{"id":13561,"date":"2012-12-06T07:30:38","date_gmt":"2012-12-06T14:30:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/idaho\/?p=13561"},"modified":"2013-07-19T16:36:03","modified_gmt":"2013-07-19T22:36:03","slug":"at-90-rep-frank-henderson-isnt-ready-to-retire","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/idaho\/2012\/12\/06\/at-90-rep-frank-henderson-isnt-ready-to-retire\/","title":{"rendered":"At 90, Idaho Rep. Frank Henderson Isn&#8217;t Ready To Retire"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"attachment_13565\"  class=\"wp-caption module image center\" style=\"max-width: 620px;\"><a class=\"fancybox\" title=\"Frank Henderson, a former newsman, says being a reporter gave him the confidence to ask important questions, that he says, has made all the difference in his political career.\" href=\"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/idaho\/files\/2012\/12\/Frank-Henderson2.jpg\" rel=\"\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-large wp-image-13565\" title=\"Frank Henderson2\" alt=\"\" src=\"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/idaho\/files\/2012\/12\/Frank-Henderson2-620x525.jpg\" width=\"620\" height=\"525\" srcset=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/idaho\/files\/2012\/12\/Frank-Henderson2-620x525.jpg 620w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/idaho\/files\/2012\/12\/Frank-Henderson2-300x254.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 620px) 100vw, 620px\" \/><\/a><p class=\"wp-media-credit\">Emilie Ritter Saunders \/ StateImpact Idaho<\/p><p class=\"wp-caption-text\">Frank Henderson, a former newsman, says being a reporter gave him the confidence to ask important questions. That, he says, has made all the difference in his political career.<\/p><\/div>\n<p>The 2013 Idaho Legislature is in town today for it&#8217;s biennial organizational session.\u00a0 This is when lawmakers confirm their leaders and prep for the session which begins next month.\u00a0 Today also happens to be <a href=\"http:\/\/boisestatepublicradio.org\/post\/idahos-oldest-lawmaker-turns-90\" target=\"_blank\">Rep. Frank Henderson&#8217;s (R-Post Falls) 90th birthday<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Henderson, born in 1922, was a soldier in World War II and a reporter for a Chicago-area Hearst newspaper.\u00a0 Henderson worked in advertising, publishing, and owned the Post Falls, Idaho newspaper before being elected to mayor and later county commissioner.\u00a0 It wasn&#8217;t until 2004, at age 82, Henderson decided to run for the Legislature.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/w.soundcloud.com\/player\/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fapi.soundcloud.com%2Ftracks%2F101779083&amp;color=17807e&amp;auto_play=false&amp;show_artwork=false\" height=\"166\" width=\"100%\" frameborder=\"no\" scrolling=\"no\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><!--more--><\/p>\n<p>He&#8217;s on his 5th term now, and retirement hasn&#8217;t yet entered Henderson&#8217;s vocabulary.\u00a0 He carries an iPhone and uses an iPad to maintain his schedule.\u00a0 Henderson showed up at our interview with newspaper clippings he&#8217;s featured in that talk about economic development.\u00a0 He also brought a copy of his resume which highlights a long career in public administration and industry.\u00a0 Henderson continues to work on economic development projects in the northern part of the state, and has plans for legislation this session focused around boosting the economy.<\/p>\n<p class=\"question\"><span class=\"abbr\">Q: <\/span>First of all, happy birthday! Did you ever think you\u2019d be in public office at 90?<\/p>\n<p class=\"answer\"><span class=\"abbr\">A:<\/span> Uh no, I didn\u2019t think I\u2019d be in public office at 75 either.\u00a0 Politics was never one of the subjects in my list of ambition.\u00a0 My ambition was to be a newsman; I did that, left it, and then did industrial marketing.\u00a0 I purchased a newspaper and I thought I\u2019d retired.\u00a0 Until, one day the person who was retiring as the mayor of Post Falls came to me and said the business community had talked about the next mayor and they wanted me.\u00a0 I thought about it, I ran, and I was elected \u2013 that\u2019s how it started.<\/p>\n<p class=\"question\"><span class=\"abbr\">Q: <\/span>I\u2019ve been <a href=\"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/idaho\/2012\/12\/05\/idaho-has-older-than-average-legislature-does-age-matter\/\">collecting demographics<\/a> on all of Idaho\u2019s lawmakers, this Legislature is pretty young with nine members in their 30s.