WEBVTT

00:00.290 --> 00:02.570
- [Narrator] Welcome to The Idaho Debates,

00:02.570 --> 00:04.380
a Q and A for congressional district

00:04.380 --> 00:06.920
one and two Republican primary.

00:06.920 --> 00:09.933
The Idaho Debates is
organized by these partners.

00:10.910 --> 00:14.720
Funding provided by the Friends
of Idaho Public Television.

00:14.720 --> 00:17.110
The Idaho Public Television Endowment

00:17.110 --> 00:19.333
and the Corporation for
Public Broadcasting.

00:20.810 --> 00:23.420
- Hello and welcome to the
Idaho Debates candidate

00:23.420 --> 00:25.550
Q and A for congressional district

00:25.550 --> 00:27.280
ones Republican primary.

00:27.280 --> 00:28.880
I'm Melissa Davlin.

00:28.880 --> 00:31.800
This is the third and
final Idaho Debates program

00:31.800 --> 00:34.630
this primary season, and as
with everything this year

00:34.630 --> 00:36.380
we had to change our format

00:36.380 --> 00:38.570
to allow for social distancing.

00:38.570 --> 00:40.180
Here's a rundown.

00:40.180 --> 00:41.910
Because candidates can't campaign

00:41.910 --> 00:43.880
in traditional ways that would normally

00:43.880 --> 00:46.420
determine eligibility for our debates,

00:46.420 --> 00:49.220
we wave the criteria to participate.

00:49.220 --> 00:51.190
If a primary candidate is on the ballot

00:51.190 --> 00:53.470
in a contested congressional race,

00:53.470 --> 00:56.550
they received an
invitation to our program.

00:56.550 --> 00:58.960
Originally, this program
was going to include

00:58.960 --> 01:01.640
both Nicholas Jones and Kevin Rhoades,

01:01.640 --> 01:03.510
Jones is running in the congressional

01:03.510 --> 01:05.570
district one Republican primary,

01:05.570 --> 01:08.440
challenging incumbent
Congressman Russ Fulcher.

01:08.440 --> 01:10.410
And Rhoades is running
in the congressional

01:10.410 --> 01:12.570
district two Republican primary,

01:12.570 --> 01:16.010
challenging incumbent
Congressman Mike Simpson.

01:16.010 --> 01:17.720
Neither of the Congressman responded

01:17.720 --> 01:20.400
to our invitation to participate.

01:20.400 --> 01:22.220
Rhoades originally responded yes

01:22.220 --> 01:23.720
and then made an appointment with us

01:23.720 --> 01:25.400
then asked to reschedule,

01:25.400 --> 01:27.230
but then didn't get back
to us with the times.

01:27.230 --> 01:30.810
So we're moving ahead
with just Nicholas Jones.

01:30.810 --> 01:33.620
We taped the Q and A with
Jones on Tuesday, May 5th

01:33.620 --> 01:35.730
via video teleconferencing.

01:35.730 --> 01:38.330
He was given eight
questions and had 90 seconds

01:38.330 --> 01:40.870
to answer each one,
plus had the opportunity

01:40.870 --> 01:43.170
to give a 60 second closing statement

01:43.170 --> 01:45.400
at the end of the program.

01:45.400 --> 01:48.113
Here's where Jones stands on the issues.

01:49.030 --> 01:50.030
Why are you running?

01:50.940 --> 01:53.460
- I'm running specifically to give a voice

01:53.460 --> 01:55.280
to small business in Congress

01:55.280 --> 02:00.280
and I feel that, that's
not necessarily present

02:00.490 --> 02:03.590
for us there in Congress,

02:03.590 --> 02:06.020
specifically for the United States House.

02:06.020 --> 02:10.440
The current pandemic
that we have right now

02:10.440 --> 02:15.440
is evident that things
are not really running

02:15.730 --> 02:17.570
with as good a oil as they could.

02:17.570 --> 02:21.470
And so, I've been watching
all of this come to play.

02:21.470 --> 02:24.800
I've been seeing it time
and time again where,

02:24.800 --> 02:26.480
where decisions are being made,

02:26.480 --> 02:29.130
that are close to where they need to be,

02:29.130 --> 02:31.580
but they're not exactly
where they need to be.

