Idaho gubernatorial candidates
Jerry Brady
Party: Democrat
Age: 70
Personal: Married, five children, six grandchildren
Education: Bachelor’s degree in communications and theology, University of Notre Dame. Law degree, University of California at Berkeley.
Professional: President of the Post Company, a newspaper company in Idaho Falls; former newspaper publisher and TV station general manager in Idaho Falls; attorney in Washington, D.C.; congressional staffer; Peace Corps official; field representative for Sen. Frank Church; co-founder of Accion, now largest organization in the world making business start-up loans to poor people in the Third World. Served in U.S. Army and reserves.
Political: Ran for governor in 2002 against Gov. Dirk Kempthorne. Worked on Church’s campaign for president in 1976.
Key issues: Guarding against the sale of Idaho’s public lands, air and water quality and preventing the state’s labor from being sold “cheaply”; improving education, health care and drug treatment to cut future expenses; bringing balance and integrity to state government.
First priority in office: To ensure that “Idaho is not for sale”
Quote: “All of our appointments, all of our contracts, all of our regulatory decisions need to be made fairly and without regard to party or contribution.”
Lee Chaney Sr.
Party: Democrat
Age: 53
Personal: Married 30 years, seven children, four grandchildren
Education: High school graduate, vocational certifications
Professional: Disabled. Owner of recycling business, former welder, paint and auto body specialist, truck driver. Six years in the Marine Corps, 1972-77.
Political: Ran for Franklin County commissioner
Key issues: Doesn’t think people over age 50 should lose homes for unpaid taxes; supports making Idaho more “truck driver friendly” by providing overnight stopping areas and limiting official harassment; wants to free parents and teachers to discipline children to reduce future crime rates
First priority in office: Fire all the state’s social service workers
Quote: “I believe in the little man, and I believe they’ve got rights and need ‘em upheld and protected. And I think our politicians have forgotten that.”
Dan Adamson
Party: Republican
Age: 54
Personal: Married 29 years, three children, one grandchild
Education: Bachelor’s degree in music, University of Utah; law degree, Brigham Young University
Professional: Co-owns Northwest Bec-Corp. with wife, Ruth, which operates nursing homes, assisted living and other health care services in southern Idaho and California. Practiced law in Twin Falls/Jerome area for 17 years.
Political: Elected twice as Jerome County prosecutor. Ran for Congress in 1984 against Congressman George Hansen, and again for Hansen’s seat in 1986. Former Jerome County GOP chairman and precinct committeeman; campaign manager for Jim Jones when he ran for Congress and when Jones was elected attorney general.
Key issues: Supports shifting all school funding off property tax, including funding for buildings, and replacing it by increasing sales tax and extending it to services, exempting groceries and pharmaceuticals from sales tax, and taxing resource extraction. Backs free-enterprise zones to attract businesses with five to six years of tax breaks. Favors creating a state Department of Tourism as “tourism is actually a bigger business in this state today than Idaho agriculture, and yet we don’t have a Department of Tourism.”
First priority in office: Ask for resignation of entire state Board of Education, to replace them with nonpartisan innovators who care about improving schools and funding
Quote: “We need to cut through that juggernaut that’s holding our state hostage, and move in the direction of getting the Idaho Legislature to operate independently without the influence of Idaho big business.”
Walter Bayes
Party: Republican
Age: 68
Personal: Married, 16 children, 34 grandchildren
Education: High school graduate
Professional: Retired. Former logger, sawmill worker, trucker, fireman, church pastor
Political: Ran for governor in 2002; ran for state Senate in 2004
Key issues: Stopping all abortions; converting public school system to a voucher system in which parents would receive a check to spend how they choose; moving federal lands into state ownership to generate money for tax reduction
First priority in office: To stop abortions
Quote: “Life and personhood starts at conception. Your choice should be made before sex and a third party is involved.”
Jack Alan Johnson
Party: Republican
Age: 51
Personal: Divorced, three children, seven grandchildren
Education: High school graduate, Wyoming Law Enforcement Academy
Professional: Carpenter, self-employed. Former city police officer in Wyoming. Worked in oil fields for 11 years.
Political: Ran for mayor, sheriff and county commissioner in Worland, Wyo.
Key issues: Opposes bonding to improve highways; backs counseling services and detox centers to deal with methamphetamine abusers; favors a back-to-basics approach to education and reallocating existing funding
First priority in office: Open the lines of communication between the people and the government
Quote: “We’ve pretty well funded education, I believe – a billion dollars is a lot of money. I just think we need to put the money to good use and figure out how to get our kids taught.”
C.L. “Butch” Otter
Party: Republican
Age: 64
Personal: Divorced, four children, two grandchildren. Engaged.
Education: Bachelor’s degree in political science, College of Idaho
Professional: Worked 30 years for J.R. Simplot Co., retired in 1993. Army National Guard, 1968-73.
Political: Elected to three terms in Congress from Idaho’s 1st District, 2000 through present. Elected to four terms as lieutenant governor, two terms in the Idaho House. Former Canyon County Republican chairman.
Key issues: Favors changes in education system including establishing a statewide, state-funded community college network, shifting school funding off the property tax, and requiring more math and science in high school. Supports giving communities local-option taxing authority for broad-based taxes. Wants water management focused on long-term growth issues.
First priority in office: Getting the budget set is going to be priority No. 1
Quote: “The administration and Legislature aren’t always on the same page. I would seek to build a lot more communication between the Legislature and the administration.”