Idaho State Senate: Jon Cantamessa (R)

Jon Cantamessa is seeking election to the position of Idaho State Senator for Idaho’s Legislative District #2. and is running on the Republican ticket against Bill Hasz and Phil Hart.

I am a lifelong native Idahoan as were my parents.

I graduated from Wallace High School and then from the University of Washington with a bachelor’s degree in Business Marketing.

My wife Iris and I have three children. Todd Cantamessa is a federal probation officer in Oregon and graduated from the University of Oregon. Tina Brackebusch graduated from Idaho and teaches English at Wallace High School. Traci Bauer graduated from Idaho also and manages her own Graphic Design company. Iris and I have eight grandchildren, only one girl who now is the proud new mother of our first great grandson, 11 months old.

When I graduated from college, Iris and I moved back to Wallace and I assumed the duties of management in our small family supermarket. This was a business that my immigrant grandfather started in 1925 and together with my father, my brother, and all of our family operated that business in Wallace for 92 years.

My working experience includes all of the community activities and involvement common to rural American communities – president of the local chamber, serving on the local economic development board, helping organize and bring about Wallace’s many community celebrations – and there are many.

As well as community activities I served on the Wallace school board for seven years when my children were in school. I also served as a Shoshone County Commissioner for 12 years, I served on the board of directors for URM Stores Inc, a billion dollar food service company in Spokane, Washington, for 15 years.

As a county representative I served as chairman of the Basin Commission for the Superfund site and I also served as chairman of the north Idaho RAC acting for the five northern counties in planning US Forest Service projects.

My overall goal, when elected, is to represent our rural community voice in Boise. Rural cities, rural counties, rural schools, rural health care, rural natural resource industries. Our current district political structure has minimized our input at the legislature. I will be a strong voice to raise our rural concerns and to pursue common sense solutions that benefit all Idahoans.