TWIN FALLS — Five conservative legislative candidates appeared at a forum organized by a local far-right advocacy group Thursday night.
Jay S. Waters III, Rocky Ferrenburg, Glenneda Zuiderveld, Lyle Johnstone and Terry Edwards, all of whom are seeking state House or Senate seats in Districts 24 and 25, spoke to a crowd of about two dozen people, addressing topics ranging from education to marijuana to public lands.
The forum was hosted by “We the People,” a group that describes itself as a “coalition of patriots who are concerned with the direction our nation — and our community — is heading in.” The organization is associated with several conservative groups, including a local chapter of the John Birch Society.
The gathering struck a hopeful tone as the candidates, some of whom are challenging longtime Republican incumbents, spoke of a recently formed coalition of “Liberty Legislators” in the statehouse and the large number of primary challengers across Idaho and the Magic Valley.
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“The shift is changing in Boise,” said Lyle Johnstone, who is challenging Rep. Clark Kauffman for House Seat 25B. “If we can continue to put constitutional Republican-type, small-government people in there, we can continue to move that in the right direction.”
One of the “Liberty Legislators,” Rep. Christy Zito of Hammett, was in attendance Thursday night, though she clarified to the Times-News after the event that she was only there as an observer.
She asked the candidates for their thoughts on several controversial bills introduced in the legislature during the 2018 session, including a bill that would remove mandatory minimum sentences for drug trafficking cases and a civil asset forfeiture reform bill that became law.
Questions about a widely controversial bill to increase penalties for trespassers sparked the most heated debate, with attendees and candidates on both sides of the issue.
All candidates agreed, however, on one central message: that current Republican representation in the Idaho statehouse is not conservative enough for their liking.
Terry Edwards, who’s running for the Senate seat in District 25 against incumbent Sen. Jim Patrick, told attendees he had taken an oath as a member of the Marine Corps to “defend the Constitution against all enemies, foreign and domestic.”
“I believe some of those folks at the statehouse are domestic enemies,” Edwards said.
“We’re showing people that we’re stepping up,” added Waters, a candidate for the District 24 Senate seat. “And we’re going to take back this country.”