02:31.580 --> 02:33.270
And what happens is
they'll end up adjusting

02:33.270 --> 02:35.060
later down the road.

02:35.060 --> 02:37.180
And the reason for that is because people

02:37.180 --> 02:40.950
in Congress they're, you know,
the House and the Senate,

02:40.950 --> 02:42.780
they're not really fully in touch

02:42.780 --> 02:46.410
with the everyday person.

02:46.410 --> 02:48.630
And what I bring to the table

02:48.630 --> 02:51.540
is a wealth of experience from having

02:51.540 --> 02:54.040
ran my own business for
years here in Idaho.

02:54.040 --> 02:58.110
And I also want to do good.

02:58.110 --> 02:59.570
That's a common thing that probably

02:59.570 --> 03:00.850
a lot of people end up saying,

03:00.850 --> 03:03.990
but the real matter for me is that,

03:03.990 --> 03:05.700
I've done well in the business world

03:05.700 --> 03:07.750
and I have a fantastic team of people

03:07.750 --> 03:10.940
who have really elevated
me to the next level.

03:10.940 --> 03:13.630
And this is a natural progression

03:13.630 --> 03:17.550
to where I want to step in to making

03:17.550 --> 03:20.613
a solid help for people
and to do good for them.

03:21.560 --> 03:24.093
- If you're elected, what
will your priorities be?

03:25.490 --> 03:29.110
- My priorities are going to be focused on

03:29.110 --> 03:31.800
smoothing out a lot of regulations

03:31.800 --> 03:33.490
and policies that we have.

03:33.490 --> 03:36.210
I'm bringing to the table
a wealth of experience

03:36.210 --> 03:38.940
in business and that wealth of experience

03:38.940 --> 03:41.380
is gonna be something that
can help smooth things out.

03:41.380 --> 03:44.490
I'm gonna be focusing
on improving education.

03:44.490 --> 03:46.470
A really good example here in Idaho,

03:46.470 --> 03:49.780
we don't have the highest paying jobs,

03:49.780 --> 03:52.250
and there's a couple
of choice we can take.

03:52.250 --> 03:56.020
We can either mandate that employees,

03:56.020 --> 03:58.290
employers raise employees wages,

03:58.290 --> 04:00.820
which then will increase prices

04:00.820 --> 04:03.670
and it has a trickle
effect that could be bad.

04:03.670 --> 04:05.900
The real route that we need to be taking

04:05.900 --> 04:08.890
is making sure that education
is a priority for people.

04:08.890 --> 04:11.690
And I might be able to discuss
that a little bit later,

04:11.690 --> 04:13.610
but education is going to be a priority.

04:13.610 --> 04:16.570
Simplifying business regulation
is going to be a priority.

04:16.570 --> 04:19.270
Making sure that we are
reducing the deficit

04:19.270 --> 04:22.700
is going to be one of the main
priorities that I focus on,

04:22.700 --> 04:25.717
which relates to removing
expense layering,

04:25.717 --> 04:27.970
getting rid of redundant spending.

04:27.970 --> 04:31.230
And really, really laser
focusing on identifying

04:31.230 --> 04:33.440
those costs, so that we can
start to reduce deficit.

04:33.440 --> 04:36.750
It's possible and we just all

04:36.750 --> 04:39.350
really need to be focusing
on reducing that deficit.

04:40.420 --> 04:43.400
- Has the U.S. government
responded appropriately

04:43.400 --> 04:44.993
to the Covid-19 outbreak?

04:46.210 --> 04:49.270
- As a whole I don't think that we have.

04:49.270 --> 04:52.358
So even assuming that,
well I mean assuming that

04:52.358 --> 04:56.220
this is a deadly pandemic,
which everybody's divided on,

04:56.220 --> 04:59.930
we really didn't shut down well.

04:59.930 --> 05:02.640
You know, as far as we
look at for businesses,

05:02.640 --> 05:06.240
businesses aren't designed
to operate at 1/2 speed.

05:06.240 --> 05:08.030
I own a number of restaurants

05:08.030 --> 05:10.060
in the Boise and Idaho area,

05:10.060 --> 05:13.450
and when you are running at 1/2 speed,

05:13.450 --> 05:14.850
you have more expenses.

