Sears Wants To Make Sure Crow Has No Second Term Two State Senate Candidates Running On Similar Platforms

Gordon Crow hopes history doesn’t repeat itself.

The Republican state senator won his first legislative race in 1994 after failing to win a City Council post. Now he’s facing Sam Sears, a Democrat in his first legislative race after losing a bid for City Council.

Sears says he doesn’t have major complaints with Crow’s performance. But he would like to see a bit more balance in the Republican-heavy Legislature.

He also has some causes he’d like to champion, such as protecting air and water quality.

On issues that are dominating legislative races, the two men are similar in their goals and sometimes in their approaches.

Education: Crow has been working with state school superintendents, drafting a bill that would provide at least 35 percent state funding for school construction.

The tactic fits well with Sears’ statement that “we have to have partnership between the state and local school districts in getting our school buildings up to par.”

But Sears also mentions impact fees as a way to improve school funding.

“It’s only fair that the people who move here drop a little money” for schools and other public services, he said.

Sears says he would like North Idaho College to be funded completely by the state. Kootenai County property taxes now contribute to the school’s support.

Crow says he’s been researching a variety of ways to improve funding of community colleges.

Property taxes: Sears says he would like to include land as well as houses in the homeowner’s property tax exemption.

“I think that would lower property taxes without the disruption of the One Percent Initiative,” he said.

Crow also opposes the initiative, which will be on the Nov. 5 ballot. It would transfer school operating expenses from property taxes to the state’s general fund.

Mention tax exemptions, and Crow starts talking about sales taxes as well as the popular homeowners’ exemption. He said the state should evaluate all tax exemptions to see which are good and which aren’t. He implied that some sales tax exemptions could be dropped as a way of increasing state revenue.

Environment: Crow lists as a major accomplishment the “brown field” legislation that he sponsored, and which became law with the backing of businesses and environmentalists. The law makes it easier for polluted industrial property to be cleaned up, and put to use once again.

Crow said the state would do a better job of managing national forests than the federal government. He voted in favor of an experiment allowing joint state and federal management.

Environmentalists disagree with him on that one. So does Sears, who used to work for the U.S. Forest Service. He calls the idea “ludicrous.”

“There’s more to running a national forest than cutting timber, which is what the state does on its land. There’s water quality, wildlife, recreation, fighting fires.”

Crow talks confidently of what he’ll do in his second term in the Senate. Sears isn’t sure Crow will have that second chance.

“Everybody’s vulnerable in political office,” he said.

The job pays $12,360 a year.

, DataTimes