\u00a0 Still, <a href=\"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/idaho\/2012\/12\/05\/idaho-has-older-than-average-legislature-does-age-matter\/\">Idaho&#8217;s Legislature is older than most<\/a>,\u00a0 does age matter?<\/p>\n<p class=\"answer\"><span class=\"abbr\">A: <\/span>I don\u2019t think age matters. I think maturity matters.\u00a0 I think in the Legislature it is important to have the diversity.\u00a0 Two of the new legislators from our area represent that diversity.\u00a0 One is a man highly skilled in the assessment and evaluation of properties.\u00a0 The other is a young man who I believe just turned 30, who after several jobs, just received his law degree.\u00a0 He will bring that young, energetic attitude into the Legislature that stirs us older folks into a new area of curiosity and investigation about what really is possible.\u00a0 What really is necessary, in the Legislature.\u00a0 So, diversity of age and experience I believe is essential.<\/p>\n<p class=\"question\"><span class=\"abbr\">Q: <\/span>Do you have any plans to retire?<\/p>\n<p class=\"answer\"><span class=\"abbr\">A: <\/span>I did just run for reelection. I don\u2019t have specific plans on retirement; this could be my last term. That\u2019d be at total of 10 years in the Legislature.\u00a0 It might be time to step aside and let one of those young people with new vitality and different education, different background, to be in the batter\u2019s box so to speak.\u00a0 I might do that.\u00a0 On the other hand, it depends on what is undone at the end of two years.\u00a0 If there is a special opportunity that we haven\u2019t fully implemented by legislation, I might stick around one more time.\u00a0 I\u2019m not ready to make the retirement decision as yet.<\/p>\n<p class=\"question\"><span class=\"abbr\">Q: <\/span>What keeps you excited and motivated?<\/p>\n<p class=\"answer\"><span class=\"abbr\">A:<\/span> It\u2019s a totally satisfying experience.\u00a0 Not only do the individuals in the Legislature work well together, we share a mutual respect, even though we may disagree violently on some things, we still respect the other person.\u00a0 But frankly, the people back home.\u00a0 It is so satisfying to do legislation that answers questions locally.\u00a0 It\u2019s common at the post office or the supermarket or the filling station that people will come up and say \u2018Mr. Henderson, we appreciate what you do, thank you\u2019.\u00a0 That\u2019s the reward.<\/p>\n<p class=\"question\"><span class=\"abbr\">Q: <\/span>A lot of the challenges in your part of the state have been economic.\u00a0 Last session you sponsored a bill that <a title=\"Session Wrap: Lawmakers Expand Tax Exemptions\" href=\"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/idaho\/2012\/04\/04\/session-wrap-lawmakers-expand-tax-exemptions\/\" target=\"_blank\">exempted the sales tax on airplane parts<\/a>.\u00a0 Why was that important to you?<\/p>\n<p class=\"answer\"><span class=\"abbr\">A: <\/span>It was important to me because it was important to the state of Idaho and corporations that already exist here.\u00a0 We had 26 companies certified by the FAA to do that work, but they had to charge Idaho sales tax for the hardware.\u00a0 Whereas in our neighboring states, those companies didn\u2019t have to charge a sales tax, so our Idaho companies were at a competitive disadvantage.\u00a0 My goal was to level the playing field so that the competition would be focused on quality and technique.<\/p>\n<p class=\"question\"><span class=\"abbr\">Q: <\/span>What are some other things you\u2019re thinking about for economic development and boosting your part of the state this coming session?<\/p>\n<p class=\"answer\"><span class=\"abbr\">A:<\/span> Diversity is very important. Idaho\u2019s history is focused on mining and timber, and that was too vertical.\u00a0 When metal prices fall or when timber prices fall, our economy is in major trouble because it\u2019s not diverse enough.<\/p>\n<p class=\"answer\">We\u2019ve gained it [diversity] especially in medical care.\u00a0 North Idaho has become a regional medical treatment area.\u00a0 One of the things I\u2019ve been working on is funding for our local community colleges so we then can provide the technicians to support the medical industry.\u00a0 We need laboratory technicians, we need x-ray technicians, we need physical therapists, we need respiratory therapists\u2026so I\u2019ve been working on funding for the community colleges to implement more programs that would support the medical industry.