Name: Mark Harris
Hometown: Soda Springs
Age: 50
Professional or Personal Background
My wife and I, along with our four boys, live on a cattle ranch south of Soda Springs in Bear Lake County. My brothers and I are partners in the ranch along with a farm in Malta. We raise beef cattle and alfalfa. I had the opportunity to serve a two year mission for my church in Argentina. I attended Utah State University where I graduated with a B. A. degree. I have served on various state and local boards. I currently have the honor to serve in the Idaho State Senate and am serving as the Majority Caucus Chair.
Why are you running for office?
I am running for re-election to the Idaho State Senate. I love the State of Idaho and all the opportunities it provides. I am running to help keep Idaho the great place it is to have a family and raise kids. We live in a highly productive area of the state. We lead the nation in many agricultural products such as barley, potatoes and other crops. We also live in an area that produces the world's highest quality phosphate and have the good fortune of being home to Idaho National Laboratory. I want to do all I can to protect these industries, the jobs they produce, and most importantly the families they support.
In your view, what is the biggest issue in the race?
Idaho is in great shape financially. We are fiscally responsible and have a balanced budget every year. As a result of our prosperity and good governance, we are one of the fastest growing states in the country. However, with this growth comes challenges. One of our biggest issues is keeping up with the growth in our schools and our infrastructure, which includes roads, bridges, and broadband access. We have begun to take steps to deal with this growth during the past legislative session in increased investments in both education and transportation funding. However, more needs to be done. Another big issue is addressing property taxes without unintentional tax shifting from homeowners to businesses and vice versa.
Why should voters elect you?
I have done my best to represent all of my constituents in the past. I am able and willing to work with others to get things done for the betterment of Idaho, while staying true to my conservative principles, and the oath I took to the Idaho Constitution and the United States Constitution. As a result of this ability and my past experience I have been able to provide input, write, and sponsor several of pieces of critical and important legislation. I also enjoy helping constituents when they have issues with over regulation and state agencies year round. I feel this is the most important part of being a legislator. Serving in the Idaho State Senate is something I take very seriously and I view it as a privilege. I love my state and will do my best to continue to serve.
Name: Doug Toomer
Hometown: Idaho Falls
Age: 66
Professional or Personal Background
I retired from the Idaho National Laboratory (INL) in 2016 after a successful 40-year career, starting as a laborer and working my way up to a Senior Project/Program manager. I successfully managed many highly technical and complex multi-million-dollar projects. I am an expert in spent nuclear fuel and special nuclear material management and storage, and am one of a handful of experts on the 1995 Idaho Settlement Agreement as it relates to spent nuclear fuel. I am well known for my tenacity and ability to solve complex problems, both technical and bureaucratic.
Why are you running for office?
Over the past 18 months I have learned that Idaho is actually not the state I thought it was, and our state government and legislature is not acting in the best interest of Idaho citizens. I personally attended state legislative sessions and witnessed blatant actions by legislators that were done strictly for political gain and not in the interest of Idaho citizens, this was especially evident in the Senate. For example, the Senate wouldn’t limit the Governor’s authority during a declared emergency, and the legislature, as a whole, should have understood the strings attached to the ARPA funds were designed to bankrupt recipients and should have prevented the funds from coming to Idaho! This overt willingness of the legislature NOT to support Idaho citizens needs to change! I decided to become directly involved so I can influence and reverse what is occurring.
In your view, what is the biggest issue in the race?
Government is overstepping its authority in numerous ways, the most recent being unconstitutionally closing small businesses and churches, unconstitutionally forcing mandates on citizens, unconstitutionally separating family members from one another, just to name a few. Government at all levels has grown out of control, not only causing taxes to increase, but also taking our rights away. The federal government has become notorious for the ‘strings’ it attached to the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARPA) funds. These ‘strings’ are a direct assault on our rights and are designed to force compliance with unconstitutional requirements or face the possibility of bankruptcy. Many local and state government agencies have recklessly accepted these funds without consideration of the strings. We need to wean ourselves off federal funding! We are a free nation and a free state, we must stand up against tyranny and stop these unconstitutional acts!
Why should voters elect you?
The Declaration of Independence states: ‘We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness. That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.’
Our country and state are quickly heading down a path that will make ‘life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness’ only a dream of days gone by. It is imperative that we start putting the brakes on our out-of-control governments. The quality of life for future generations depend on the actions we take today.
The Constitution begins with “We the People”, not ‘We Big Business’ or ‘We the Elite’. I vow to fight for “We the People”, and for a government ‘of the people, by the people, and for people’.