STORY AND PHOTOS BY KAREN BOSSICK

As the new kid on the legislative block, Chris Hansen brought a welcomed levity to the Pizza and Politics debate offered last week at Mountain Humane.

Hansen got them chuckling with his introduction, noting that he was the only one of the seven Senate and House candidates seated at the table who still tucks his children into bed at night.

And he kept them chuckling through the rest of his appearance as he laid out his reasons for seeking a legislative seat. Hansen, a Hailey Democrat, is challenging Jack Nelsen, R-Jerome, for House Seat 26B in the Idaho Legislature.

Jack Nelsen says he is a believer in local control.

Nelsen, 68, won a narrow victory over his challenger Karma Fitzgerald in 2022, going to bed thinking he had lost only to find out the next morning he had won by 83 votes after it was found that the state had failed to count 694 absentee ballots.

Nelsen describes himself as a third-generation dairy farmer married to a retired educator. He tells of early ties to the Wood River Valley, thanks to his grandmother who owned a cabin near Easley Hot Springs; he grew up skiing Soldier Mountain with occasional trips to Sun Valley.

He has served on a handful of commissions, including the Mid-Snake Water Board, the College of Southern Idaho board of trustees and Jerome Planning and Zoning, which he served on for 20 years.

Soon after taking his seat, Nelsen incurred nationwide press for comparing women’s reproductive rights to milking cows: “I’ve milked a few cows, spent most of my time walking behind lines of cows. So, if you want some ideas on repro and the women’s health thing, I have some definite opinions.”

Nelsen later called his comment inappropriate, but it still gets resurrected from time to time.

Nelsen said he is particularly proud of co-sponsoring a bill that provided clarification and expansion of ground water supply in the Eastern Snake River Plain and notes that last year’s legislature increased the grocery tax credit and cut property taxes.

Chris Hansen, 40, tells how his grandparent were Swiss Mormons who pushed their cart across the Rocky Mountains, eventually winding up potato farmers north of Shoshone. The other side of his family were potato farmers, as well, who settled in the Treasure Valley after losing their farm in Colorado during the Dust Bowl.

His parents met one another while fighting fires for the Bureau of Land Management in Shoshone; his father went on to become a civil engineer building roads in Ada County while his mother was a teacher/principal.

Hansen got his start working as a wildland firefighter and for conservation groups. Armed with a Bachelor of Arts degree from the College of Idaho, he taught math at Wood River High School, where he started a Latinos in STEAM club. It was his wife Melissa, who works at The Nature Conservancy, who convinced him over the kitchen table to run for House Seat 26 B

He is running, he says, to ensure that his two young sons will grow up to be able to hunt on public lands, breathe clean air and drink clear water. That includes incentives to recharge the aquifer.

PRIORITIES:

Nelsen says he is focused on addressing Idaho’s water issues from quagga mussels in the Snake River to infrastructure. He notes that water issues affect everyone from farmers to golfers and that the district is in danger of running out. He also wants to address health care access and affordability in a state, which he says ranks last in the nation in nurses per capita.

Hansen says he’s running to bring down the costs that working families like his have to contend with, including the costs of housing, healthcare and childcare. Among the things he’d like to do is remove the sales tax.  He’s also running to ensure his students get the education they need to be successful in the world.

“I’m running for my sons and I’m running for my students,” he said. “My endorsements come from families--working families and teachers.”

LAVA RIDGE WIND PROJECT:

Nelsen says he is opposed to the large wind project that would be built in the desert northeast of Minidoka.

Hansen says he’s in favor of a continued transition to green energy, but he wants to keep the power that’s generated in Idaho in Idaho, rather than build large-scale energy projects like Lava Ridge that would ship power to California.

ABORTION:

Nelsen says politicians have no business getting between women and their doctors and that the state needs to fix “poor legislation.”

Hansen says he would fight for women’s reproductive freedom. Idaho has lost 20 percent of its OB-GYNs  since the trigger law went into effect, he says, because they’re unwilling to practice in a state that will not make an exception for the life of a mother, incest or rape. This has forced women to drive great distances for routine appointments or even be air-lifted out of state for care when complications arrive, he adds.

EDUCATION

Nelsen says public schools are funded inequitably and that needs to be addressed. He says he does not support public dollars being used for private education but that he does favor preserving Idaho LAUNCH, which provides students a one-time chance to have 80 percent of their tuition and fees at eligible institutions covered up to a maximum of $8,000.

Hansen says he is against vouchers for private schools because they take away from already-underfunded public schools in a state where per-pupil spending is 50th out of 50 nationwide. He does, however, believe early childhood education needs greater financial support to get and retain qualified staff and lower costs for families.

PROVIDING WORKFORCE HOUSING:

Nelsen says a variety of solutions are needed.

Hansen notes that local municipalities’ ability to provide workforce housing is hampered because they cannot grow their budgets more than 3 percent.

PROPOSITION ONE, WHICH WOULD PROVIDE OPEN PRIMARIES AND CREATE RANKED-CHOICE VOTING:

Nelsen notes that a large number of Idahoans wanted it on the ballot. He says he has not been impressed with the direction the Republican party has taken since primaries were closed in 2012 and says he will support the decision of the voters on Nov. 5.

Hansen says he is in favor of Proposition One because he believes that it’s wrong that a small minority of people get to choose the candidates in the closed primary system. Open primaries would allow nearly 300,000 independent-minded voters an opportunity vote in May primaries.

PUBLIC LANDS AND WATER

Nelsen says he is in favor of protecting Idaho’s water.

As a hunter and outdoorsman, Hansen is dedicated to protecting public lands. And he wants balance management that prioritizes farm land and clean water.

HOUSE BILL 710, WHICH REQUIRES PUBLIC LIBRARIES TO CENSOR “OBSCENE” MATERIAL OR FACE FINES:

Nelsen says he voted against bills regarding materials deemed obscene in libraries as he believes local communities can manage their own libraries. He notes that he has twice received the Idaho Library Association Legislator of the Year.

Hansen says he is opposed to the bill that the legislature passed last session. Instead, he favors local control where those who find objectionable material can work it out with the library without threat of lawsuit.