Endorsement: Democratic legislator faces Republican challenge in Boise district | Opinion
Idaho Rep. Steve Berch , a Democrat representing District 15 in west Boise, has proven to be an excellent representative for his constituents.
He is well-spoken and knowledgeable on just about every issue facing Idaho and can articulate his positions.
Berch is facing a challenge from Republican Annette Tipton, who was unable to make her appointment to meet with the editorial board and has not responded to an invitation to reschedule.
We know little about Tipton as a result, and her campaign website holds little information for us to go on, other than that she supports fiscal responsibility and transparency and she "backs the blue."
She supports education, but we have no idea whether that means increasing funding for public education or diverting tax dollars to private and religious schools. One of her priorities is "transportation and infrastructure," but whether that includes public transit or local option taxes, we don't know.
Berch, meanwhile, first elected in 2018, has a proven track record and a deep understanding of the issues.
The Idaho Statesman endorses Steve Berch for reelection to his seat as state representative in Legislative District 15.
Berch estimates he has knocked on 40,000 doors in his time campaigning and bases his priorities on what he's hearing from his constituents: cost of living, managing growth, public education funding and protecting public lands.
One of his big issues is taking a look at the estimated $5.2 billion in sales tax exemptions that Idaho has on the books to see if they all still make sense.
He pointed to a recent sales tax exemption granted to Meta for the purchase of data center equipment.
He'd like to establish a formal review process to see if the state is leaving money on the table.
Similarly, he'd like to look at income and property tax exemptions.
Berch, a retired business planning manager for HP, favors increasing the cap on the homeowner's exemption to alleviate the property tax burden on homeowners.
He'd eliminate the state sales tax on groceries and would work toward clarifying Idaho's strict abortion ban to allow for exceptions when the health of the mother is at risk.
"I try to get good information from credible sources, which is increasingly more difficult, and then do what the legislature rarely does, think through the long-term consequences of those decisions, instead of the short-term political calculation or will get you reelected," Berch said.
He opposes vouchers, education savings accounts or tax rebates for private and religious school education. He'd fight against efforts by people like the Wilkes brothers to close off public land access.
He would address the child care crisis in Idaho, expressing dismay at the recent situation in which the Department of Health and Welfare has cut off new applications for child care grants.
But Berch said one common theme he hears from voters is this: "Stop the crazy."
Legislation attempting to throw doctors and librarians in jail, dismantling consumer protections for renters, the attorney general launching unfounded investigations against state agencies, passing a law that allows relatives of a rapist to collect a bounty if their victim gets an abortion and repealing Medicare are all issues he'll fight against.
"People are concerned about an element of extremism that is starting to creep into the Idaho legislature that they've never seen before," Berch said. "These are all things that people are not asking for, this stuff, and they're concerned. And I tell people, I can't stop someone from being an extremist, but I can stand up to them and try to make sure people understand the consequences of what is coming out of this legislature, which is one of the things that I intend to do if I'm reelected."
Voters in District 15 need someone like Berch in the Legislature because he listens to his constituents' needs, and he stands up against the crazy.
Statesman editorials are the unsigned opinion of the Idaho Statesman's editorial board. Board members are opinion editor Scott McIntosh, opinion writer Bryan Clark, editor Chadd Cripe, newsroom editors Dana Oland and Jim Keyser and community members Greg Lanting, Terri Schorzman and Garry Wenske.
