Representative Mike Moyle is my father. No, I don't mean biologically. I mean philosophically. He's your father too, and he knows best!
Full disclosure, our newsroom's relationship with Moyle is a bit like some children's relationships with their parents. It is a bit dysfunctional. Moyle is upset about a story we did with him last year examining the reasons why he and others in the Republican leadership refuse to give you and me the ability to vote to raise our own taxes through a local option sales tax for transportation. I don't think dad trusts us to be able to make decisions for ourselves, unless of course we are re-electing him.
Need proof of this? Listen to Moyle talk about his latest proposal to change Idaho's Constitution to now allow voters to consider a local option sales tax. This is not really a change of heart because his proposal would allow it only for individual cities or counties (not grouped entities like Ada and Canyon Counties together, which frankly is critical for funding any regional transportation plan), and only with a two-thirds majority. Why something as onerous as a Constitutional Amendment? Because Moyle doesn't want to give future legislatures the option of lowering the 2/3rd's majority requirement to pass the tax, telling the 'Idaho Statesman', "Down the road, you could have a renegade legislature."
"Renegade legislature?" You mean a legislature elected by the citizens of Idaho to represent them with the latitude necessary to deal with problems as they arise? Wow, if us voters are ever so stupid as to do something like that, we can look back and say "Thank goodness Mike Moyle was there to protect us from ourselves!" Father, after all, really does know best!
Now I know some of you who don't know Moyle might misconstrue his comment as a bit arrogant and somewhat patronizing, but those who do know him laugh it off as "That's Dad just being Dad!" The odd thing about Dad though. For an elected representative, he doesn't seem to have a great deal of faith in democracy.
Certainly, Moyle had to be stunned at what happened with the community college local option tax. The legislature passed a law allowing local entities to pass a local option tax for community colleges, and faster then you can say 'Political Populism 101,' voters in Ada and Canyon counties overwhelmingly voted to tax themselves to create the College of Western Idaho. Moyle must have muttered, "What are the children I represent thinking?!" Just being rebellious I suppose.
It brings to mind a conversation I had with a Republican Mayor of a treasure valley city (which was a casual conversation that I'm recounting from memory, so they shall remain nameless). The mayor was complaining to me about Moyle, saying the state representative lives isolated out on a ranch in western Ada County, seems out of touch when it comes to emerging local urban issues and appears to have no desire to help our area's expanding cities deal with the growth problems they are facing. Surprisingly critical comments of Moyle from a political leader of his own party, but you know kids these days.
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