Last week saw Gov. Brad Little move Idaho into stage two of the Idaho Rebounds plan. Bars reopening was moved from stage 4 to stage 3, 95% of businesses being able to reopen in some capacity, and easing restrictions on travel were all a part of the updates provided by the governor.

However, despite this positive move forward for our state and economy it was not without opposition. Prior to the Stage 2 press conference Lt. Gov. Janice McGeachin felt it prudent to publish an op-ed criticizing the governor and her own party’s response to the COVID-19 virus.

“I lose sleep at night because the heavy hand of our government is hurting so many Idahoans,” McGeachin wrote in melodramatic fashion. Gov. Little’s plan, which is in line with federal guidelines and based on data from local health departments and a desire to protect the future economy from another spike, seems inadequate in the McGeachin camp whose letter grabbed headlines while lacking any sort of plan beyond “reopen now.”

The time for productive discourse was weeks ago, when Gov. Little first issued his stay-at-home order on March 25 and Idaho’s leaders began planning the complex task of reopening our state in an unprecedented time.

However, McGeachin saw fit to remain virtually silent until mid-April, favoring preying upon emotion now instead of using data and discussion back then to lay out a plan for reopening Idaho. “With bills quickly mounting, and no income coming in, there has been a spike in bankruptcies, suicides, depression and businesses that will never open again,” McGeachin penned, an aspect of the pandemic that neither Gov. Little nor anyone is denying.

From Boise, to Pocatello, to Coeur d’Alene, thousands of businesses and lives have been impacted by COVID-19. At the time of the stay-at-home order people across the state and country were demanding and looking to their local governments for action; which Gov. Little did, basing the decisions on the information available and goals at the time. This helped Idaho smash the curve and prevent our healthcare system from being overwhelmed while buying us time to gather more data and attempt to better understand this virus.

But does the Lt. Governor celebrate our accomplishments and begin the open discussion necessary to the success of Idaho’s future? No. Instead, McGeachin opted for partisan language seemingly meant to make Republicans choose sides at a time when a unified message is what many people need. Seemingly favoring the headline over practical solutions that will work for all of Idahoans, McGeachin’s “reopen now” with no alternative unnecessarily contradicts Gov. Little’s four-stage plan to reopen and further polarizes an issue at the forefront of every Idahoan’s mind.

No one’s concerns are irrelevant or more valuable than another’s. We all want to establish and get back to some sense of normal as soon as feasibly possible. So, Lt. Gov. McGeachin, let’s set aside the clickbait and work together to come up with solutions that will work for both Main Street and the subdivisions.

Anthony Bongiovano

Boise