MERIDIAN, Idaho — Monica McKinley and incumbent James Petzke are two of the three Republican candidates running to represent District 21A in the Idaho Statehouse.
- Monica McKinley is retired and has lived in Meridian for nearly 30 years, you can find her campaign website here.
- James Petzke is the incumbent. He grew up in Hailey, Idaho and is a business owner. You can find his campaign website here.
- Adam Nelson is the third candidate that will appear on the ballot. After several attempts to meet with him to discuss his campaign, we were unsuccessful.
(Below is the transcript from the broadcast story)
James Petzke and Monica McKinley are two of the Republican candidates running for District 21 Seat A.
Both describe themselves as Idahoans with conservative values.
James Petzke is the incumbent. He's spent the last two years in office focused on education.
"And so, that's something that I definitely want to double down on in my second term if I'm re-elected. I want to make sure that we are focusing education on producing real-world outcomes for students so that when they get through with their education they can go into the real world and be successful in it," said Petzke.
One difference between the two candidates is how they'd handle the State's budget, an area Monica McKinley says has room for improvement.
"Currently, the legislature, the budget for the Idaho State legislature is 52% higher this year than it was just four years ago and with that we are still dependent on federal government for up to 34% of that budget so we do not have a balanced budget so I would like to help with that," said McKinley.
"Idaho has always passed a balanced budget, that's very much a priority for me and the last couple years we have passed very balanced, conservative, fiscally responsible budgets, and so a huge portion of my work is always going to be focused on that area and that's what allows us to do tax relief,” added Petzke.
"I also want to make sure people know that I do not want to take any more federal money. We need to stop that,” added McKinley.
While McKinley would embrace the learning curve that comes with the job, Petzke says he'd focus on keeping Idaho on its current track.
"I'm a super hard worker, I'm a very fast learner. What I don't know, I will learn. I am a good researcher so if there's something that comes up that I don't know about I will make sure to do the research," McKinley told Idaho News 6.
"We need to continue focusing on balancing our budget and doing tax relief. And quality education and holding conservative values and standing up for public safety. All things that Idaho has done very well that we need to continue to do," said Petzke.
