Politics

A few thoughts on a few, somewhat random, topics...

Zollinger Vs. Smith. One interesting, developing East Idaho ideological legislative race is that of Idaho Falls City Council member/forensic accountant David Smith versus local attorney Bryan Zollinger. 

They are both seeking to take the seat formerly held by Rep. Linden Bateman (R-Idaho Falls).  The legislative district is called the “donut-hole” district and includes most of the City of Idaho Falls.  A story in the Idaho Falls Post Register sets up the outline of the race.

Zollinger, who works with controversial Region 7 GOP chair Bryan Smith in a debt collection practice, is positioning himself as a staunch conservative with an interesting twist.  He served on the District 91 school board and talks up education as a primary theme.  He backs a lawsuit to challenge federal ownership of federal lands in Idaho and argues the Idaho tax burden is excessive.

Smith touts a non-ideological, fact-based approach to issues.  Like Zollinger, he believes the Idaho tax burden is too high, but opposes efforts to challenge federal ownership of Idaho lands and backs some effort to deal with the Medicaid gap population in Idaho.

Competitive Presidential Race in Idaho? Might Idaho see the first competitive general election contest in decades for U.S. president? 

If Republicans nominate Donald Trump, perhaps. 

Polls out of two conservative states, Utah and Mississippi, show Trump only leading Clinton by a couple percentage points in a head-to-head match-up.  Trump’s high negatives seem to be the reasons for his struggle in normally strong GOP states. 

Watch for the next Idaho numbers to provide more insight as to how the race is shaping up.  I predict a relatively tight contest.

The last time Idaho was competitive in a presidential election was 1964 when Democrat President Lyndon Johnson beat Republican Sen. Barry Goldwater 51% to 49% statewide.

Keep an Eye on Robyn Brody for the Idaho Supreme Court. We are about a month out from the May 17 vote concerning the vacancy on Idaho’s supreme court left by the retirement of Justice Jim Jones. 

Four candidates are running for the position: Sen. Curt McKenzie (R-Nampa), Deputy Attorney General Clive Strong, Justice Sergio Guttierez of the Idaho Court of Appeals and Rupert attorney Robyn Brody.

Surprisingly, the most aggressive campaign seems to be being run by Brody, at least on my side of the state.  I’m seeing a significant social media effort, extensive emails and considerable campaign appearances. 

Having met with her, I can say she is taking the race seriously.  Don’t be surprised if she is one of the two who makes the cut for the November ballot.

Can People Record Others in Idaho? I wrote this last week when the story was breaking of Bonneville County Republican Chair Doyle Beck’s video taping of a conversation with State GOP Chair Steve Yates.

The video is pretty creepy.  Clearly Beck tried to somewhat ham-handedly set Yates up, asking questions about the silly “secret society” business.  Yates seem to enjoy feeding Beck’s fears but did make some comments about other individuals and officials that he probably regrets.  This clearly was a private conversation that wasn’t intended for a broader audience.

But, is such a recording illegal?

Not in Idaho.  Idaho is a “one-party” state where one person to a conversation can record without the permission of the other party.  Thus, Beck can record both sides of a conversation without Yates’ permission.

Bottom line in Idaho:  Don’t say anything to anyone unless you are willing to have your exact words repeated back to you in the future.

Republican Barbecue Speaker Pushing to Legalize Polygamy. Last summer, Region 7 Republicans invited Connor Boyack, a libertarian activist from Utah to speak at their annual barbecue in Idaho Falls.

Boyack is known for his hostility to the first GOP president, Abraham Lincoln, having written a book on the topic.

Now, he is pushing to remove Utah’s constitutional provision banning the practice of polygamy. Utah’s Constitution currently states that “polygamous or plural marriages are forever prohibited.”

Boyack in a column in The Salt Lake Tribune recently called for the repeal of this provision and the decriminalization of polygamist activity.  He argues that the provision is unfair when only applied to a few states and that polygamy doesn’t hurt others.

Maybe he’ll be invited back this year to make the same point in Idaho?

Steve Taggart is an Idaho Falls attorney specializing in bankruptcy (www.MaynesTaggart.com).  He has an extensive background in politics and public policy.  He can be reached at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .