; owner of Trinity Farms (almond farm); former director of academic advising at Ivy Tech Community College in Bloomington, Indiana; former compliance officer, U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Political experience: Elected to Idaho state House in 2016. Serves on Education, Judiciary Rules and Administration, Agricultural Affairs House committees.
Family: Married. Has 1-year-old son.
Tom Hearn
- Party:
- Democratic
- Age:
- 75
- City:
- Coeur d'Alene, Idaho
Education: Graduated from Acalanes High School, Lafayette, Calif., in 1967. Earned bachelor’s degree in psychology and sociology from California State University-Chico and master’s degree in clinical social work, University of Washington.
Political background: Elected to the Coeur d’Alene School Board in 2013. Elected by school trustees as Region 1 chair of the Idaho School Boards Association.
Work experience: Worked as a child protective services social worker for the state of Idaho in Sandpoint and Coeur d’Alene from 1977 to 1986; also started a part-time, private mental health practice. Worked in private practice full time from 1986 to 2013, first as part owner of Interfaith Family Counseling Services and then owner of North Idaho Treatment Associates, a mental health clinic that specialized in the assessment and treatment of physical and sexual abuse victims and perpetrators. Retired in 2013. Also held numerous volunteer positions, including being appointed by three Idaho governors and two attorneys general to boards and task forces dealing with social work, child abuse, sex offenders and more. Founding member and president, Idaho Network for Children. Board of directors, Children’s Village.
Family: Married. Has two grown children and four grandchildren
Complete Coverage
Huckleberries: Kids’ family size grows when the question is ‘cookies?’
When two neighborhood children showed up at the front door of Casa Oliveria in Coeur d’Alene, they wanted to shovel the driveway for money. Their snow shovels were as big as they were. They didn’t get the shoveling job. But the fresh-baked cookies that they received were worth punching the doorbell. However, they wanted more than one cookie apiece.
Hearn: Why CSD needs $32M levy
On his Facebook wall, Coeur d’Alene school Trustee Tom Hearn explains why the district needs a $32M levy: “”With almost 23% of our budget dependent on supplemental levies it would be negligent to not ask for another levy.” And: “Levies are required due to a chronic underfunding of our schools by the legislature.”
Hearn congratulates Amador
Democrat Tom Hearn offers his congratulations to representative-elect Paul Amador via Facebook: “He is a good man and he ran a hard fought and very honorable campaign. He will, in my opinion, be a vast improvement over the incumbent Kathy Sims and I’m sure he will do an excellent job as our new Representative.”
Rising stars
At the Fort Grounds Grill last night, from left, Sid Smith, representative-elect Paul Amador and state Rep. Luke Malek, all of Coeur d’Alene, hobnob re: the results from Election 2016. Amador and Malek will represent Coeur d’Alene in the 2017 Legislature.
Poll: Hucks Nation backs Amador
In the Wednesday poll, a solid majority of Hucks Nation said it supports the candidacy of Republican Paul Amador in the House District 4B race. Amador is running against Democrat Tom Hearn. Today’s Poll: Who will get your vote in the House District 4A race — Republican Luke Malek or Democrat Patrick Mitchell?
Poll: We back Independent McLain
Republican Bob Bingham is lucky that he’s not running for the Kootenai County commissioners’ office in centrist Hucks Nation cyberspace. A plurality of Hucks Nation favors Independent Russ McLain. Today’s Poll: Who will get your vote in the House District 4B race between Republican Paul Amador and Democrat Tom Hearn?
House District 4: Amador v Hearn
Democrat Tom Hearn had intended to challenge Republican incumbent Kathy Sims in the race for House District 4 representative. But newly minted Republican Paul Amador upset Sims in the GOP primary and now will face Hearn in the general election. Betsy Russell/SR reports on this race.
Amador, Hearn battle for Idaho legislative seat
Just a dozen years ago, two of the three state lawmakers from Coeur d’Alene were Democrats. Now District 4, like the rest of the North Idaho Panhandle, is all-GOP in its legislative representation – but local school board member and longtime resident Tom Hearn is hoping to change that this year.
Huckleberries: Reader questions CdA’s Sherman namesakes
Dave Chamberlain of Coeur d’Alene wonders why Lake City names things after General William Tecumseh Sherman, the brutal Civil War general who conducted Sherman’s “march to the sea” and herded American Indian tribes onto reservations.
District 4 races: Malek-Macomber, Sims-Amador, and more…
Here’s my full story from today’s Spokesman-Review on contested primary races in legislative District 4 in Coeur d’Alene, the third in a series: CdA legislator faces challenger who hopes to defund Idaho budget of federal money By Betsy Z. Russell As he seeks a third…
Coeur d’Alene legislator faces challenger who hopes to defund Idaho budget of federal money
As he seeks a third term in the Legislature, Rep. Luke Malek, R-Coeur d’Alene, faces a challenge from a local real estate attorney who’s gone on the attack – criticizing Malek as too young and inexperienced to represent Coeur d’Alene in the Legislature, saying, “He hasn’t built anything in his life to speak of, including a family, a business, or anything else.”