The phony conservatism of Scott Herndon

By Timothy Braatz
Reader Contributor

Scott Herndon, who is running for the Idaho senate, poses as a “small-government conservative.” In reality, he yearns for an intrusive state government to impose his extremist ideology on Idaho. Herndon’s bullying violates an Idaho conservative principle: Don’t push me around!

Before District 1 voters removed Herndon from the Senate, he tried to eliminate merciful exceptions to the state abortion ban, including if a pregnant woman’s survival is at stake. He claims to believe in “individual liberty,” yet he wants the state to tell a woman in an abortion-or-death situation that she must die. Such cruelty!

Herndon’s latest extreme idea, presented in his campaign announcements, is to “eliminate all property taxes.” Idaho is 44th among states for property tax, meaning — believe it or not — relatively low rates. Herndon, though, with typical fearmongering, claims that “one day the government could take [your] property for failing to pay the rising taxes.”

Ending property tax, he promises, “will eliminate the arguments between neighbors” — which seems odd coming from a bully reviled in Bonner County for shooting his neighbor’s dog and harassing churchgoers.

Without property tax revenue, Boundary and Bonner County public services would be severely compromised. As Herndon once wrote, “If you want county, city, school board, sewer, fire, ambulance, etc. — these are the things being paid for by property tax.” To compensate for his irresponsible plan, Herndon now says the state government should “pivot to funding local governments.”

Does it make sense that the Idaho Legislature — dominated by southern districts, manipulated by out-of-state interests and handicapped by recent tax cuts — should decide local budgeting for North Idaho? Only to Herndon, who wants a dramatic increase in state government power over local governments.

Herndon’s recent declaration of “strong support” for House Bill 743 further exposes his lust for state power. This bill would have allowed the attorney general to accuse city or county officials of “failure to comply” and, as punishment (guilty until proven innocent), immediately block state revenue allotments. 

That’s phony conservatism: make local governments totally dependent on state revenue, then give the attorney general unilateral power to withhold it. 

This isn’t the first time Herndon has tried to increase state power over Idaho voters. In 2023, Herndon voted to make the state ballot initiative process more difficult. He was upset that over 60% of voters had approved Medicaid expansion. Herndon calls the voters’ decision an “over-extension of governmental authority,” yet he wants greater state authority to overrule the voters, eliminate the expansion and — more cruelty — strip health care coverage from 85,000 poorly paid workers.

In 2020, Herndon sued the city of Sandpoint because he wasn’t allowed to carry a gun into the annual Festival, a private event. The courts rejected Herndon’s argument, but the lawsuit cost local taxpayers more than $300,000. In 2024, Herndon introduced a bill to override the courts. Because musical performers don’t want a gun-toting audience, that bill, had it become law, would have effectively killed the Festival and the $4 million boost it brings to the region every summer.

The Festival episode encapsulates Herndon’s phony conservatism. He tried to expand state power over private businesses and local decision-making. He put his extremist ideology over community well-being.

Timothy Braatz is a professor of history and nonviolence at Saddleback College in California. He spends part of the year in Bonners Ferry. See more of his work at proftimothybraatz.org.