Four running to replace outgoing District 1 Franklin County commissioner

FRANKLIN COUNTY — With incumbent Boyd Burbank not running for re-election, five new candidates will compete in this year’s primary election for the Franklin County Commission District 1 seat.

Zan Bowles, Alexander Erickson, David Formica and Blake Rindlisbaker will vie for the Republican bid. Stephanie Chatterton Gunn was forced to withdraw from the race late. The winner of that contest will take on independent candidate Michael Porter in November’s general election.

To learn more about the candidate’s platform, EastIdahoNews.com asked the candidates to answer the same eight questions. We received responses from only two of the candidates — Bowles and Formica. Their unedited responses, listed below, were required to be 250 words or less.

The primary election is May 21.

Learn more about Bowles by visiting his Facebook page here. EastIdahoNews.com was unable to find a webpage for Formica.

Tell us about yourself — include information about your family, career, education, volunteer work and any prior experience in public office.

Bowles: My name is Zan Bowles and I was born and raised on a dairy in Franklin County. I graduated from Preston Senior High School and went on to do two-quarters of school at USU. I served a full-time mission to Scotland and after my return home, I am fortunate to have met, dated, and married my neighbor Tamara Smith. We have four wonderful daughters all married and living in Franklin County. We have one son who lives and works in Florida. Just a couple of months into my marriage my father called me and said he would sell the dairy equipment business and asked if I wanted to come home and take it over. I quit school to come home and take it over. Forty-five years later I sold out to an employee Matt Haslam. Over the years the dairy equipment business has morphed into more of an electrical business though we still do dairy equipment and construction.

I’ve served for several years on the Fairview Cemetery Board as well as on the Franklin County Fair Board. I had a brief time serving on the School Board. I spent many years serving in church leadership positions. I am currently on a PHS building committee that is looking at the options available to the school district and the costs involved in remodeling the high school and bringing it up to code.

Formica: My name is David Formica, and I am 59. I grew up in Southern California in a town called San Dimas. I graduated in 1983 from San Dimas High School. I am a Christian, Conservative. I am inspired by the constitution and deeply love my country and family. Married in 1984 and had our only child in 1985. I will be married 40 years this June. My father owned a restaurant called Aldolino’s for 33 years we he was known for being filmed on I Love Lucy episode “Visitor from Italy”. I worked at the restaurant in my teen years until my father passed away in 1991. I attended community college and studied computer science for two years. Open a business building computer system for the next decade until I was hired in 2004 by a company called Baker Distributing parent company “Watsco” building their computer networking systems as the company grew eventually managing a large store until. From 2011 until my retirement in 2023, I worked for corporate office as an “Internal Auditor” and eventually became “Audit Manager”. I traveled throughout United States and visited 47 locations twice a year for the past 12 years. My job was to come up with solutions that comply with the company standards, from financials, sales to inventory and report back to the executive teams weekly. I am retired working in my home shop in Franklin building versions of wood American flags for sale that I have a passion for. Since 2022 I have held a local GOP committee seat Franklin precinct #10 the largest in the county.

Why are you seeking political office? Briefly explain your political platform.

Formica: I am seeking the office of County Commissioner District #1 because for the past few years held a seat with our local GOP committee representing Franklin precinct #10. This has inspired me to contribute more in my local community, so I have entered my campaign. I have the business smarts and the time needed to focus on the job at hand. I feel very blessed to be surrounded by a community of likeminded people. I will put all my efforts into this elected position.

Bowles: I am seeking political office now because I am retired and I have time now to dedicate to this position. I have been approached a couple of different times over the years about running. My wife and I would ponder and discuss it and would conclude that it wasn’t the right time. We had a house full of young children and I had other responsibilities that took me out of the home two to three nights a week. I am now more able to take on this responsibility of office. I have 45 years of experience in dealing with the public, negotiating, and solving problems. I am better prepared and equipped with these skills at this point of my life than I ever have been.

I have been a registered Republican all of my life. I feel that it’s the party that most closely reflects my personal view. I believe the government should do the things that we can’t effectively do as citizens. Which is to help, protect, provide adequate infrastructure, and provide services that are best done as organized citizens. I believe the less amount the government is involved in our personal lives the better off we are. I also understand that is a fine line that is fluid and sometimes can change.

What areas in your county need immediate improvement? What actions will you take to address those needs?

Bowles: One of the areas that seem to be the most problematic and the citizens are most concerned with is the roads. Naturally, we all would like paved roads without potholes but that’s probably not realistic when you take into consideration the harsh winters we have. Freezing and thawing are hard on roads. I know the goal of the current commissioners is to pave all the roads they can. Pavement is expensive and the driver behind that cost is oil prices. Some years we can afford to pave more than others. In a perfect world, we would have an unlimited budget.

Other areas that need help are the EMS programs. Ambulance is getting to a critical stage because of the limited amount of volunteers. The fire station is having a similar challenge but not quite as critical. Volunteerism is down statewide and on a national basis. Most likely some of it is based on the political environment we are experiencing. I have some ideas on ways we can help these problems and I would be happy to discuss them with you. I am looking forward to having that discussion at one of the public meetings.

Formica: I absolutely believe in “Transparency”. We need to start Live streaming every county commissioner meeting and make all the county files public this way the public can see in real-time everything that is transpiring. We should start having once a month live Q and A sessions online with the community and invite the newspaper outlets so they can report on our agenda. This will start showing everybody has a voice and is important. My team and I will need to be willing to take calls, texts, emails from our community and respond back to them. We need to take a long look at future growth, roads, and infrastructure plans. Look at Emergency Response Services employees and see how we can improve their health plans, wages, and equipment. Look at issues at hand and things that have been shelved in the past and see what needs immediate attention and improvements how we can take actions to address those needs.

