Judy Peavey-Derr receives award for family's strong support of higher education
Nov. 4, 2012
District 17 is honored to serve as the host of Boise State
University, the state’s largest university. Support for Idaho higher education
runs strong in my family. My folks were avid U of I supporters. My step-mother
graduated from there, as well as my husband Allen. Both of my kids went to
college there, as did all of my cousins from Filer and Twin Falls.
On Friday, Allen and I went to Moscow to accept an award for my parents, to welcome the Estate of Kathryn and Donald D. Ramseyer into the University of Idaho's Silver and Gold Society. The Silver and Gold Society was established in 2009 to pay special tribute to donors whose cumulative lifetime giving to the university totals $100,000 -$999,999. On Nov. 13, they will be recognized for their support of the College of Southern Idaho at a banquet in Twin Falls.
Allen and I have both support BSU in several ways. Allen serves
on a scholarship committee for the administration of the Sally Reed
Scholarship. I went to President Bob Kustra and asked for the new program for
Urban Planning to be developed and met for the first time the other day the new
director of that 3-year program.
Higher education has an important role to play in Idaho – now
more than ever. Our prosperity depends on our ability to produce educated
workers and our ability to produce educated workers depends on higher
education. As a state senator, I would certainly place a high priority on
keeping Idaho’s colleges and universities affordable, to-notch and well-funded.
Judy Peavey-Derr calls on opponent to not mislead
with mailers, Wikipedia entry
October 29 2012
A recent mailer by my opponent, Elliot Werk, comes very close to misrepresenting his record. It reads,
“… Werk values hard work and independence. His accomplishments include both authoring and co-sponsoring major elements of the IJOBs comprehensive jobs packages in 2010 and 2012 to jump-start our economy and create Idaho jobs for Idaho workers. … Werk has a proven record as your advocate in the Idaho Senate, and will continue to fight for you” (emphasis in the original).
Let’s
set aside the irony of someone who’s been voluntarily unemployed for the past
decade advocating for a jobs bill. The real issue is that a voter reading
this could easily come away with the impression that IJOBs passed, and it
passed due to Werk’s diligent advocacy. Unfortunately, because of his sharply
partisan style, Werk was unable to help much in getting IJOBs passed and it
didn’t go far in either year.
Here are some of Werk’s public statements that influence other legislators’
ability to work with him. I’m setting aside whether or not any of these claims
are true; my point is that if you want to change things in an institution, you
need to work effectively with your co-workers and not antagonize them. Anyone
who holds a job knows that.
“A culture of arrogance and entitlement now grips the legislature.”
"The state is starving public schools ... Make no mistake this is a choice by these leaders. A choice that serves nobody but the special interests that fund their elections.”
“In the vacuum left in the statehouse the Idaho Democrat's have twice stepped up and laid out a vision of prosperity and opportunity…”
“This year the legislature gave $35 million to the top 18% of wage earners - picking your pocket once again to reward their supporters. This madness must come to an end!”
The Idaho Jobs and Opportunity Blueprint (IJOBs) actually has a number of good (although hardly original) proposals that could have helped Idahoans. Had I been serving in the Legislature, I can tell you I’d be interested in working with members of all parties and serving as a liaison between Republicans and Democrats on IJOBs and other economic development initiatives. I don’t question Werk’s claim that he “has a proven record as your advocate.” But after 10 years in office, mere advocacy isn’t enough. Results are needed and that’s where Werk has little to show. It is no coincidence the Idaho Statesman, which values temperate views and solid track records of results, endorsed my candidacy over Werk’s.
While he’s at it, Werk should also correct his Wikipedia entry at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elliot_Werk . Under profession, it lists him as a “business owner, engineer” and he is neither. “Retired” or “homemaker” – both perfectly honorable and respectable – would be more apt.
Judy Peavey-Derr finds economic development ideas in Oklahoma tour
The
trip to Oklahoma City has been enlightening and is providing a road map
for economic development. I am thrilled I'm hearing firsthand how
people in Oklahoma city in bad times dedicated themselves to their
future and their children's future.