<\/p>\n<p class=\"answer\">At the same time then, we\u2019re working on expanding programs for people who work with their hands. The welders, the plumbers, the auto mechanics, the diesel mechanics.\u00a0 My goal, is to get industry started in those fields so we have diversification.\u00a0 So when one part of the economy is sick, another part is healthy and we aren\u2019t affected as deeply.<\/p>\n<p class=\"question\"><span class=\"abbr\">Q: <\/span>Are there specific issues this session you\u2019d like to work on?<\/p>\n<p class=\"answer\"><span class=\"abbr\">A: <\/span>The emphasis for the whole Legislature is going to be healthcare.\u00a0 I don\u2019t have any idea how that will end up.\u00a0 I suspect most people do not.\u00a0 We seem to get new interpretations, new evaluations, new edicts from the federal government.\u00a0 And we have to respond by sometime early next year.<\/p>\n<p class=\"answer\">What I bring with me that is specific, I have several suggestions that hopefully will be accepted for economic development.\u00a0 It is again to put people to work, to attract industries to come here.\u00a0 My emphasis will be on assisting businesses that are already here.\u00a0 We need to help those existing employers to prosper to a greater degree so they can afford to expand and hire more people.<\/p>\n<p class=\"question\"><span class=\"abbr\">Q: <\/span>Can you give me an example?<\/p>\n<p class=\"answer\"><span class=\"abbr\">A:<\/span> I\u2019d like to reduce the upfront cost of a company that is expanding or relocating.\u00a0 One of the things we do in Idaho that I disagree with is we charge the Idaho <a title=\"Your Guide to Idaho\u2019s Sales Tax\" href=\"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/idaho\/topic\/sales-tax\/\" target=\"_blank\">sales tax<\/a> on the building materials used to build a new factory.\u00a0 We have an outstanding example in Post Falls.\u00a0 A company built a new building; it cost some $7 million.\u00a0 They had to pay $189,000 in Idaho sales tax.\u00a0 That\u2019s an upfront cost.\u00a0 Now, the building is complete, the company paid that, and at this point they have already hired 72 new employees.<\/p>\n<p class=\"answer\">So you see the state is profiting and getting revenue from those 72 employees.\u00a0 Those are new salaries.\u00a0 If they average $40,000 times 70, that\u2019s $280,000 a year into our local economy.\u00a0 I can\u2019t\u2019 see any justification to charge the sales tax on the building materials when we create jobs.\u00a0 One of my bills will be a suggestion on how to handle that problem, and other upfront costs.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The 2013 Idaho Legislature is in town today for it&#8217;s biennial organizational session.\u00a0 This is when lawmakers confirm their leaders and prep for the session which begins next month.\u00a0 Today also happens to be Rep. Frank Henderson&#8217;s (R-Post Falls) 90th birthday. Henderson, born in 1922, was a soldier in World War II and a reporter [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":40,"featured_media":13565,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[15],"tags":[210,163],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/idaho\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13561"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/idaho\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/idaho\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/idaho\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/40"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/idaho\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13561"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/idaho\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13561\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":17983,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/idaho\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13561\/revisions\/17983"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/idaho\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13565"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/idaho\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13561"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/idaho\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13561"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/idaho\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13561"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}