BY STEPHEN MCDOUGALL GRAHAM
I first had the opportunity to come to Blaine County when my wife, Naomi, and I became the first long-term artists-in-residence at The Community Library’s Hemingway House. Our story is the same as so many of you—we came for a visit and quickly decided to stay for a lifetime after falling in love with the people and natural environment of this extraordinary community.
In September 2021, I was honored to be appointed as Blaine County’s Clerk by a unanimous vote of the County Commissioners. Public service is my passion, as well as my profession, and it has truly been the honor of my life to serve this community in an official capacity.
Prior to my appointment as Clerk, I served as the county’s Grants and Procurement Specialist, securing millions of grant dollars for Blaine County, including funding for the expansion of access to broadband internet in Picabo and Carey. As Clerk, I spearheaded the design and implementation of a grant-making program to deploy American Rescue Plan Act funds to the local organizations and people hardest hit by the pandemic. I have improved access to county services for Spanish-speaking residents by tripling the number of bilingual staff in my departments. In the coming weeks, I and my team are launching a web-based dashboard giving residents a fully transparent way to see and understand the county’s finances and the services supported by property tax.
Under the Idaho Constitution and statutes, the County Clerk has many responsibilities. The Clerk oversees the clerical functions of the courts, including jury duty; the entire county budget; marriage licenses and property records and transactions; proceedings of the Blaine County Board of Commissioners; veterans and indigent services; and all aspects of elections.
The Clerkship is a tremendously complex job with a wide assortment of duties and I believe that my education and the diversity of my work experience uniquely position me to tackle the intricacies and scope. In addition to my Master of Public Policy from Georgetown University, my career has been focused for over a decade on grant writing and proposal budget development at the city, state, federal, and international levels, working for international nonprofits and bringing in millions of dollars to support women’s health, humanitarian relief, and major arts and cultural institutions.
I am proud to have the endorsement of current and former elected officials, including Muffy Davis, Dick Fosbury, Jacob Greenberg, Michelle Stennett, Ned Burns, Wendy Jaquet, Sarah Michael, nearly 100 esteemed community members whose names you can find on my website, as well as the Conservation Voters for Idaho. While I am pleased with my achievements as Clerk so far, deep and lasting change requires time to take root and I hope to earn the opportunity to enact a longer-term vision.
Your vote in this May 17th Democratic primary election is very important, and I hope that you will consider using it to support me in remaining your County Clerk.