Oct. 25, 2012
From Wednesday, Oct. 24 through Saturday, Oct. 27, Judy Peavey-Derr will be in Oklahoma City as a member of a Boise Metro Chamber of Commerce delegation touring Oklahoma City’s convention facilities. Peavey-Derr, who is also a member of the Greater Boise Auditorium District, made the following comment on the trip:
“Part of being involved in the community involves getting called to important meetings and tours, even at inconvenient times. So, a couple of weeks before the election, I will be leaving to Oklahoma City with the Boise Metro Chamber of Commerce to tour Oklahoma’s convention facilities and learn about how they developed such a thriving convention industry. Since I am on the board of the Greater Boise Auditorium District, this is a crucial trip and will help me understand how to assist conditions in Boise for the convention industry. District 17 has a several major hotels in its boundaries as well. Boise residents elected me to the Auditorium District to, among other things, get the convention center built and that’s why I’m going, even in the middle of campaign season.”
Delegates will:
· Meet with the Oklahoma City Chamber of Commerce and Economic Development board and will hear from Roy Williams, President and CEO of the Greater Oklahoma City Chamber of Commerce.
· Hear from Mayor of Oklahoma City Ron Norick and Pat McFarron, Partner CMA Strategies and Jim Couch, City Manager of Oklahoma City.
· Take a downtown tour looking at the convention center, arena, Myriad Gardens Performing Arts Center, boathouse district and more.
· Hear economic development information from Michael Carrier, President, Convention and Visitors Bureau, and Cathy O'Conner, President, Alliance for Economic Development.
While the Boise Metro Chamber of Commerce is organizing the trip, each entity represented is paying for its delegate. A strong assortment of business leaders is going on the trip, including:
Candi Allphin, US Bank
Boise Mayor Dave Bieter
Rep. Cherie Buckner-Webb
Bill Conners - Boise Chamber Exec. Director
Meridian Mayor Tammy deWeerd
Sean Evans - Idaho Business Review
Kelli Fairless - Valley Ride
Clark Krause - Boise Valley Economic Partnership
Jeremy Malone - Oppenheimer Companies
Frank Morehouse - Intermountain Gas Company
Jim Otradosky - CSHQA
Joel Pearsall - Northwest Nazarene Univ.
Judy Peavey-Derr Greater Boise Aud. Dist.
Ben Quintana - Boise City Council
Pat Rice - GBAD
Celynda Roach - Cable One
Karen Sander – Downtown Boise Association
Ray Stark - Boise Chamber
Matt Stoll - COMPASS
Sen. Chuck Winder - State Legislator
About ethics
Oct. 21, 2012
In a July 9 campaign
newsletter about the need for ethics reform and asking for
donations, my opponent Elliot Werk prominently features the state seal. Also,
John Gannon, another candidate for office, is portrayed in a way that makes him
appear to be an incumbent along with Werk and Sue Chew. Werk has been spanked
enough for distributing a campaign fundraising newsletter thundering about
ethics reforms while bearing the state seal - a huge ethical breach and a
source of great irony – but it also reveals why change is needed in the
District 17 Senate seat.
This newsletter, and just about every public pronouncement by Werk, shows why his record in the Legislature over 10 years is virtually empty of accomplishment. In this one newsletter, Werk refers to Republicans five times, blaming them for all ethics violations and for his inability to get anything passed. Setting aside whether that’s the whole truth – and it isn’t – it reveals his antagonistic approach, one that leads to few results but lots of “advocacy.” Werk’s Web pages, citizen meetings and newsletters are relentlessly partisan and always lead to the conclusion that he’s trying his best but those Republicans block him and all right-minded people at every turn.
I actually credit Werk for the baseline effort needed to come up with a series of ethics reform proposals. But each and every one of them went nowhere. While Werk is quick to blame Republicans for his failures, at a certain point, introspection is called for. After 10 years of accomplishing little for the people of District 17 except his own re-election, it is reasonable to ask if Werk’s methods and antagonism have a role to play. While the Idaho Statesman has never touched on these issues, I do believe Werk's record has a much a role to play as my record in their endorsement of me.
Other Democrats have been able to effectively work with Republicans to accomplish difficult and controversial initiatives, so how come Werk can’t? Based on Werk’s record over the past 10 years, it seems very unlikely he will ever be able to get any kind of legislation favoring District 17 – including Boise State University – passed. Indeed, the position of Senate Minority Leader has gone to a legislator with less seniority, suggesting Werk’s own party members have problems with his intemperance.
I believe the personal is political. Werk’s refusal for the past decade to hold a job makes him out of touch with working Idahoans, who cannot afford to antagonize their co-workers if they wish to keep their jobs and remain effective. People who are employed inside or outside the home (or who are retired from careers) understand that if you continually attack your co-workers, they will shut down your proposals, no matter how much you think they are needed, or maybe really are needed. And complaining about it to the world won’t help.
