This editorial was published by the Lewiston Tribune and written by Tribune Opinion page editor Marty Trillhaase.
When Moscow & Pullman Building Supply owner Tyler Garrett sought to stop the University of Idaho from bringing Home Depot to town as a competitor, he was a man without a seat at the table.
Before him was an eight-member Idaho State Board of Education with half of its members — Linda Clark, Bill Gilbert, David Hill and Kurt Liebich — representing Boise. A fifth, former state Sen. Shawn Keough, of Sandpoint, occupies the Panhandle’s traditional seat at the table. The Magic Valley has Cally Roach, of Fairfield, and state Superintendent of Public Instruction Debbie Critchfield, of Oakley. And rounding out the list is eastern Idaho’s member, Cindy Siddoway, of Terreton.
So when Garrett protested, he was told to send a letter. Another 150 people were willing to join him.
But the only Moscow voices heard at the State Board’s meeting Wednesday were those of UI President Scott Green and Chief Fiscal Officer Brian Foisy.
What the board heard from them was a straightforward business proposition — by leasing land the UI currently uses for pasture and cropland for a proposed 136,000-square-foot chain store outlet, the university could net $90,000 in rent the first year and as much as $291,000 in the final year of a five-year renewal cycle.
What the State Board did not hear was the plight of five local competitors operating in a market that has not expanded sufficiently to absorb Home Depot without cannibalizing one or more of their stores.
Green got what he wanted — unanimous State Board approval for his plan.
You’re left to wonder how much differently things would have gone if some of the region’s former representatives on the State Board — people such as former House Speaker Tom Boyd, of Genesee; veteran legislator Mike Mitchell, of Lewiston; former 2nd District Court Judge Roy Mosman, of Moscow; Lewiston Tribune Publisher Emeritus A.L. “Butch” Alford, of Lewiston; former Moscow Mayor Paul Agidius; former Rep. Bill Goesling, R-Moscow; and veteran educator Colleen Mahoney, of Lewiston — still were there.
Would they have invited Garrett to speak for himself before the empaneled group?
Or would local State Board members steeped in the local community for decades point out to their colleagues how much Moscow has resisted big box national chains in favor of firms owned and operated by local people?
At minimum, you’d assume people like Boyd, Mitchell or Mahoney would remind Green of the likely political fallout — even among the legislators elected to represent the UI’s hometown. Maybe it’s true, as Green said Wednesday, that Home Depot would find another site for its Moscow operation. But nothing riles Idaho politicians more than the appearance of a public, tax-supported entity profiting from bringing in competition for local private businesses.
Don’t be surprised if some of these lawmakers next winter propose slicing $90,000 from the UI’s budget just to make the point.
And as the eyes and ears of Gov. Brad Little, a north central Idaho representative on the State Board could make the same points privately, if not publicly.
There is no requirement that each of Idaho’s regions be represented on the State Board. But north central Idaho — a region that is home to two of Idaho’s four-year institutions of higher learning — has not had one of its own on the State Board in more than seven years. That’s when former Gov. C.L. “Butch” Otter elected to replace Goesling with Andrew Scoggin, of Boise.
When Scoggin left, Little turned to another Boise businessman, Gilbert.
Little initially attempted to recruit Brad Rice, a former Lewiston School Board member, to serve. Rice demurred, owing to the demands of his business and family.
Was Rice the only source of educational talent and expertise working within the five-county region? That’s hard to swallow.
Little has had almost five years in office to scout and recruit from that local talent pool. Instead, when it came time to make replacements on the State Board, the governor looked elsewhere — while respecting regional interests.
For instance, when Critchfield opted to step down to seek her current position in the 2022 election, the governor recruited Roach from the Magic Valley.
Likewise, Siddoway replaced Emma Atchley who came from the eastern Idaho community of Ashton.
This has passed the point of gubernatorial negligence. It’s starting to look deliberate. And people such as Garrett are paying the price. — M.T.
