The 2023 Statesman and Stateswoman of the Year

Profiles in political courage

2023 was an incredible year in Idaho politics. A new class of conservative legislators delivered some tremendous victories for traditional values, though we faced defeats as well. Conservative media in Idaho had a great year as well. In addition to the tremendous growth of my own platform, 2023 saw the launch of the Freedom Bros Podcast, AssembleX Idaho, and Idaho.one, not to mention national exposure for the Idaho Tribune which went above and beyond traditional media in its reporting and investigations.

I’ve had the privilege of observing and getting to know a lot of great people in the Idaho political sphere, each of whom deserves all the accolades I could possibly muster. I decided to highlight two, one man and one woman, who in their own ways exemplified the principles and courage that Idahoans so desperately need in these uncertain times.

Though he lost his bid to become the first two term mayor of Eagle since the 1980s, Jason Pierce can hold his head high knowing he set his community on the path to long term prosperity. Electoral politics creates short term incentives at the expense of long term planning, so the easy route for municipal leaders is always to do what seems right now at the expense of the next ten, twenty, or fifty years.

Mayor Pierce told me once that every decision an elected leader makes will turn off 10% of the electorate, so most will avoid taking a firm stand on many things. Not Pierce. He took the bull by the horns, working to manage growth and development, extending Eagle’s borders into the foothills, and promoting fiscally responsible local government. He did this knowing that each of these decisions would be seized upon by his political opponents and might well cost him reelection.

Cities decay because of short term thinking. Mayors and councils give the green light to high density development because of the immediate tax windfalls while ignoring the way in which it turns cities into left wing urban dystopias. By the time the chickens come home to roost, the mayors and council members who made those initial decisions are long gone and do not bear the consequences of their choices. This makes short term thinking the easy and profitable route for politicians.

I am thankful that Jason Pierce made the hard decisions even at the cost of his own political career. We need more people like that in Idaho politics, so I am pleased to name Jason Pierce as my Statesman of the Year for 2023.

Eastern Idaho is an interesting region. Its citizens are socially conservative, but don’t necessarily see the same social problems that are obvious in other areas of the state. On the other hand, the economic structure of the region is much more dependent upon government than other areas, so it can be difficult to run as a conservative on a platform of shrinking government and tackling the social issues that threaten our families.

Glenneda Zuiderveld did just that in Twin Falls, defeating a longtime incumbent last year. Since then she has held the line on conservative principles in the face of opposition from all sides, fearlessly defending both the truth and traditional values. Earlier this year, she blew the whistle on alleged financial misdeeds at the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare, which launched not only an investigation by Attorney General Raúl Labrador but an independent audit that revealed even more malfeasance than anyone knew.

Sen. Zuiderveld takes seriously her responsibility to keep her constituents informed. She created a Substack of her own to share what she has learned with voters in Twin Falls and all Idaho, but this drew the ire of Senate leadership and the political establishment. They don’t want people to know how the sausage is made or how influential IACI really is, so they threatened her and her fellow Freedom Caucus senators with ethics complaints. Senate President Pro Tempore Chuck Winder unilaterally removed Zuiderveld from her position as Vice Chair of the Health and Welfare Committee.

Zuiderveld fought on, publicly releasing Winder’s letter and promising to never back down from telling the truth. When she was invited to a meeting in Twin Falls to hear Biden supporter Christa Hazel’s warning about supposed extremists in the Idaho GOP, and then immediately kicked out, she exposed Hazel’s background and positions. When Hazel hired a lawyer to send her a threatening letter, Zuiderveld still didn’t back down, publicizing both the letter and its attempt to silence her freedom of speech.

Through all of these travails, Glenneda Zuiderveld has remained a happy warrior, never giving in to despair. She maintains a steadfast faith, firmly believing that it is better to be judged by men for telling the truth than judged by God for remaining silent. For all of these reasons, it is my honor to name Sen. Glenneda Zuiderveld the Stateswoman of the Year for 2023.

May these two bold figures inspire a generation of conservative warriors who will always speak the truth and fight to maintain freedom and liberty in Idaho for our children, grandchildren, and generations to come.