05:14.850 --> 05:17.930
So the answer, no they didn't,

05:17.930 --> 05:19.697
because, when you say "Oh don't worry,

05:19.697 --> 05:20.947
"you can do delivery option,

05:20.947 --> 05:24.030
"you can do, you know X, Y and Z."

05:24.030 --> 05:26.460
It doesn't lower our costs as restaurants.

05:26.460 --> 05:27.990
It actually increases our costs.

05:27.990 --> 05:30.830
Where, if we were to have just
shut down for three weeks,

05:30.830 --> 05:34.820
we would have had maybe
X amount of expenses,

05:34.820 --> 05:36.800
but instead, we have X squared expenses,

05:36.800 --> 05:38.100
because now we have, not only

05:38.100 --> 05:40.300
do we have employees to pay,
we also have to pay for,

05:40.300 --> 05:41.960
you know, delivery services,
we have to pay for rent.

05:41.960 --> 05:43.800
We have to, I mean, those
are just a slew of things

05:43.800 --> 05:45.880
we have to pay, so it
doesn't reduce our costs.

05:45.880 --> 05:49.190
And everything was a
largely and over reaction,

05:49.190 --> 05:51.780
where there could have been a slightly

05:51.780 --> 05:54.790
more cohesive work to get everything done,

05:54.790 --> 05:56.870
but everybody was fighting
against everybody.

05:56.870 --> 05:59.150
We find ourselves in the
situation where we're doing a,

05:59.150 --> 06:01.230
you know $3 trillion bailout

06:01.230 --> 06:04.683
and that's got to be paid
somehow and it's not good.

06:05.710 --> 06:08.503
- What are your healthcare
policy priorities?

06:09.500 --> 06:12.120
- My healthcare policy priorities

06:12.120 --> 06:14.960
are going to be focused
largely on improving

06:14.960 --> 06:17.910
a patient centric healthcare system.

06:17.910 --> 06:20.470
That's vital specifically because,

06:20.470 --> 06:22.660
tailored care to each individual,

06:22.660 --> 06:25.680
not only makes it so that it can lower

06:25.680 --> 06:27.890
healthcare costs because
they're not getting

06:27.890 --> 06:31.420
the entire gamut of health,
but it also increases trust

06:31.420 --> 06:33.800
because they're working
directly with the doctor,

06:33.800 --> 06:35.567
and saying, "hey here are my problems,

06:35.567 --> 06:37.920
"here are my issues, this
is what I need help with."

06:37.920 --> 06:41.490
And they're getting a tailored
health specifically to that.

06:41.490 --> 06:44.860
You know, removing
mandated health coverage,

06:44.860 --> 06:47.600
isn't necessarily the
route that we should go,

06:47.600 --> 06:49.870
because we've already
started down that path

06:49.870 --> 06:52.490
and we don't want to be spending

06:52.490 --> 06:53.900
another couple trillion dollars,

06:53.900 --> 06:55.670
removing what's already there.

06:55.670 --> 06:59.080
Altering things and simplifying
the current policies

06:59.080 --> 07:01.180
that we have like President
Trump has discussed

07:01.180 --> 07:03.930
is going to be our best option.

07:03.930 --> 07:05.570
The reason for that is because

07:05.570 --> 07:08.830
if somebody is required to have a specific

07:08.830 --> 07:11.420
type of insurance that they're not using,

07:11.420 --> 07:14.680
they still have to enter into the pool.

07:14.680 --> 07:16.210
Like insurers still have to consider that,

07:16.210 --> 07:17.370
a really good example.

07:17.370 --> 07:21.250
My sister in-law, she's
practicing celibacy

07:21.250 --> 07:24.730
she has literally no intent
to get married anytime soon,

07:24.730 --> 07:28.270
and there's no reason that
she should be required

07:28.270 --> 07:31.890
to have a healthcare plan
that requires birth control,

07:31.890 --> 07:33.160
that requires maternity care,

07:33.160 --> 07:35.710
that requires all these things

07:35.710 --> 07:38.290
that she has zero chance
is going to happen

07:38.290 --> 07:40.600
and insurers have to increase insurance

07:40.600 --> 07:42.650
when they have more
people that are covered.

07:42.650 --> 07:44.330
And so that increases
costs across the board

07:44.330 --> 07:46.080
and fixing that is going to be key.

07:47.120 --> 07:48.500
- What are your views on the role

07:48.500 --> 07:50.363
of the U.S. Department of Education?

