Parker winning money war

A Moscow Democrat is far out-raising her Republican incumbent opponent in the Idaho District 6 Senate race.

Julia Parker, a nurse and Moscow City Council member, is challenging Sen. Dan Foreman, R-Viola. Foreman, 70, is a retired military and law enforcement officer and has served two terms in the Idaho Senate — his first term was from 2016-18.

Parker, 57, has garnered a total of $49,489, with $37,319 coming from individuals, $1,650 from companies and $2,000 from two political action committees, according to campaign finance data.

Foreman has raised $15,520 in total, with $5,870 from individuals, $2,000 from companies, and $5,650 from PACs.

Parker said she’s running because she doesn’t feel the district’s current representation is “really listening to the people in the district.”

“And the legislation that’s being passed is focusing on culture war issues and things that aren’t really necessary, instead of focusing on what’s necessary like maintaining our community public schools and our infrastructure and providing access to health care,” Parker said.

Foreman declined to be interviewed for this story.

The senator’s profile on the Idaho GOP website names his top issues as eliminating the exception for rape and incest from Idaho’s abortion ban, calling for an investigation into state actions during the pandemic, and eliminating the sales tax on groceries.

In March, Foreman proposed a study by the state’s Office of Performance Evaluations looking into Idaho’s COVID-19 response to look at potential violations of federal or state laws, and to identify areas of improvement.

The Joint Legislative Oversight Committee voted to study other subjects instead, although there was interest from committee members.

At the beginning of last session, Foreman introduced a bill that would have eliminated the rape and incest exemptions — which are available in the first trimester with a police report — from Idaho’s felony abortion ban. The bill didn’t have a hearing.

“The top issue for Idaho is to abolish the unnecessary, harmful and wasteful curse of abortion,” Foreman wrote on his Idaho GOP page. “I will introduce legislation that eliminates the current affirmative defense for having an abortion in accordance with state guidelines. The only exception to the prohibition on abortion is to save the life of the mother.”

Parker said that protecting reproductive rights, including to abortion, was one of her top priorities.

“I just want to make sure we protect women from having to carry a pregnancy that is induced by rape, that’s a pretty horrible thing to do,” she said.

She said that she would like to see a health exemption added to the ban — currently there is an exemption to prevent the death of the mother.

Parker also said public education would be another primary focus.

She said the school facilities bill passed last year, which made available about $1 billion for school districts to use for facilities, was “convoluted.” Parker said she hopes to amend that law to make it easier for districts to access the available funding.

Additionally, she said she’s opposed to recent proposals to allow state funds to go toward private and religious school tuition.

“I don’t agree with taking public taxpayer money and funneling it into private institutions,” Parker said. “I don’t have a problem with private schools, one of my kids even went to a private high school, that was just the best choice for her. But it wasn’t like I asked my neighbors to pay for that. That was our choice.”

There has been a strong campaign and lobbying effort, especially by the out-of-state group the American Federation for Children, to pass this type of school choice legislation.

Only one of those proposals has made it to the Senate floor for a full vote; in 2023, a universal education savings account bill would have made $6,000 available to any student for educational expenses that could include private tuition. Foreman voted in favor of the bill, which died in a 12-23 vote.

Foreman said at a primary candidate forum that he’d support legislation that goes toward private education as long as it didn’t detract from the state’s constitutional obligation to fund public schools, the Moscow-Pullman Daily News reported.

Parker also named conservation of natural resources and agricultural land as another top priority. She said she hopes to focus on funding wildfire fighting and prevention.

Foreman and Parker share a top focus of eliminating the state’s sales tax on groceries.

“Idaho is one of a few states still taxing groceries — and at the full sales tax rate,” Foreman wrote on his website. “This tax is unnecessary and hurts low and lower middle-income people. Idaho is better than this, and we must eliminate this tax in light of the existing budget surplus.”

Parker said, “As we all know, the price of food is going up, and everybody has to eat. That is a priority for me to work on making a more equitable tax system, and that’s definitely something that could be done.”

Asked what sets her apart from her opponent, Parker said she’s a “pragmatic problem solver.”

“I believe in personal freedom to control your own body, to love who you love, to read what you want, to call yourself what you want,” she said. “I just think the government doesn’t belong in business like that.”

She said that nearly 20 years as a nurse has helped her “talk to anybody” and that skill has been honed in her three years on Moscow City Council.

Foreman describes himself on his page as, “a Christian Conservative Republican who stands for small, efficient, honest government.” He’s a retired Air Force colonel, combat veteran and former law enforcement officer.

“I will vote against all tax and fee increases and firmly guard our Constitutional Rights,” Foreman wrote. “I am very Pro-Life.”

Guido covers Idaho politics for the Lewiston Tribune, Moscow-Pullman Daily News and Idaho Press of Nampa. She may be contacted at lguido@idahopress.com and can be found on Twitter @EyeOnBoiseGuido.