Jim Guthrie running for re-election in legislative district 28

POCATELLO — An incumbent state senator is running for re-election.

The seat has a two-year term. District 28 encompasses the majority of Bannock County and all of Power County. Republican Jim Guthrie currently holds the seat.

Democrat Russell Matter is on the ballot running against Guthrie. Matter declined to provide responses to EastIdahoNews.com.

EastIdahoNews.com sent the same eight questions to each candidate. Their responses, listed below, were required to be 250 words or less. EastIdahoNews.com is publishing the answers in their entirety, and without any grammatical or style editing.

The general election is Nov. 5.

Candidate Questions & Responses

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

Guthrie:I was born in Pocatello and have lived in the Marsh Valley area within a 15-mile radius my entire life. I have two sons, one daughter, ten grandchildren, and one great grandson all of whom I am extremely proud of. I was raised on a farm and still farm and ranch in the Marsh Valley area where I raise beef cattle and hay. I am fortunate to have great parents who taught me the value of hard work that has served me well throughout my life.

While building up my farm and ranch operation, I worked for many years in construction and heavy industry. I worked for several years as a union journeyman carpenter and for over a decade at Ash Grove Cement in Inkom. I have been in the Idaho Senate for 12 years and prior to that served 2 years in the house, 6 years as a Bannock County Commissioner, and 6 years on the Marsh Valley school board. I have spent time as a youth coach and served on numerous boards including the Portneuf Medical Center board of trustees.

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

Guthrie:Over the years I have served in several different elected capacities, and that experience coupled with my work history in the private sector has given me unique insight. Having served as a school board trustee, a county commissioner, and in both the Senate and House has been invaluable. My perspective on how decisions at the state level effects local jurisdictions and private citizens has helped me be an effective lawmaker.

As for describing my platform, I am an advocate for the lightest tough of government on our lives. Obviously, some law and regulation are necessary for a civilized society to function properly but our intrusion into free enterprise must be limited. I am all in favor of sensible tax cuts but there should be attention placed on fairness and not compromising future decision makers and their ability to govern.

There will be considerable pressure to introduce some kind of voucher, education savings account or tax credit program into our K-12 education funding delivery model. We must travel down that path with considerable caution. Other states have found some school choice programs can lack accountability and dilute current public school funding streams.

We must be careful to protect and appropriately manage our water that is under considerable pressure. Idaho is known for its agriculture and water, and I am an advocate to protect those defining characteristics. I believe in fairness and understand my opinion is not necessarily always correct, and I find value in listening to my colleagues and constituents.

What are the greatest challenges facing people and communities in your district? What is your plan to meet those challenges?

Guthrie:My one-word answer is growth. The narrative for years has been to grow the economy and bring more jobs and people to Idaho. Huge tax incentives at state and local levels have been used as a carrot to recruit business and industry to come here. In my opinion that is a narrative and approach that needs recrafted. We have seen record growth and many tout that as a good thing. I will agree that some growth is advantageous but explosive growth can be very problematic.

For example, cities all over the Gem state have made national lists of the most overvalued homes in the nation. Homes are selling in price ranges that make it difficult if not impossible for young couples and first-time home buyers to realize that part of the American dream. As a result, we have seen an explosion in the rental market with apartment housing projects going up all over the state.

In addition, the growth cycle we are in has put incredible pressure on Idaho’s water and the continuing drought conditions have prompted aggressive administrative action by the department of water resources. The recent water curtailments are making these concerns fueled in part by aggressive growth, no longer a projection but stark reality. We need to get back to a more methodical growth trajectory and make sure those coming in pay their fair share. Let’s not sell Idaho short by giving away the farm at the risk of losing our farms and our identity.

Have you seen any mistakes made by the Idaho Legislature in recent years? How would you work to correct these errors?

Guthrie:Like the old saying goes “one man’s trash is another man’s treasure” mistakes made by the legislature is in the eye of the beholder. So, as I share my opinion it may or may not be consistent with my colleagues. There is existing today a philosophical divide and differing views on how and what policy to focus on that is palpable. This is something that we can overcome but we must focus on common ground first instead of where we don’t agree.

It can be easy to forget we each represent around 53,000 people in our legislative districts and policy decisions must be sensitive to the needs of our districts and how that corresponds with the needs of the state. At times we need to check our egos at the door and be willing to trade sound bites for sound policy. Social issues can have headline appeal but can suck the oxygen from the room leaving limited band width for tough issues facing our state.

In addition, lately we have incorporated a cause of action in way too many bills. While there are times when a punitive component makes sense or is even necessary, we should temper use of that tool. Last session a different budgeting process was used and the reviews on that approach are mixed. While there may be some value in this new format, I think there are considerable bugs to work out and my hope is that we can further fine tune how we set budgets.

