BY Dick Dorworth
Kathleen Eder of Hailey is the Democratic challenger to incumbent Steve Miller, R-Fairfield, to represent District 26 in the Idaho Legislature in November’s general election. This is the first time Eder has been a candidate for political office. Until she retired in 2009, Eder was the postmaster in Hailey for nearly 30 years, but she has a long history of public service and political and social activism both before and after retiring.
Eder served as president of the Hailey Chamber of Commerce, president of the Blaine County American Cancer Society, fundraising chair for the Hailey Ski Team, and race organizer for the Sun Valley Ski Education Foundation. She was on the board of Blaine County Hospital and worked on the merger with Moritz Community Hospital in Sun Valley to form a joint Wood River Medical Center, serving as chairman of the board during the final phase of a $22 million campaign to build the new St. Luke’s hospital in Ketchum. She is currently a board member of the Wood River Women’s Foundation, which focuses on funding grants to local nonprofits through collaborative giving. Eder recently completed a two-year term as president of the Hailey Rotary Club.
Eder told The Weekly Sun that she is running for office because “the community needs someone to focus on the important things which help people – quality public education, improving the economy and attracting good jobs, and protecting access to public lands. It’s immoral to not help people.”
Eder is opposed to the state taking over federal lands.
“We should not waste money studying this,” she said, noting that the tourist and agriculture economies are heavily reliant on public access to public land, which, she believes, “should not be sold to the highest bidder.”
Education is a big concern for Eder.
“Idaho is ranked 49th in the United States for quality of education,” she said. “That does not bode well for Idaho’s future. We need to change this.”
Healthcare will be a primary focus for Eder if she wins the election.
“There is a huge health insurance gap in Idaho,” she said. “The data is all there and some 78,000 Idaho citizens can’t afford medical insurance and are not covered.”
Eder’s campaign website reiterates the “need to provide affordable healthcare for our most vulnerable citizens, those without insurance, seniors, veterans who need access to care. We can save taxpayer dollars by lifting the tax burden counties face funding indigent care.”
Eder was born in 1954 in Great Falls, Mont., the second oldest of six children. Her father was the Great Falls postmaster, and her mother raised six children. After her family moved to Billings, Mont, she graduated from Billings West High School before attending college at the University of Montana in Missoula and graduating with a bachelor of science degree in health, physical education and recreation. She and her husband Jerry have two children, Jason, 30, and Lauren, 28.