Rep. Maxine Bell & Sen. Shawn Keough

With the legislature declaring “sine die” (adjournment) last week, it marked the end of two stellar legislative careers. Rep. Maxine Bell and Sen. Shawn Keough, the co-chairs of the Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee (JFAC), completed their final terms in the Idaho Legislature.

Both legislators placed their stamp on Idaho, with Sen. Keough serving 11 terms and Rep. Bell completing 12. Both served with a level of professionalism and dedication that I hope is appreciated by their districts. And both demonstrated what it means to serve as thoughtful citizen-legislators.

Whether you agreed with their politics or not, I hope it’s clear they are an example to those who want to serve in public office. Even if you didn’t agree with every decision they made or vote they took, they represented much of what makes Idaho great. They stepped up and made it a priority to serve their communities and state.

My thanks to both of them for their service.

Now, over the next few weeks, plenty of ads and commentaries will fill our Internet, airwaves, and mailboxes. I’ll be contributing to some of that noise. But my goal is to ensure you know who I am as a candidate and how I plan to represent you in the Idaho House. And I’ll be doing so with both of those amazing legislators in mind as an example of what it means to be a servant leader.