What parts of the state budget could use more funding? Are there places in the budget where cuts could be made?

Guthrie:For the most part, Idaho has been responsible in terms of taxation and spending decisions. We have done a good job with funding for road infrastructure and education. There is some concern over the increase in the Medicaid budget and creative solutions to those concerns are being considered. Recent budgets have increased to a point they don’t pass the eye test but have been driven in part by a perfect storm of unfortunate and unwanted anomalies.

Covid served as a huge disrupter for what had been a consistent, methodical budgeting approach. The federal government shoved 18 billion dollars into our state and many billions more into the other 49. This coupled with the Federal Reserve’s tardiness a few years ago to raise interest rates to cool the economy, supply issues, and greed caused by Covid resulted in runaway inflation which we all are still paying for today.

I have historically been an advocate in promoting a strong education system that depends on a strong financial commitment from the state. My support in that regard will continue. As for other budget reduction considerations we can always do better and the need to continually focus on efficiency across the spectrum.

What is your position on Idaho’s Proposition 1 ballot initiative that would end closed-party primary elections and create ranked-choice voting?

Guthrie:Proposition 1 is an interesting exercise in the citizen’s right, which is guaranteed in our constitution, to bring about statute change the legislature is reticent to act on. To that extent I support that guaranteed citizen right and respect the hard work it took to gather the signatures needed to qualify it for the November 5th ballot. That said, I will not be supporting this initiative for a few reasons. To start with it is at a minimum misleading as it places the emphasis on the open primary aspect of the ballot measure.

To be honest I am an advocate of returning to the open primary format, so I have no problem with that part. Where it gets tricky in the rank-choice voting aspect which is confusing, costly, and risks compromising the respected tradition of one man one vote. Subsequent instantaneous run-off’s when a candidate fails to reach 50% plus one can become problematic as votes migrate to different candidates at the risk of some ballots being disqualified. As a disclaimer, I have attended presentations on the process used in rank-choice voting and still feel I am in the embryo stage as far as fully understanding how it would work and not compromise the fairness and faith, we currently enjoy in our elections here in Idaho.

What is your position on Gov. Brad Little using Idaho State Police resources to bolster security at the United States southern border? How does illegal immigration impact the constituents in your district?

Guthrie:The illegal immigrant issue has gotten a lot of attention in the past few years, and I expect it to be a hot topic in the 2025 session. In the 2024 session I sponsored SJM 102 which is an appeal to the federal government to fix issues at the border and construct immigration policy that protects our borders from the negative aspects of those coming in while recognizing the need for legal guest worker programs to fill critical needs in our workforce.

It can make for a good sound bite to say deport everyone without legal documentation, but the reality is that agriculture, construction, service industries and more would be severely compromised in their ability to deliver goods and services. This could have a catastrophic impact on our economy. Immigration policy is a federal issue, and they have failed miserably in this regard.

That is why I have advocated so strongly for the federal government to get off their duff and create policy that makes sense to protect our safety and sovereignty, allow for an appropriate legal workforce need, and of critical importance stem the flow of dangerous drugs and those who serve to make them available to our citizens.

I believe given the circumstances, Governor Little’s program to send Idaho State troupers to the border, while may seem superficial, has some value. It gives us some first-hand insight as to how serious this problem is and may help us be preemptive in policy we craft in Idaho.

A battle over the Eastern Snake Plain Aquifer recharge led to a temporary water curtailment for thousands of acres of farmland in 2024. How should the legislature respond to this issue?

Guthrie:I was extremely concerned that the Idaho Department of Water Resources chose to red tag ground water pumps in June when growers had already planted, fertilized, applied chemicals and a host of other costly tasks it takes to grow a crop. The timing could not have been more troubling. While a temporary agreement offered a stay of execution, so to speak, it creative an environment not conducive to a fair negotiation process.

The follow-up has been for the parties to work together to craft a long-term solution with deadlines for agreement that have been pushed back, in part because of the complexity of water law and appropriation. Depending on who you talk to an agreement is forthcoming soon or there are still considerable points of disagreement. Despite what you may hear, the legislature has every right to be a part of the solution.

Article 15 Section 5 of the Idaho Constitution states in part “ whenever the supply of water shall not be sufficient to meet the demands of all those desiring to use the same, such priority of right shall be subject to such reasonable limitations as to the quantity of water used and times of use as the legislature, having due regard both to such priority of right and the necessities of those subsequent in time of settlement or improvement, may by law prescribe.” Aggressive growth, a declining aquifer, and drought conditions all but guarantees this issue is here to stay. A sustainable agreement is of paramount importance.