Gov: Idahoans suspicious of government

POST FALLS — Gov. Brad Little said Friday while he continues to encourage people to get vaccinated against COVID-19, he supports the rights of those who decline to do so.

“I do,” he said.

And he remains opposed to government vaccine mandates.

“I would almost argue, and I’ve seen it argued, that sometimes the mandate creates more resistance,” Little said.

He offered one reason why many Idahoans are reluctant to get the vaccine: fierce independence and suspicion of government.

Idaho’s fully vaccinated rate for those ages 5 and older is 53%, while the nation’s is 67%, according to the state’s COVID-19 vaccine data dashboard.

“Idaho by its very DNA, by its very nature, are people that are suspect of government and put Brad Little in that camp. That's also my DNA,” Little said Friday during a press conference at The Idaho Department of Labor.

The governor touched on a range of subjects during the 35-minute meeting, from the tax relief bill in the Legislature to supporting teachers via bonuses to the shortage of affordable housing to his opposition to legalizing recreational marijuana.

Several times he said the key to dealing with issues is to empower local entities — school boards, highway districts, planning and zoning commissions, city councils — to make the best decisions for their communities, and then support them.

“The last thing the state needs is for Boise, Idaho, to be deciding how each community does it,” he said.

Regarding a lack of affordable housing, he said there is only so much the state can do.

It is putting $50 million toward financing, "so the people that want to build affordable housing can build more,” he said.

“That's one thing. Then we're adding water and sewer money to all the local municipalities. They'll have water and sewer, there's $250 million going to expand broadband and the largest road investment for both state highways. So if I build water, sewer, roads, broadband, and put some finance in there, I don't know what else I can do.”

"I can’t snap my fingers and create houses," Little continued. "Our problem is we got more people staying here, more people moving here, than we’ve got houses.”

Asked if he would be running for re-election, Little didn’t say yes or no, but provided a good clue.

“I don't think people will be surprised. I'm really focused right now on the tax bill, the transportation, the education bill,” Little said.

The filing deadline is in March.

"Hopefully most of the heavy lifting for the Legislature will be done before then," Little said.

He also on Friday in a press release said Idaho’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 2.4% in December, a historic low and one-tenth of a percentage point below the state’s previous record of 2.5% in December 2019.

Idaho remains in the top five states with the lowest unemployment rates in the country.

"Idaho's economy is booming and people are working at historic rates, proving that the conservative principles of cutting taxes, slashing regulations, and making investments where they matter most lead to opportunity and prosperity for the people,” Little said.

On COVID-19, he said the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention likely contributed to Idahoans’ doubt about it because it spoke too soon in definitive terms.

“They should have always put the caveat, ‘With what we know today,’” Little said.

That the narrative of the COVID-19 changed often shouldn’t be a surprise, either, he said.

“The story has changed, the virus has changed,” Little said.

“Viruses adapt, viruses change. A viruses’ whole purpose is to continue to live and we didn't do a good enough job of selling that,” he said. “And so I think that's part of the problem in Idaho and just our independent nature.”

Little said he’s found that some of Idaho’s most vaccinated counties still have high infection rates.

Valley has the state’s second-highest fully vaccinated rate, 60%, while its COVID-19 positivity rate was 37%, according to the state’s website.

Ada County has the state’s highest fully vaccinated rate, 63%, and has a positivity rate of 32.7%.

In comparison, Kootenai County’s fully vaccinated rate is 43%, while its most recent positivity rate was 39%.

While Little understands the reluctance of Idahoans to get vaccinated, he believes they should because he said it works.

“People need to get vaccinated because it's the right thing for them and for their family,” he said.

He believes the fight against COVID-19 will be won, but it may take longer than expected.

“Every day we're learning,” Little said. “People need to know this is evolving science. It makes it hard.”