Some of the issues I care about include enhancing our education system (k-university) by providing better support for educators and adequate resources, shifting the focus of our criminal justice system from punishment to treatment, empowering local communities to develop road and public transit options, enhancing the quality of life in the Treasure Valley (by supporting air quality, public transit funding, and smarter growth), providing statewide safety standards and criminal background checks for child day care providers, working for voluntary early childhood education, and working for family values that value families like access to affordable, quality health care and pharmaceuticals, a world-class public education system, livable wages, worker protection, community-based substance abuse and mental health treatment (rather than costlier incarceration), clean, sustainable power, a healthy environment, access to public lands, and policies that improve our everyday quality of life and empower local communities.

My role as a State Senator is to interact with the Common Interest to help advance the discussion of issues that are of vital importance. The issue of increasing beer and wine taxes to provide resources for substance abuse treatment is a very good example.

I appreciate the thoughtful counsel of the Common Interest and look forward to working with you in the future.

He is married to Nancy Greenwald (a local physician) and has one daughter (Hattie) that attends a public high school in Boise.

Senator Werk is deeply involved in his community through the Borah Neighborhood Association where he serves as president.

In the Idaho legislature Senator Werk currently serves on the Joint Finance Appropriations, Commerce and Human Resources, Health and Welfare, Joint Legislative Oversight, and Millennium Fund committees as well as the Property Tax and Energy, Environment, and Technology interim committees.

Senator Werk has focused on legislation associated with energy and energy efficiency, child day care standards, consumer protection, eliminating the tax on food, mental health and substance abuse, ethics and transparency in government, and the impacts of climate change on Idaho’s economy.

I’m afraid that my thoughts on this subject are mostly negative.

Partisan political (and internecine war between factions of the Republican Party) and special interests have a mostly negative influence on public policy. In many instances the overwhelming dominance of one party in Idaho results in a narrowing of the legislative agenda and an even narrower list of potential solutions that are debated. Partisan politics can scuttle promising legislative initiatives. The influence of special interests in a one party dominated legislature also severely narrows the agenda and results in public policy that is often skewed to benefit a very narrow group at the expense of the majority of individuals in the state.

My job as a legislator is to bridge the gap between parties and ensure an open exchange of ideas. This allows legislators to evaluate issues more fully and to evolve to more moderate and beneficial positions. Partisan politics and the influence of special interests can be overcome.