Former Peace Corps Assistant Director Jerry Brady in race for Governor of Idaho



"I like to write; I have opinions and wanted to shape policy. I wrote nearly 500 editorials before 2002--all of which were on the Web during my campaign. You know who I am by the articles I've written, but I didn't write them thinking about running for office. I was swinging for the fences. I've written 92 columns since then. I put them on the Web site last time, and I stand by them."

Former Peace Corps Assistant Director Jerry Brady in race for Governor of Idaho

Jerry Brady

BY ERIN RYAN

You might remember Jerry Brady from such elections as the 2002 Idaho gubernatorial race (he's the guy who walked away with 42 percent of the vote, even after Dirk Kempthorne called in the presidential cavalry ...). Before that he was a lawyer, a member of the Peace Corps and a legislative assistant to Senator Frank Church. He is currently publisher of the Idaho Falls Post Register, but in 2006, he's back on the ticket to champion Idaho's children, families and health.

BW: After many years doing humanitarian and political work, you ended up inheriting your father's newspaper business. How did you jump from that to running for governor?

JB: I had never thought of it. Being a newspaper publisher and running for governor seemed mutually exclusive, but I was drafted by former Gov. Cecil Andrus. He called me in February 2002 and said, "I have an idea; I want you to run for governor." I said, "You're crazy."

Weren't you afraid that your work as a journalist might give your opponents a little too much ammo?

I like to write; I have opinions and wanted to shape policy. I wrote nearly 500 editorials before 2002--all of which were on the Web during my campaign. You know who I am by the articles I've written, but I didn't write them thinking about running for office. I was swinging for the fences. I've written 92 columns since then. I put them on the Web site last time, and I stand by them.

Describe your platform.

The platform is important, but it's not why people vote for one person or another. Elections are a choice between two personalities--the way you communicate, what sort of person you are, the things you value. Swing voters are voting for the person, asking, "Can I trust you with the future? Will you make good decisions and be faithful, honest and principled?" That's an election--a choice between two people--and the issues are an illustration of what you care about.

What do you want to say to the voting public?

When all is said and done, I'm a traditional guy. I grew up here. If you look at the history of my life, I'm a person in the mainstream but I'm also an innovator who's pretty good at starting things that have never existed before. I'm curious; I read more than the average bear and bounce ideas off of people. I'm a good manager. This sounds like self-aggrandizing stuff, but you have to look at these things and ask, "Who will be the best for my children, my family, my health?"

Do you think you have a chance this time?

This is quite a different campaign. I started 19 months ahead instead of six months ahead. I will raise twice the money and run three times as long, and I have support this time because people outside the state feel Idaho is winnable. It will be a difficult election, and when I win, it will be an upset.

When this story was posted in October 2005, this was on the front page of PCOL:




Peace Corps Online The Independent News Forum serving Returned Peace Corps Volunteers

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'Celebration of Service' a major success The Peace Corps Fund's 'Celebration of Service' on September 29 in New York City was a major success raising approximately $100,000 for third goal activities. In the photo are Maureen Orth (Colombia); John Coyne (Ethiopia) Co-founder of the Peace Corps Fund; Caroline Kennedy; Barbara Anne Ferris (Morocco) Co-founder; Former Senator Harris Wofford, member of the Advisory Board. Read the story here.

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Military Option sparks concerns The U.S. military is allowing recruits to meet part of their reserve military obligations after active duty by serving in the Peace Corps. Read why there is opposition to the program among RPCVs. Director Vasquez says the agency has a long history of accepting qualified applicants who are in inactive military status. John Coyne says "Not only no, but hell no!" and RPCV Chris Matthews leads the debate on "Hardball." Avi Spiegel says Peace Corps is not the place for soldiers while Coleman McCarthy says to Welcome Soldiers to the Peace Corps. Read the results of our poll among RPCVs. Latest: Congressman John Kline introduces legislation to alter the program to remove the Peace Corps as an option for completing an individual’s military enlistment requirement.

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Why blurring the lines puts PCVs in danger When the National Call to Service legislation was amended to include Peace Corps in December of 2002, this country had not yet invaded Iraq and was not in prolonged military engagement in the Middle East, as it is now. Read the story of how one volunteer spent three years in captivity from 1976 to 1980 as the hostage of a insurrection group in Colombia in Joanne Marie Roll's op-ed on why this legislation may put soldier/PCVs in the same kind of danger.

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Top Stories: October 10, 2005 Carl Pope says the looting of America has only begun 2 Oct Report of PCV Misconduct in Zambia 7 Oct Chic Dambach speaks in Oklahoma 6 Oct Murphy to give papers to Heinz museum 6 Oct Mike Honda speaks out on Katrina 5 Oct Kinky Friedman could be the next governor of Texas 5 Oct Peter McPherson urges new nuclear weapon designs 5 Oct Doyle and Green in dead heat for Wisconsin Governor 5 Oct NPCA Membership Directory ready in late November 5 Oct GOP hopefuls avoiding Taft 4 Oct Ask not 4 Oct Russell Carollo wins journalism prize for "The Toll of War" 4 Oct Mark Gearan says provision was a mistake 4 Oct Mike Tidwell says Bayou has been sinking for years 3 Oct Carl Pope writes: Preparing for Global Warming 3 Oct Director Vasquez Meets with Volunteers in Gulf Coast 3 Oct John McCain's call to service 3 Oct Joshua Berman wins Lowell Thomas Travel Writing Award 2 Oct Operation Offset proposes freeze in Peace Corps Funding 1 Oct

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Returned Volunteers respond to Hurricane Katrina First and foremost, Give. Then volunteer with the Crisis Corps. Carol Bellamy says "In situations such as this one, money is needed the most" and added that Hurricane Katrina's impact on New Orleans is comparable to last year's tsunami. Thailand RPCV Thomas Tighe's Direct Relief International has committed an initial $250,000 in cash to assist hurricane victims. Mayor Tom Murphy (RPCV Paraguay) says Pittsburgh is ready to embrace refugees from devastated areas. Brazil RPCV Robert Backus is among the first Vermont doctors to volunteer to travel to Louisiana to treat victims. Latest: FEMA requests RPCVs to assist in recovery efforts through the Crisis Corps and the Peace Corps hopes to send 400 RPCVs to the Gulf Coast for short term assignments to assist victims with their applications for federal aid.

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The Peace Corps Library Peace Corps Online is proud to announce that the Peace Corps Library is now available online. With over 30,000 index entries in 500 categories, this is the largest collection of Peace Corps related stories in the world. From Acting to Zucchini, you can find hundreds of stories about what RPCVs with your same interests or from your Country of Service are doing today. If you have a web site, support the "Peace Corps Library" and link to it today.

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Friends of the Peace Corps 170,000 strong 170,000 is a very special number for the RPCV community - it's the number of Volunteers who have served in the Peace Corps since 1961. It's also a number that is very special to us because March is the first month since our founding in January, 2001 that our readership has exceeded 170,000. And while we know that not everyone who comes to this site is an RPCV, they are all "Friends of the Peace Corps." Thanks everybody for making PCOL your source of news for the Returned Volunteer community.

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