Because of his voluntary unemployment, Werk campaigns for office full-time, an indulgence working Idahoans cannot afford. Unfortunately, Werk is robbing himself of real-life insights and this lack of willingness to play well with others hampers his effectiveness as a legislator. Only in politics can someone be essentially ineffective and antagonistic in their job, yet manage to keep it.
I have the ability to forge alliances and work with people from diverse backgrounds, in official and volunteer capacities. For example, as director of the Foundation for the Ada-Canyon Trail System (FACTS), I’ve worked with the cycling community and local, state and federal agencies to extend the Greenbelt. Over the last 20 years I’ve sat on the Ada County Commission (twice), the Ada County High District Commission and the Greater Boise Auditorium Board, all the while working with city councils, neighborhood groups, agencies and citizens of diverse backgrounds, agendas, interests and goals. As a business owner and real estate broker, I helped broker the sale of land to the Simplot family for the JUMP project, now under construction.
Anyone who knows me,
knows I’m not a pushover and I can do the confrontation thing when needed. Most
recently, in the May primary, I survived an attempt by Ron Paul supporters to
hijack the Republican Party for their radical agenda. While confrontation has
its time and place, it rarely leads to progress. With my election to District
17, Idahoans can be assured of not only a moderate voice, but also a voice of a
measured compromise and absolutely no excuses or blaming someone else if I
can’t get the job done.
Idaho Senate candidate Judy Peavey-Derr to attend event for womens’ business group
Judy Peavey-Derr, a candidate for District 17 Senate, will attend a candidate meet-and-greet hosted by the National Association of Women Business Owners on Tuesday, Oct. 23.
The event is for NAWBO members and guests. All women candidates in Ada County of all parties have been invited to attend.
“As the owner of a small business, I am honored to be invited to speak with this group of women business owners and entrepreneurs,” Peavey-Derr said. “I look forward to listening to NAWBO members for insights on how, as a state legislator and fellow entpreneur, I can improve conditions for business in Idaho.”
Peavey-Derr has been an elected official for 13 of the past 25 years and has worked as a Realtor whenever she was not actively serving in office. Serving on the Ada County Commission was a full-time job. When she was on the Ada County Highway District Commission, she ceased working as a Realtor to avoid potential conflicts of interest.
Peavey is seeking election to District 17, which includes the Boise Bench, Boise State University Area and parts of West Boise around the Towne Square Mall. For more information, visit www.judypeaveyderr.com
Sept. 27, 2012
Thanks to the efforts of Judy Peavey-Derr and other Greenbelt activists, citizens this fall will be enjoying a new 3.2-mile section of paved pathway and a long-anticipated link between Garden City and Eagle.
After a presentation by Judy Peavey-Derr and others, the Ada County Highway District Wednesday night agreed to pay $80,000 to pave a section of Greenbelt. Peavey and others had actually asked for paving a 1.64-mile section. Thanks to the negotiating of Peavey-Derr and other supporters, Central Paving was able to donate asphalt at a substantially reduced cost, allowing the ACHD to extend its resources.
Peavey-Derr, a former Ada County Commissioner and ACHD commissioner, is currently running for Idaho State Senate in Boise’s District 17, which includes the Bench and some of West Boise. About 3 miles of the Greenbelt – mostly adjacent to Boise State University – is inside District 17.
“Many people came together to make this happen and I am honored to be one of them,” Peavey-Derr said. “I have devoted 25 years to making this area a better place and I think this kind of alliance-building is exactly what we need in the legislature. While my opponent is busy campaigning, I am busy getting stuff done.”
The ACHD will proceed with the project yet this Fall. The new segment will complete the path to the eastern edge of the Boise Sewer and Water Treatment Plant where Boise City is building that portion behind the plant this October. When Boise City has their portion completed the path will be to the eastern edge of the subdivision, Laguna Point, and in Eagle City's jurisdiction.
This is the second significant Greenbelt news Peavey-Derr has been involved in this past week. Last week, she spoke at the groundbreaking of a pedestrian footbridge to be completed in the spring of 2014. The bridge will pass over the upstream tip of Eagle Island, connecting the southern leg of the Greenbelt (which extends all the way to Lucky Peak Reservoir 16 miles upstream) with the leg on the northern shore, which the city of Eagle has developed.
