Special committee alleges legislators violated party platform; dealership says building was ‘misused’
Published at | Updated at
IDAHO FALLS – A hearing on whether legislators in District 32 violated the Republican Party platform did not reach any conclusion Tuesday night.
For more than two hours, the Legislative District 32 Committee of the Bonneville GOP discussed in a public meeting the alleged violations against Sen. Kevin Cook, Rep. Stephanie Mickelsen and Rep. Wendy Horman — none of whom were in attendance — because of the way they voted on certain bills during the 2023 legislative session.
The purpose of the meeting, according to Legislative District 32 Chairman Doyle Beck, was to give legislators a chance to account for their votes and to see whether they’re adhering to the Republican Party’s brand, each of whom accepted that as the standard when they filed to run for office.
“The issue is not whether (these elected officials) are good or bad people — it is not whether they’re a good or bad legislator or if they represent voters. The issue is the veracity of their claim that they support the Republican platform,” Barbara Miller, who was appointed chair of the Special Investigation Committee, said at the hearing.
In a text to EastIdahoNews.com Wednesday morning, Beck says the committee did not reach a conclusion after deliberating. Members opted to table their vote for sometime next week.
‘Our facility was misused’
Meanwhile, Cannon Smith, who owns Smith Chevrolet where the meeting took place, tells EastIdahoNews.com he was unaware of the agenda and is apologetic the meeting happened on his property.
“Our Community Room is here as a free resource to the community to help build and uplift, not to divide. I want to apologize to Stephanie, Wendy and Kevin that our facility was misused,” Smith says.
Mickelsen said one of the main reasons she and her colleagues didn’t attend was because the committee’s concerns came with an Idaho Freedom Foundation ranking. All three lawmakers said they are not interested in appealing to what they believe is a special interest group.
Beck acknowledged that concern during the hearing, saying he gets a lot of flack for being on the foundation’s board. Although he admitted it is a special interest group, he said it’s not the radical organization many believe it to be.
“They’re a special interest to the taxpayers,” he said. “I’m a board member because their matrix is almost identical to the Republican platform.”
The Special Investigation Committee did not feel that having a low Freedom Foundation score was a violation of the Republican Party platform.
Some of the bills discussed at the hearing included HB 138, which moved the presidential primary from March to May, HB 265 focusing on restricting children’s access to sexual exhibitions, HB 314, restricting children’s access to certain material in a school or public library, the Idaho Launch project and others.
Miller looked at each lawmakers’ vote on these items and how it aligned with the Republican Party before presenting the group’s recommended course of action.
Though none of the legislators were in attendance, the committee did provide some lenience to Horman because of her written responses to the committee. Mickelsen, who had 16 allegations against her, was deemed the most egregious offender.
“In light of the totality of her voting record, where she voted consistently with Democrats and consistently against Republican Party platform values, we made a recommendation that she be censured with a vote of no confidence,” Miller said.
Though that’s the recommendation from the SIC, a binding vote has not happened yet.
The reaction
Multiple members of the community were in attendance, including Ammon City Council President Russell Slack. He expressed concerns about the tone of the hearing and the way it was handled.
“Everything that’s been presented makes this feel like a trial,” Slack said. “It’s no wonder that not one of the elected officials (wanted to be here).”
In response, Beck pointed to the initial letter he sent to legislators requesting they come and be heard in a “nonconfrontational atmosphere.” He said he made them aware of the rules and worked with them for a month to try and accommodate them as much as possible.
Once they were informed of the party violations, Beck says communication fell apart. Cook, Mickelsen and Horman drew their own conclusions and reported it to the media, he says, which was “inappropriate” behavior.
District 33 Senator David Lent and Reps. Barbara Ehardt and Marco Erickson are also being investigated for similar allegations. A hearing date had not been set as of Monday.
In a conversation with EastIdahoNews.com before Tuesday’s hearing, Erickson said he’s tried to have civil conversations with the Bonneville County Republican Party in the past, but its attitude is always disrespectful.
After hearing public comment on the matter, the committee adjourned the public meeting and went into a closed-door session, per party rules.
A date for the vote has not yet been determined.
District 32 and 33 legislators are holding a public Town Hall meeting at the College of Eastern Idaho on Thursday night. It starts at 7 p.m. in room 150 of building 6.
