[Vision2020] Ringo, Labrador to face off in November

[Tom Hansen]

Introduction, please . . .

http://www.TomandRodna.com/Songs/Sounds/Introduction.mp3

Courtesy of today's (May 21, 2014) Moscow-Pullman Daily News.

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Ringo, Labrador to face off in November
Two veteran politicians handily win their respective party ballot seats in Idaho primary
Initial results from the Idaho primary indicate Rep. Shirley Ringo, D-Moscow, will be facing off against Republican U.S. Rep. Raul Labrador in the general election later this year for his 1st Congressional District seat.
Ringo held a commanding lead throughout the night as the numbers rolled in, ending the evening with 82.7 percent of the overall vote (with 764 of 942 precincts reporting), and even stronger numbers in Latah County, with 95.5 percent. Her opponent in the primary, Ryan Barone, a 26-year-old political neophyte from Hayden, took 17.3 percent of the overall vote.
With the general election now just a little over five months away, Ringo said she'll be spending the time until then visiting communities and constituents in the district.
"I plan to go from community to community and take the case to them. I want to make sure that the people understand what the issues are, and that they're discussing things on a value basis and not a party basis," she said.
Ringo, currently in her seventh term as a state representative, served with Labrador in the Idaho House for two terms before he was elected to Congress in 2010. And, much like her soon-to-be rival in the November election, she has never been afraid to speak her mind.
After 14 years in the Idaho House she is the co-chair of the Joint Legislative Oversight Committee, which she considers an honor, in light of her party affiliation. In her time as a politician in Idaho's minority party she said she's learned the value of building bipartisan relationships, and believes that is one of the strengths she can bring to Washington, D.C.
In her time with the state Legislature, she has been a vocal skeptic of behind-the-doors activity in the State Tax Commission and has spoken out against the GOP push for lowering taxes without having any plans to replenish the lost revenue streams.
Ringo has said she doesn't believe recent calls from Idahoans interested in reclaiming ownership of land in the state, of which the federal government owns 64 percent, are practical, and has said the potential Lochsa land exchange agreement being worked on is just being done so Western Pacific Timber, with which Idaho's federal legislators are working, can have a "big payday."
A retired teacher who began her political career in 1998, she said education funding would be one of her top priorities if she is elected, and expressed support of Common Core standards for the potential to create an educational foundation and promote critical thinking skills.
In the race for the Republican spot on the general election ballot, two-term incumbent Labrador handily beat the opposition, taking 78.3 percent of the overall vote, and 77.1 percent in Latah County. Trailing in distant second was Lisa Marie of Boise, with 7.3 percent of the overall vote.
A native of Puerto Rico, Labrador, 46, is a lawyer who began his political career in 2006 representing Idaho's 14th district in the Idaho House of Representatives, where he first gained attention for his vocal opposition to Gov. C.L. "Butch" Otter's choice for state party chairman and, later, Otter's 2009 transportation funding proposal.
Since being elected to Congress in 2010, he said he is most proud of his efforts to reduce the federal deficit, which he said he has helped reduce from $1.4 trillion to about $600 billion, as well as helping to reduce unemployment by about 3 percent.
He also said he is proud to see some initial momentum for his recently proposed "Future Logging Careers Act," which would amend the Fair Labor Standards Act to permit 16- and 17-year-olds to work in family-owned logging operations, for which he said there are similar exemptions for family-owned agricultural operations.
While he has never shied from voicing his criticisms of President Barack Obama and his administration, Labrador has also been a vocal opponent of the choice of John Boehner as speaker of the House, citing disappointment in the way Boehner handled the 2012 financial crisis.
He and Ringo will face off in the general election Nov. 4.

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On Shirley Ringo . . .
http://www.TomandRodna.com/Soundbites/Shirley_Ringo.mp3
  
On Raul Labrador . . .
http://www.TomandRodna.com/Soundbites/Raul_Labrador.mp3
 
Seeya at the polls, Moscow, because . . .

"Moscow Cares" (the most fun you can have with your pants on)
http://www.MoscowCares.com
  
Tom Hansen
Moscow, Idaho
 
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