My Election Decision Trees

I love a good local election that doesn’t make candidates disclose a party affiliation. So often voters use that (R) or (D) next to a name to fill in the circle – or not.  Sure, voters still look for indications of affiliations and endorsements, but I like thinking that the possibility still exists for “person over party.”

When I consider a candidate, the first questions I ask myself are “Do I know them personally?  Have I ever hung out with them, and how did that go?” For instance, in the Pocatello Mayoral race, the only candidate on that list with whom I have had personal exchanges is our current Mayor Blad.  Truthfully, ever since the guy threw on a cow suit with me to take a picture in 2013 while I was cheering at a race, he secured my vote. I was in the middle of getting over being mad at him, and that gesture certainly helped. A few years later at another fun run, he did it again! We spent an hour high-fiving kids together and encouraging them to “keep moooving.”  I don’t agree with everything he has done as Mayor, but I appreciate his willingness to engage with citizens and I share his lifelong love of Pocatello. It’s a short decision tree for me when I can vote for Brian Blad.

For my city council races, I also know Linda Leeuwrik. We met at a barbeque at a mutual friend’s house over 20 years ago. I had almost forgotten about the evening until our paths crossed at a library event a decade later. Linda remembered me, and in doing so, her graciousness reminded me that I could stand to be better about remembering people.  I enjoyed our quiet library chat about our presentations, and I left that night thinking, “That is one smart, resilient and humble woman.” It’s another short decision tree for Linda Leeuwrik.

If I don’t know a  candidate all that well, my next series of questions are, “who is the Pocatello Firefighter’s Union voting for and why? And, who are some of my closest friends voting for and why?” I like putting stock in the local firefighters because, let’s face it. If I’m willing to vote for someone because they’ll suit up and cow with me or because I liked chatting with them at a barbeque, it’s prudent to consult groups and individuals who rely on candidates’ credibility and performance in case my bovine-and-barbeque litmus test if off base. With the local firefighter’s union supporting Rick Cheatum and Josh Mansfield, along with Leeuwrik and Blad, it’s easy for me to get behind them, too.

I was disappointed that Councilwoman Heidi Adamson didn’t run again because I have appreciated seeing her at a wide assortment of community events. She has been a good ambassador for our city.

My zone does not have a school board candidate up for election this year, but since I’m invested in who our Trustees will be, I can’t resist chiming in.

Only one candidate filed for Zone 1 in Chubbuck north to the Bingham County line, so Angie Oliver will have that seat. Mrs. Oliver’s uncle, Clayton Armstrong, is running against Heather Clark in Zone 2 which covers Pocatello’s west bench and the southern Mink and Johnny Creek areas. And, we’ve got incumbent Dave Matteson and Deanna Judy running in Zone 5 which is east of the hospital toward the Highland area.

Regarding the Mattson/Judy contest, I do not know Mrs. Judy, but I know that she is running in alignment with Mrs. Oliver and Mr. Armstrong. I’ve gotten to know Mr. Mattson a bit from his time serving on the school board and because we both hit the same taco place on Wednesday nights.

Mr. Mattson has served as the school board chair during this pandemic, and he’s opted to run again.  If I were in his shoes, I’d run for the hills with my phone on silent, a vat of bubble bath and a case of Reese’s Peanut Butter cups. In a piece I wrote last fall titled, “The Bedrock of Education”, I noted the six categories of people that I think a local school board should listen to: parents and students; the Superintendent and his/her staff; school principals; school teachers (individually and a collective union if one is active in the area); support staff including bus drivers, cafeteria workers, the IT Department, Human Resources, and Accounting; and community agencies like the City of Pocatello, the Pocatello Police Department and Southeastern Idaho Public Health.

I sincerely feel that our volunteer school board has worked to listen to each of these groups, and each Trustee has worked to process and appropriately prioritize conflicting opinions that have arisen.  They are constantly between a rock and a hard place and unable to please everyone, and if Dave Mattson with his institutional knowledge as the Board Chair is willing to run again, I would vote for him in heartbeat.

Regarding the Clarke/Armstrong race, I don’t know either candidate all that well so I have paid attention to what they put into the public sphere. Mr. Armstrong’s own words in his ISJ editorials and Q & A responses make me doubt that he’s really interested in listening to perspectives other than his own. Heather Clarke, on the other hand, had me sold with two sentences in her ISJ Q & A.  “As a community, we must recognize this opportunity to teach our children, through example, healthy conflict resolution strategies, constructive communication and provide community support. We have an opportunity to creatively work together and channel our passions in a constructive fashion.”

She’s right. We have that opportunity every day, and I wish more candidates who run for office would seize it.

I early voted this week at the Elections Office.