Mainly clear. Low 48F. Winds SSE at 5 to 10 mph..

Mainly clear. Low 48F. Winds SSE at 5 to 10 mph.

Arena games, side-by-side races and a rodeo are on tap this weekend at the Garfield County Fair in Pomeroy.

A tight end who never had caught a pass in his career, a team that hadn’t completed a reception to that position in more than a decade and a fan base looking for a monster football upset against a Big Ten powerhouse on the road.

JEERS ... to Gaslighting Dorothy Moon.

It was no accident that the voice of ordinary Idahoans — frustrated by their chronically underfunded schools — crept into the state Capitol earlier this month.

Facing the prospect that voters would take matters into their own hands and pass Reclaim Idaho’s $323.5 million Quality Education Act ballot measure on Nov. 8, Gov. Brad Little called lawmakers into special session. They preempted Reclaim Idaho’s plan to raise taxes on corporations and top wage earners, but extended $410 million in more money for education.

That’s part of a pattern.

When the Legislature refuses to act, the people step in.

Four years ago, voters overruled GOP lawmakers and expanded Medicaid for the working poor.

In 2012, an overwhelmingly popular referendum reversed the Legislature’s anti-teacher school reforms.

Since 1936, Idahoans have turned to the initiative process when their Legislature has failed them. It’s how the state got independent management of fish and game, required political campaigns to disclose contributions and how homeowners got property tax relief.

Legislators detest the ability of voters to pass their own laws at the ballot box but a unanimous Idaho Supreme court blocked their attempt to all but repeal the process.

l Abortion rights — Republican lawmakers could pass all the anti-reproductive rights bills they wanted as long as Roe v. Wade was the law of the land. Now that the U.S. Supreme Court reversed Roe, GOP legislators are literally the dog that caught the car. Not only have they banned abortions, they have authorized parties of dubious standing to sue health care providers and they have empowered prosecutors to haul doctors into court for aborting an ectopic pregnancy.

Idahoans didn’t like this when it was merely theoretical — 65% told a Planned Parenthood poll in 2019 that they considered it “important that women in Idaho have access to all of the reproductive health care options available, including abortion.”

If conservative Kansas voters can uphold abortion rights at their ballot box, you can bet Idahoans will do the same, given the opportunity.

l Primary election reform — As predicted more than a decade ago, evicting all but registered Republicans from the GOP primary has empowered the ideological base to elect Idaho’s leadership. The Idaho Freedom Foundation holds sway over much of the House and its clout in the state Senate has expanded at least four-fold.

Meanwhile, the general election is an afterthought. Democrats have conceded 60 of Idaho’s 105 seats in the Legislature. They haven’t elected anyone to statewide or congressional office in more than a dozen years.

Moderating Idaho politics means giving moderates the upper hand.

Two states offer an alternative. In Washington, the top-two primary allowed Republican Congressman Dan Newhouse enough flexibility to vote for former President Donald Trump’s impeachment.

In Alaska, ranked-choice voting stopped former Gov. Sarah Palin from entering Congress while giving Sen. Lisa Murkowski greater independence.

If you want to reverse Idaho’s slide toward extremism, here’s where you start.

l Property taxes — Six years ago, GOP lawmakers sided with industrial and commercial property owners against homeowners, with predictable results. They capped the protection the Homestead Exemption afforded modest homes against property taxes. Because they refuse to index the Homestead Exemption to inflation in the midst of Idaho’s real estate boom, two-thirds of Idaho homeowners now pay more than their fair share of property taxes.

Legislators won’t reverse those trends. An initiative restoring the purchasing power of the Homestead Exemption will.

l School buildings — Nowhere in the country is it more difficult to build and repair a school than Idaho, which requires bonds to pass by a two-thirds majority. Yet, the state does virtually nothing to lift the burden off local property taxpayers.

As the Office of Performance Evaluations noted, no state spends less per student on construction and maintenance. And the state is estimated to be about $1 billion behind bringing its school houses up to a level of “good,” not “perfect.”

A ballot measure can’t do anything about the two-thirds mandate — that’s in the state constitution. But it could set aside a sizeable amount of money to begin addressing the backlog. One possible source of funding — the internet sales tax dollars now flowing into a tax relief account in the amount of about $12 million every month.

l Impact fees — Why is it that the people already here are compelled to pay higher property taxes to expand schools for newcomers? Why not pass a ballot measure that imposes a fee on new development — similar to what’s now charged to support infrastructure —for new school construction?

Even for the people moving in, an impact fee — which could be part of their mortgage — will cost less in the long run than the property taxes imposed to build schools for additional families who come to Idaho years after they’ve arrived.

Lawmakers won’t accomplish any of this until they’re pushed.

It’s up to you to start pushing. — M.T.

Sign up to have headlines and breaking news delivered straight to your inbox.

Success! An email has been sent to with a link to confirm list signup.

Error! There was an error processing your request.

It's back. Pick weekly winners for the chance to win $50.

The region's best source for events, arts, culture ... everything.

Text LMT to 55678 to receive breaking news alerts/links to your phone. Message and data rates may apply. Text STOP to stop.

Travel safe with road and snow reports

This afternoon newsletter keeps readers informed on the latest developments related to coronavirus.

The Lewiston Tribune recently launched a new afternoon newsletter featuring stories and photos that will appear online before they are published in the newspaper.

Your account has been registered, and you are now logged in.

Check your email for details.

Invalid password or account does not exist

Submitting this form below will send a message to your email with a link to change your password.

An email message containing instructions on how to reset your password has been sent to the e-mail address listed on your account.

Your purchase was successful, and you are now logged in.

A receipt was sent to your email.