What are the greatest longterm challenges facing people in your county? What is your plan to meet those challenges?

Formica: The biggest challenge at hand is our community is not being heard when they speak, this needs to change immediately. We need to bring our county into the 21st century. I will start immediately working to update our media facilities so we can live stream everything. We will return all calls and emails that we receive in a timely manner and will bring up those public concerns in our commissioner meetings and implement the responses we get from the public that are agreed on by our committee. I need to take a deep look at our financial situation and bring up issues that need to be addressed and act. Our EMS program is on life support, it needs to be reprioritized immediately.

Bowles: I believe one of the greatest long-term challenges facing us today is the growth we are experiencing. It is a double-edged sword; we have this growth going on all around the county but it’s growth that helps finance many of the services the county provides (ambulance, search and rescue, fire stations, etc.). It brings change into our personal lives which is hard in a little agriculture community. I believe the key to growth is not letting it get ahead of you. It needs to be controlled and managed and make sure we have the infrastructure to support it. I believe our county officials have done a commendable job with this. Growth and change are inevitable but we can be ahead of the curve with planning and input from the citizens. We can keep Franklin County a place our kids and grandkids will want to come back to.

Another challenge that our community is experiencing is its diversity; it is more diverse than it has ever been. Diversity is beneficial because we become more open-minded and inclusive as it provides different opinions and outlooks. This is all advantageous when facing challenges together. Diversity sometimes pushes us out of our comfort zone when it comes in the form of wanting to change our small-town feel into a suburban feel. All challenges we can overcome with open dialogue, communication, and thoughtful consideration.

How will you best represent the views of your constituents – even those with differing political views? How will you communicate directly with constituents?

Bowles: For me to accurately represent the views of my constituents I first need to know them. This then becomes a communication issue. I learned as a very young man from hard-lived experience that there are two sides to every story and since that time I have come to the conclusion that sometimes there could be three to four sides to every story. Nothing is ever just black and white. Everybody has a story or opinion and I love to hear them. I enjoy talking to people. I want to hear their story, the evidence and data they have collected, and all the information they have. I will study it, research it and together we will make a decision. I am not a reactionary person, I will not come to a decision in the heat of the moment or with high emotions. There ought to be a time to consider, and then move forward with the plan.

I have been in a service-related business since I was 23 years old. My business has depended on people being able to get a hold of me. If a dairyman has two hundred cows in the corral that can’t be milked he cannot wait until Monday morning, he has to reach me now. It has been my life’s habit to make sure I am reachable. My livelihood depended on communication and being available.

Formica: I will put all my efforts into this office and be available to our constituents by taking calls responding back not hiding from people. I will take all questions and concerns from our community serious and even if there is a disagreement or a differing political view we can still have a conversation this is an area that has been lost in the past years and needs to change.

What parts of the county budget could use more funding? Where are places in the budget that cuts could be made?

Formica: I think we should prioritize the issues that have been neglected in the past and see what can be done to address them this term. Media services will be addressed as fast as possible. I need to look at our road projects and prioritize what areas need funding immediately. The EMS program has been neglected. I will take a look at what we can do to change that immediately as I have already stated in the prior statements. I will recommend cutting funding in areas that are not serving our needs and growth.

Bowles: I only have a very surface-level knowledge of the budget. I would assume there isn’t a department that couldn’t use more funding or want more money. From a casual look at the budget and the growth our county is experiencing the sheriff’s office could use more funding. I haven’t studied or spent a great deal of time analyzing the budget to recommend budget cuts to any department.

What is the role of local media in your community? How can county officials work to have a better relationship with the media?

Bowles: Local media plays an important role in our community and every community. I think it is especially critical in small communities. It is a source of information; it is where we stay in touch with the pulse of the community. Media also helps keep everything above board, the truth tellers help keep everybody honest. The media done right in a community is the glue that holds it all together. My experience with the local media has been pleasant. These people are our neighbors and friends who also have an interest in our community. The media has covered every public office board I have served in favorably and helped us disseminate info, which is valuable.

Formica: I believe we need to involve the local news media and radio stations to participate and report our agenda in real-time. I would like to respond to them on a regular basis and report what our thoughts and goals. I would like to be available to answer any questions and concerns so that our constituents are well informed. Truth and transparency mean everything to me.

Voter turnout and participation continues to be low in Idaho. What efforts can be made to stimulate greater voter involvement in elections and government?

Formica: We need to start sponsoring voter turnout events. Play a role in educating the public on the benefits of voting in the county. Local events have been very successful in the past for our GOP committee. I still hold a precinct chair for Franklin #10 and will continue to be a member. The public needs to still know that their vote is important.

Bowles: Voter turnout is low because I think the average citizen is exhausted with Washington Politics. In my opinion, it is in a complete state of chaos and a disaster. It has turned into a schoolyard playground where the philosophy is if I can make someone look stupid I will look smarter. If I can make someone look weak I will look stronger. Unfortunately, name-calling, bullying, and frivolous accusations seem to be the standard. There is extremism on both sides and what is necessary is a balance; a prudent balance that takes wisdom. Wisdom is hard to come by when you are power, greed, and ego-driven. So how do we change that? We should exhibit decency, honor, and treat others with respect even when we disagree. Leaders in Franklin County have done a good job in this area and I hope to continue in that tradition.