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Idaho State Representative District 9A

Idaho House of Representatives members serve a 2-year term and are responsible for translating the public will into public policy for the state, levying taxes, appropriating public funds, and overseeing the administration of state agencies. These responsibilities are carried out through the legislative process — laws passed by elected representatives of the people, legislators.

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  • Candidate picture

    Thomas Albritton
    (Dem)

  • Candidate picture

    John Shirts
    (Rep)

Biographical Information

1. What do you hope to accomplish if elected?

2. What experience has prepared you for this office?

3. What do you see as the most significant challenges Idaho faces that you might be able to address in this position?

4. Would you support legislation to remove criminal liability for physicians and pregnant women experiencing life threatening pregnancy complications and allow for medical and family decisions regarding continuation of that pregnancy. Please explain your response.

5. What else would you like to tell the voters?

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If elected, I hope to reset Idaho's political culture. What that means for Idaho is, restoring women's rights to all healthcare, fully funding education, and fixing the tax schedule that works for all Idahoans not just corporations and the rich. But most importantly we need to restore democracy to all of Idaho and that begins at the local and state levels. It must start with changing the status quo of one-party rule in Idaho.
I am 57 (almost 58) I grew up in a military family (father, 21 years Army retired, deceased). My father grew up in Mississippi and my mother grew up in Nazi Germany during WWII. I am a father of 3 and grandfather of 6 and I live in Weiser, Idaho. I earned my bachelor’s and master’s degrees in history from Boise State University in 2018 and 2021. Before returning to college in my late 40s I spent 15-plus years in construction as a commercial and residential painter. I also worked in retail and the dairy industry in and around southern Idaho. I believe my life experiences have prepared me for this opportunity. The combination of all that has happened in my life from raising my own family to being the full-time caregiver for my elderly mother.
Like many states, Idaho faces challenges from groups that seem to have abandoned the ideals of democracy. For far too long, the Idaho Republican Party has embraced an ideology of hate, bigotry, and discrimination. I hope to restore Idaho's political landscape to one that works for all Idahoans. This is no longer about whose ideas are best it is about restoring democracy with integrity and character to Idaho. I hope that I can advance those ideals outlined in the U.S. Constitution and the Idaho Constitution by being in this position. There used to be a time in Idaho when we worked together to solve our problems and I hope to restore that attitude for Idaho.
I would absolutely support legislation to remove criminal liability for physicians and pregnant women experiencing life-threatening pregnancy complications. These matters should be between the woman, her family, and their physician. These are personal and extremely difficult situations, and the government has no business in that matter.
I believe all of us must be active in some manner to keep our democracy alive and it starts at the state and local levels. Democracy is not guaranteed, we must work hard to keep it because there are those out there who are trying to undermine the ideals of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

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