07:51.640 --> 07:56.640
- So, I am extremely
strong pro on education.

07:56.760 --> 08:01.020
And, as far as the role
that the Department

08:01.020 --> 08:03.900
of Education is gonna have
it's, they enact policies

08:03.900 --> 08:06.413
and I'm all for that, that
they've trickled down.

08:08.460 --> 08:09.440
They need to be a guide,

08:09.440 --> 08:11.440
they need to place in standards.

08:11.440 --> 08:13.650
The other thing that
they really need to do is

08:13.650 --> 08:18.290
improve the narratives
that exist in our society.

08:18.290 --> 08:20.940
The primary narrative that we have is,

08:20.940 --> 08:22.270
when you graduate from high school

08:22.270 --> 08:23.850
you have to go to college,

08:23.850 --> 08:27.050
and they ignore every
other type of avenue.

08:27.050 --> 08:29.300
Because of that, we have across the board,

08:29.300 --> 08:33.130
an average graduation rate of 33%.

08:33.130 --> 08:35.740
That means along the
path, people drop out,

08:35.740 --> 08:37.770
they have, they're
loaded with student debt

08:37.770 --> 08:40.800
and they find themselves
in low paying jobs

08:40.800 --> 08:43.180
because not only did they
not graduate from college,

08:43.180 --> 08:44.730
they also don't enter into a trade.

08:44.730 --> 08:46.500
Which is a completely respectable

08:46.500 --> 08:50.250
and actually high earning
job that they can have.

08:50.250 --> 08:52.090
And so, the narrative that you know,

08:52.090 --> 08:53.680
the Department of
Education really should be

08:53.680 --> 08:56.698
focusing on creating and pioneering is,

08:56.698 --> 08:58.810
hey, go get education.

08:58.810 --> 09:00.530
It doesn't matter if that
education is college,

09:00.530 --> 09:02.090
a trade, an apprenticeship,

09:02.090 --> 09:04.100
that's really where the focus needs to be

09:04.100 --> 09:07.150
on creating that narrative, so that we can

09:08.139 --> 09:11.680
start elevating people
to higher paying jobs.

09:11.680 --> 09:13.330
- Do you agree with how
the federal government

09:13.330 --> 09:14.993
manages public lands?

09:16.210 --> 09:18.450
- For the most part, across the board

09:18.450 --> 09:20.530
it's actually exceptional
on how they're able

09:20.530 --> 09:25.530
to manage such a large breadth
of land and requirement.

09:26.450 --> 09:29.220
The difficulty really comes down to,

09:29.220 --> 09:32.363
are they the most
effective at managing it?

09:33.210 --> 09:34.940
They keep it open for hunting,

09:34.940 --> 09:37.530
they keep it open for fishing,

09:37.530 --> 09:39.580
they keep it open for mountain biking

09:39.580 --> 09:42.370
which I'm a humongous fan of.

09:42.370 --> 09:47.020
And the fact is though, is it
as effective as it could be?

09:47.020 --> 09:49.150
And so, as far as how they manage it

09:49.150 --> 09:52.160
and how they keep it open
for people to use, fantastic.

09:52.160 --> 09:53.990
But, is there a more effective way?

09:53.990 --> 09:56.540
For example, if Idaho
were to be fulfilling

09:56.540 --> 09:59.200
and managing its land, would
that be more effective?

09:59.200 --> 10:03.020
And I think that yeah it
would be far more effective.

10:03.020 --> 10:04.390
You could go into any industry,

10:04.390 --> 10:05.770
you can go into any government entity

10:05.770 --> 10:08.670
and the smaller it is, the more effective

10:08.670 --> 10:09.920
and the more nimble it can be

10:09.920 --> 10:12.940
at managing the resources
and managing what exists.

10:12.940 --> 10:14.850
And so, yeah it manages it,

10:14.850 --> 10:17.260
but does it effect our deficit

10:17.260 --> 10:19.674
because it has such a
big breadth to manage?

10:19.674 --> 10:21.383
The answer is yes.

10:22.260 --> 10:25.053
- What policies would you
support to lower U.S. debt?

