Eskridge, Wynhausen vie for Position B; candidates differ on property tax relief
A retired accountant is challenging a three-term state representative for his House seat, saying important issues that affect Idahoans – such as the minimum wage and quality health care – aren’t being properly addressed.
Democrat Bob Wynhausen, of Sandpoint, said his trademark issues include increasing the minimum wage, getting rid of the sales tax on groceries, squelching the influence that big business has on government and making quality health care more affordable.
That’s a stark contrast from his opponent, Republican Rep. George Eskridge, of Dover. Eskridge names property taxes, road improvements, increasing the income tax credit for groceries and energy policy as some of his biggest issues.
District 1 includes Bonner and Boundary counties; the two are vying for Position B.
A former Bonneville Power Administration employee, Eskridge is co-chairman of the Legislature’s interim energy committee, charged with helping update the state’s energy policy.
“It’s not an eye-catcher, but energy drives Idaho’s economy just like water,” Eskridge said. He said it’s important for the state to develop a diverse portfolio of energy resources, not to depend on just one.
Both Wynhausen and Eskridge say property taxes will be their first priority in office.
Wynhausen criticizes the property tax shift to a higher sales tax, a move the Republican-led Legislature passed this summer.
The shift does not do enough to help homeowners, he said.
“You’re paying for the benefit that’s going to big business and nonresidents that own second homes here,” he said.
Wynhausen said he supports the Democrats’ property tax plan, which would have lowered property taxes for only homeowners while keeping the sales tax at 5 percent.
He would like to see more targeted property tax relief and a thorough examination of the entire tax system. There are too many tax exemptions for businesses that simply don’t need them, he said.
He said he’d like to see something in Idaho similar to California’s Proposition 13, which froze property taxes at 1 percent of the assessed value.
Eskridge voted for the Legislature’s property tax shift and said the change has given meaningful relief to all property owners.
He’s hopeful more property tax relief can be accomplished in the 2007 session. Rising property values and taxes are problems that are spreading to other parts of the state, he said, and legislative leaders are noticing.
“I want to continue what we’ve been trying to do,” Eskridge said.
“We still have to fix the problem with rising values.”
Wynhausen said the Republican-controlled Legislature is broken.
“Our Legislature is so out of balance,” he said. “That’s the voters’ choice, but the result is no debate. They do whatever they please.”
He criticizes Eskridge for taking the majority of his campaign money from “big business.”
Eskridge has raised more than $16,000 for his campaign and Wynhausen nearly $10,000. Most of Eskridge’s cash comes from political action committees, while all of Wynhausen’s is from individuals, except for $250 from the House Democratic Caucus and a $100 donation from Lewiston Democratic Rep. John Rusche’s re-election campaign, according to campaign expenditure reports.
“As far as I’m concerned, it’s time to take public policy out of the hands of big business, or at least reduce their interest, and return it to the people,” Wynhausen said.
Eskridge serves on the legislative budget-writing committee, the Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee, and said that position has helped secure valuable funding for road projects in his district. Needed improvements to U.S. Highway 95 are finally getting funding, he said, but there’s still more to do. He points to the changes the Idaho Transportation Department made to the timeline of road projects that need attention.
The department divided its “preliminary development projects” into three phases: those to be completed in six to 10 years, those that will begin in 11 to 15 years and those that will likely wait at least 16 years for construction to begin. Many long-overdue road projects, such as a new Dover bridge and the Sandpoint byway, were pushed into the second or third phase when they need to be done right away, Eskridge said.
He spoke against the changes at a state Transportation Board meeting this summer and said he’ll continue to fight for the road projects he said his district desperately needs.
The election is Nov. 7.