Residents of District 11 will have new representation for seat A

CANYON COUNTY, Idaho — District 11 residents will see several new candidates on the ballot this election season for Place A. Early voting is available through Nov. 1, and Election Day is Nov. 5.

• This came after the incumbent lost the primary to Kent Marmon.
• Anthony Porto, representing Democrats, and Kent Marmon, representing Republicans, will face off in this year’s election for Place A in the 11th District.
• Both Candidates are running for the first time.

(Transcript of the broadcast below)

Changes are coming to District 11, serving residents of Caldwell in Canyon County.

Incumbent Republican Rep. Julie Yamamoto lost to Kent Marmon in the May primary — Marmon will appear on the ballot alongside Democratic candidate Anthony Porto.

Porto tells me he was inspired to run for office after recent legislative decisions resulted in the closure of local schools and the maternity ward at West Valley Medical Center.

“We have a closed education system, a maternity ward and a delivery ward. There is a lot of concern in the area because maintenance fees and deposits used to be a bonus, now they are survival, so they are not allowed to advocate for them, we are not getting adequate funding, we are closing schools and people are wondering why,” Porto said.

I reached out to Republican candidate Kent Marmon several times to ask for an interview, but I never heard back.

When it comes to education funding, his website says he believes money should follow the student, giving Idaho parents more opportunities for free education.

Marmon also describes itself as pro-life, while Porto focuses on maternal safety.

I have spoken to constituents who have lost their well-paying hospital jobs in the maternity ward because of these extreme laws that do not allow an exception for the life or health of the mother, let alone rape or incest.

Another important issue for Caldwell voters is ongoing development.

“I think we must have mixed-use development, we must develop vertically, not horizontally, we are losing a large part of our agricultural GDP due to unsustainable growth, many investments are approved without plans,” Porto said

Porto also wants developers to participate in future financing to ensure the sustainability of their projects.

“By continuing to approve them without all the growth planned and having transparency about who is going to fund the schools and the roads, how they are going to get their water, we want to make sure that we are self-sufficient in our agriculture, so that’s certainly a big concern,” he said Porto