10:26.217 --> 10:29.646
- So policies that actually reduce,

10:29.646 --> 10:32.610
that actually involve engaging

10:32.610 --> 10:35.180
with all of their spending practices

10:35.180 --> 10:38.020
and identifying expense
layering and redundant spending,

10:38.020 --> 10:40.860
any of those I would greatly support.

10:40.860 --> 10:43.330
Because there are redundant things

10:43.330 --> 10:45.210
that we're spending money on that needs

10:45.210 --> 10:46.400
to be chopped away at.

10:46.400 --> 10:49.360
There are expense layering that exists.

10:49.360 --> 10:52.680
Even if it's business or
any bureaucracy that exist,

10:52.680 --> 10:55.710
as things grow, layers start getting added

10:55.710 --> 10:59.250
and layers are never really removed.

10:59.250 --> 11:01.220
And so, that's what needs to be happening.

11:01.220 --> 11:03.190
And so the policies and
bills I would support

11:03.190 --> 11:06.120
are all of those that take
that into consideration.

11:06.120 --> 11:08.670
I wouldn't want to be
supporting those bills

11:08.670 --> 11:09.797
that are going to say,
"hey we're going to add

11:09.797 --> 11:11.550
"a trillion dollars to our deficit."

11:11.550 --> 11:12.970
Like that's not where we need to go.

11:12.970 --> 11:16.113
There's no reason we can't be
smart about enacting policies.

11:17.260 --> 11:18.140
- What are your priorities

11:18.140 --> 11:19.963
when it comes to immigration policy?

11:21.080 --> 11:24.100
- So, if we look at the
hard and fast numbers

11:24.100 --> 11:29.100
of our American growth, we
have a birth rate of 1.7%.

11:32.420 --> 11:34.260
And so, what's happening is,

11:34.260 --> 11:36.220
is that we're not replacing people

11:36.220 --> 11:38.720
that are either leaving
the U.S. through death

11:38.720 --> 11:42.560
or through just, deciding they
want to go and move to Italy.

11:42.560 --> 11:45.970
What we need to be focusing
on is legal immigration.

11:45.970 --> 11:48.497
There is no reason that
we should be allowing

11:48.497 --> 11:51.630
illegal immigration into our country.

11:51.630 --> 11:54.840
And with legal immigration
we can fill that hole

11:54.840 --> 11:56.310
that needs to exist.

11:56.310 --> 11:58.130
Before, so pre-pandemic,

11:58.130 --> 12:01.540
we were at a 3.5% unemployment rate.

12:01.540 --> 12:04.548
National unemployment rate is 4%.

12:04.548 --> 12:07.923
And so, we have to make
up that 0.5% difference

12:07.923 --> 12:10.710
somewhere and that's what
happened with immigration.

12:10.710 --> 12:12.500
People are coming
legally into this country

12:12.500 --> 12:15.020
are filling jobs that weren't filled.

12:15.020 --> 12:18.550
I mean, pre-pandemic we
had hundreds of thousands

12:18.550 --> 12:20.260
of jobs that needed to be filled

12:20.260 --> 12:23.500
and when it's at 4% unemployment rate,

12:23.500 --> 12:25.300
we go, okay that's just
people churning through,

12:25.300 --> 12:27.440
this is good, this is not bad it's just

12:27.440 --> 12:30.110
oh they changed jobs,
they're switching around.

12:30.110 --> 12:33.048
And the fact that it was at 3.5% shows

12:33.048 --> 12:35.060
that we have potential for a significant

12:35.060 --> 12:37.560
job shortage if we're not
going to be up with it.

12:37.560 --> 12:38.940
So legal immigration, good.

12:38.940 --> 12:41.050
Pursue the American dream, I love it.

12:41.050 --> 12:42.840
Illegal immigration, it needs to stop

12:42.840 --> 12:45.973
and those who are illegal
we need to get them out.

12:47.060 --> 12:49.810
- You now have 60 seconds to
give your closing remarks.

12:50.850 --> 12:54.808
- I believe that I am the
best choice for U.S. House,

12:54.808 --> 12:56.480
to represent here in Idaho,

12:56.480 --> 12:58.540
because I have a wealth of experience

12:58.540 --> 13:01.550
that will help us to reduce the deficit

13:01.550 --> 13:03.890
and identify the redundant spending

13:03.890 --> 13:05.491
that exists in our government.