“This bridge is a significant piece of the path system because it finally unites the north and south sides of the path in a critical area," Peavey-Derr said. “It will finally create a linkage that will connect the Greenbelt all the way from Lucky Peak Dam to Eagle Island."
Peavey-Derr helped bring the project together by working with Ada County, Ada County Highway District, Boise City, Garden City, Eagle, the State of Idaho, Flood Control District #10, the Army Corps of Engineers, Idaho Department of Fish and Game and several private property owners.
The cities of Star, Eagle, Boise, Middleton, Ada County, Canyon County, Caldwell and Nampa have all developed portions of the Greenbelt and the ultimate goal is to extend the Greenbelt from Lucky Peak to the confluence of the Boise and Snake Rivers west of Caldwell – a 63 mile distance.
Peavey-Derr wrote the application for the $727,000 federal grant for the bridge, from the office of Federal Highway Administration. She then worked with local officials and the Treasure Valley Cycling Alliance to lobby for the grant, write letters of recommendation and secure matching funds.
Peavey-Derr was an early advocate for the development of the Greenbelt, which was first envisioned in the 1970s. After she was elected to the Ada County Commission in 1987, she knew government alone couldn’t extend the Greenbelt and she recruited Ward Parkinson, then-CEO of Micron Technology, to involve the private sector in the effort.
"Ward and others formed the Boise River Trail Foundation, which has now morphed into the Foundation for Ada-Canyon Trail System (FACTS) and a regional focus," Peavey-Derr said. "Ward knew that a Greenbelt would serve economic development, helping to recruit the trained professionals Micron and other business needed then, and still need. The Greenbelt is a living, growing symbol of our quality of life and our love of the environment and recreation and a selling point for our region."
After she left the Ada County Commission in 1992, Peavey-Derr promoted Greenbelt extension as a private citizen, then as an Ada Highway District Commissioner from 1999 to 2003, leading the county to work with citizens groups and federal, local and state agencies to promote Greenbelt expansion.
Peavey-Derr is president of FACTS, a non-profit with officers and a five-member board of directors. Peavey-Derr and FACTS worked with the Treasure Valley Cycling Alliance and officials in Garden City, Ada County and private businesses to come up with HOWMUCH in matching funds and donated materials for the footbridge.
Since June 2011, Peavey-Derr has served as an elected board member to the Greater Boise Auditorium District, which is seeking to expand the Boise Centre on the Grove downtown. She also does serves on the Idaho Council of Governments, is president of the Parkview East Homeowners Association, a director of the Idaho Foundation for Parks and Lands, a member of the assistance league of Boise and a member of the Boise Exchange Club and its first female member and first female president. She is a licensed real estate broker and owner of The Peavey Company.
“I’m running for State Senate because District 17 needs someone who has a track record of positive accomplishment and is capable of building alliances and getting stuff done,” Peavey-Derr said. “Unfortunately, the current occupant of this senate seat hasn’t approached his job – or any volunteer positions - with sufficient passion over the past 10 years. I think I could do a better job for the residents of District 17, frankly.”
In response to a recent fundraising letter sent out by her opponent, Judy Peavey-Derr issued the following statement Wednesday, Sept. 25, 2012
“Sen. Elliot Werk’s letter, published in Dan Popkey’s blog Tuesday, is over-the-top even by the loose standards of a fundraising letter. Some of his claims, however, need to be put into context for the public good. While Sen. Werk claims to represent middle-class Idahoans and their desire for more jobs and prosperity, he has remained voluntarily unemployed for a decade. By some important measures, he has relatively little in common with middle-class Idahoans, who are either employed or looking for work and struggling to make ends meet.
“The Idaho Legislature is a citizen legislature and its officeholders should live much as their constituents live. Sen. Werk boasts about campaigning to 6,000 homes in a few months, up to five hours a day six days a week – an impressive effort to secure his re-election, but few Idahoans could spend that kind of time on the relative indulgence of a re-election campaign, especially those barely getting by and holding down several jobs.
“Most people holding a job or running a household understand the need to work collaboratively, compromise and speak temperately. Sen. Werk’s record of accomplishment in the Legislature is thin - long on combative rhetoric but short on results, even as his Democratic colleagues manage to successfully work with others and build a record of accomplishment.
“While Sen. Werk does have some volunteer experience under his belt, he apparently uses most of his ample free time to relentlessly campaign for re-election. That’s not how the system is supposed to work and it’s certainly not how middle-class Idahoans spend the work week.”