Why No Young Politicos in Idaho

W. Lane Startin has had some very thoughtful posts over at 43rd State Blues that I’ve been meaning to get to. I first of all, thank him for raising the level of the dialogue on the lib. side of the sphere.

Now, onto the first post:

At 53, Bill Sali is the youngest member of the Idaho congressional delegation. Thus far, he remains the youngest presumptive candidate in the 1st CD.

The youngest Democrat running for a major Idaho office in 2006 was Jim Hansen (born 1959). Jackie Groves Twilegar (born 1955) was the youngest running for a statewide office.

Now, I have no problem whatsoever with people in their 50s and older running for and serving in public office. My point here is no one else seems to be on either side. We as Democrats talk about recruiting younger candidates and “building up a bench,” as it were, but who’s stepping up? I know Branden Durst is a notable exception to this, but he’s still an exception.

It seems to me we need to find new people. Apparently the Republicans do too, but that’s their problem.

Well, it’s the whole state’s problem, but let’s go ahead and address the issue. This was before the recent announcement of Matt Salisbury for Congress. I agree we need more younger people in politics. Why isn’t it happening?

I’ll suggest two things are key.  First of all, we don’t have a full time legislature and lawyers don’t make a fortune. If you look at younger people elected to office (in their 20s and 30s)  you find that most are either elected to legislative office in college or just out of college, or they’re lawyers with very good practices.

Our lawyers do not sit on street corners with, “Will Work for Food” signs but neither do young lawyers make as much as they do in Washington State or Oregon.

With high student loan burdens, many younger folks who might run for office in Idaho head for other areas to make their fortune, rather than get involved in politics here.

Even those who might be tempted are going to run into problems. The way our legislature works,  you either need:

1) A very understanding employer that will let you take off for 3-5 months at a time.

2) To be Independently wealthy.

3) To have a business that you can leave in someone else’s hands for 3-5 months.

The challenge with income is serious. Just because you’re elected to public office, it does not mean that bills don’t have to be paid. You still have a mortgage payment and a family to feed.

Time is pretty big too. If I had unlimited time to campaign, I might be tempted to enter a primary challenge to Congressman Simpson based on his fiscal record. Time is not on my side. Your average working person will have difficulty taking a year of their life off for campaign, particularly an uphill one.

When it comes to higher office. It often requires building an extensive network of friends and supporters. Butch Otter’s network has been built over 30 years, Bill Sali’s over nearly 20.

Is it bad that young people can’t win? It depends, really. Dennis Kucinich was elected boy mayor of Cleveland and nearly bankrupted the place. Bill Clinton was elected Governor at 30 32 and thrown out two years later. Most people aren’t ready in their 30s to serve as Governor. But some are. While I disagree with most of his politics, Evan Bayh wasn’t an awful governor in Louisiana. Bobby Jindal is a great younger Congressman and soon will be a great Governor in Louisiana.

If you’re under 40, you’re going to have to work hard and sacrifice much to be an effective candidate for high office. In Idaho, that’s true if you’re under 50, and the odds are raised due to the State’s income base and the demands of running for office.