13:05.491 --> 13:08.640
Unlike my opponent, I have experience,

13:08.640 --> 13:11.230
I've hired employees and
I'm actually in touch

13:11.230 --> 13:13.210
with the regular person,

13:13.210 --> 13:15.160
because I'm going through everything

13:15.160 --> 13:15.993
they're going through.

13:15.993 --> 13:17.430
I'm a business owner here in Idaho,

13:17.430 --> 13:20.180
I have employees, I can relate.

13:20.180 --> 13:22.590
Where otherwise, certain
people in Congress

13:22.590 --> 13:23.460
are not able to do.

13:23.460 --> 13:25.350
And I'm able to bring
that voice to Congress

13:25.350 --> 13:27.710
and say, "hey, here's what people need."

13:27.710 --> 13:29.750
And act as a true representative

13:29.750 --> 13:31.200
for the people here in Idaho.

13:32.548 --> 13:33.510
- Thank you for watching.

13:33.510 --> 13:36.590
Remember, the primary election is May 19th

13:36.590 --> 13:40.100
and will be conducted
entirely via mail this year.

13:40.100 --> 13:43.080
You have until 8:00 p.m.
local time on the 19th

13:43.080 --> 13:45.770
to register to vote and
request your ballot.

13:45.770 --> 13:48.470
You can do both at
https://www.idahovotes.gov

13:48.470 --> 13:50.650
and if you don't have internet access,

13:50.650 --> 13:53.760
you can contact your
County Clerk directly.

13:53.760 --> 13:55.140
In order for your vote to count,

13:55.140 --> 13:57.900
your County Clerk must
receive your completed ballot

13:57.900 --> 14:00.890
by 8:00 p.m. local time on June 2nd.

14:00.890 --> 14:03.060
And because of that delay, the earliest

14:03.060 --> 14:05.100
we'll start seeing results State-wide

14:05.100 --> 14:07.010
is 9:00 p.m. mountain time,

14:07.010 --> 14:10.320
8:00 p.m. pacific on June 2nd.

14:10.320 --> 14:12.450
We aired two other candidate Q and A's,

14:12.450 --> 14:14.520
Rudy Soto and Staniela Nikolova

14:14.520 --> 14:15.880
for the Democratic primary

14:15.880 --> 14:17.520
in congressional district one.

14:17.520 --> 14:20.200
And Paulette Jordan and Jim Vandermaas

14:20.200 --> 14:23.070
for the U.S. Senate Democratic primary.

14:23.070 --> 14:25.040
The incumbent Congressman, Mike Simpson

14:25.040 --> 14:26.940
and Russ Fulcher didn't respond

14:26.940 --> 14:29.180
to our invitation to participate.

14:29.180 --> 14:31.630
And Senator James Risch is running

14:31.630 --> 14:34.160
unopposed in his primary.

14:34.160 --> 14:35.970
Aaron Swisher is the only Democrat

14:35.970 --> 14:38.720
running in congressional district two.

14:38.720 --> 14:39.980
For a list of all candidates,

14:39.980 --> 14:42.490
including independents
and third party candidates

14:42.490 --> 14:44.350
without primary challenges,

14:44.350 --> 14:46.430
visit the Secretary of State's website,

14:46.430 --> 14:49.980
at https://www.sos.idaho.gov.

14:49.980 --> 14:52.520
For more information on
our candidate Q and A's

14:52.520 --> 14:54.520
and to rewatch any you might of missed,

14:54.520 --> 14:57.040
go to https://www.idahoptv.org

14:57.040 --> 14:59.490
and watch the Idaho Reports Facebook page

14:59.490 --> 15:02.120
for an online only pundits discussion

15:02.120 --> 15:03.590
on the upcoming election.

15:03.590 --> 15:05.700
With some primary legislative races,

15:05.700 --> 15:07.244
we're keeping our eyes on.

15:07.244 --> 15:10.077
(uplifting music)

15:17.060 --> 15:18.800
- [Narrator] The Idaho
Debates is organized

15:18.800 --> 15:20.023
by these partners.

15:23.300 --> 15:26.960
Funding provided by the Friends
of Idaho Public Television.

15:26.960 --> 15:29.340
The Idaho Public Television Endowment

15:29.340 --> 15:32.269
and the Corporation for
Public Broadcasting.

15:32.269 --> 15:35.102
(uplifting music)