Wednesday, October 13, 2004

Rematch slated for District 25 House seat


By GREG STAHL
Express Staff Writer

A healthy dose of door-to-door campaigning and down-home meetings are the campaign methods of the two candidates facing off for the honor of serving District 25 in the Idaho House of Representatives.

After losing by 144 votes in the 2002 general election, Donna Pence, a Gooding Democrat, is taking another crack at veteran District 25 Rep. Tim Ridinger, a Shoshone Republican.

?I pretty much decided about it a couple months after the (2002) election,? said Pence, a retired teacher and Gooding tree farm owner. ?I felt I did real well two years ago, but there?s always more work to be done, and that is what I?ve been doing.?

Ridinger and Wendy Jaquet, D-Ketchum, share representation of District 25 in the Idaho House of Representatives, with Ridinger?s seat pertaining to the southern part of the district and Jaquet?s to the northern.

Pence has been working doors at homes in District 25?s four counties almost since she narrowly lost to Ridinger two years ago. Ridinger, too, said he has been working to talk with as many of the district?s residents as he can when he travels the area working for his agriculture-based trucking business.

Between the two candidates, there are a lot of similarities. They?re both residents of the district?s southern agricultural belt. They?re both Idaho natives. They both say they?ll support education, and they both are interested in working to resolve an ongoing water allocation conundrum on the eastern Snake River Plain Aquifer.

But Ridinger has the edge when it comes to political experience.

The 48-year-old has been serving in elected offices for 23 years, 10 of those as a state representative. His résumé includes four years as a Shoshone city councilman and 12 years as the mayor of Shoshone. In 1991 and 1992, he was president of the Association of Idaho Cities.

He was elected to the Legislature in 1994 and served as mayor of Shoshone and as Idaho representative simultaneously for three years.

Only 15 members of the 70-member Idaho House of Representatives have more seniority than he, and that seniority and experience are attributes he said he puts to use on behalf of his constituents.

?The first couple of years you?re here, you?re learning the process. But after you?ve been here a while, you get to know how it works,? he said. ?You don?t always win things, but it gets a little easier. I?ve always liked to be involved.?

Pence, 62, a small agri-business owner and retired teacher, said she can make up for her lack of political experience by putting more effort into the job than her opponent.

?Serving as a state representative is more than a part-time commitment,? she said. ?I think I can make a difference. I have the time. I have a lot of energy. My goal, basically, is to make a difference. I think public service is something everybody is responsible to do.?

In addition to her experience as an educator and agri-business owner, her personal interest in conserving natural resources makes her uniquely qualified to balance the various needs of the people of District 25, she said.

With a background as a teacher, Pence believes she is better suited to make decisions that will affect Idaho?s schools, but Ridinger also said education, and ensuring that it is fully funded, is a priority.

Water, a political hot potato during this year?s shortage in the Snake River Plain Aquifer, is something both candidates committed to working on.

?Water is key to all legislators,? Ridinger said. ?I think the knowledge that I?ve acquired helps me a lot. I?ve worked really hard on these water issues, and they?re going to affect all of us in Idaho as our population grows.?

Ridinger has worked this summer on an interim legislative committee looking for solutions to the over-appropriation of Snake River Plain water. Amendments to Idaho water law will probably result.

?Sometimes in these emergency situations we need to streamline these regulations, so when there is water available, we can take advantage of it,? he said. ?It?s really too bad we didn?t start this 10 years ago. People knew about it, but we didn?t pay that close attention.?

Pence alluded to the years of inaction.

?Since the ?70s, there have been warnings that over-allocation of the aquifer was a possibility,? she said. ?Yet little action was taken until the recent moratorium on drilling of wells. The years of drought accelerated the decline in the water level, and we now face a crisis.?

Pence said she would be actively involved in water issues, and she advocated creation of a group charged with developing a comprehensive plan for the entire aquifer.

?The work is just beginning,? she said.




Tim Ridinger, Republican

Age: 48

Residence: Shoshone

Experience: Four-year Shoshone City Council member, 12-year Shoshone mayor, Four-term Idaho Representative.

Occupation: Owns and operates a trucking business, buys and sells hay. Owns a small ranching business.




Donna Pence, Democrat

Age: 62

Residence: Gooding

Experience: Five-year volunteer coordinator for The Nature Conservancy?s Thousand Springs Festival, Division Chair for Physical Education Association, Gooding Chamber of Commerce board of directors, president of local chapter of Delta Kappa Gamma teachers society, a 20-year Idaho teacher.

Occupation: Owns and operates a 60-acre Gooding tree farm with husband, Lew Pence.




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