Jerry Sturgill in 2016 ID Senate race
On Budget & Economy:
Profitability driven by productivity, not pinching pennies
The economy must work for all people, not just the rich and powerful. I have spent my career working to turn companies around and make them profitable. But profitability does not come from pinching pennies and limiting benefits. Profitability is driven
by productivity. Workers are more productive when they aren't discouraged by poverty, when they are valued and respected, and when they believe that tomorrow can and will be better.Many struggle to live and raise a family even when working full time.
There is an astounding and unprecedented level of economic inequality today. The top .01% of people in our country control as much wealth as the bottom 80%. How can this be? How can we allow families to live at or below poverty levels when parents work
40 hours a week? The minimum wage simply must be a livable wage, at levels higher than present and appropriate to the cost of living in Idaho. Wage increases should be phased in, to protect our small businesses and not discourage our entrepreneurs.
Source: 2016 Idaho Senate campaign website Sturgill4Senate.com
Aug 31, 2016
On Education:
Investments in education are investments in our future
My Mom was a high school teacher and I attended public schools. At college I studied economics and I have spent my whole career as a lawyer and businessman working to help businesses do better.
I have volunteered at my kid's schools and been on a school board. I know that investments in education are investments in our future.
They promote the health of our economy and our society.High school graduation rates in Idaho have hovered below 80% for the last several years. Only 53% of high school graduates continue on to college. That is the lowest number in this country.
For those lucky enough to go to college, 72% of them will leave college with an average of $26,091 in debt. More than 50% of those who attend college in Idaho leave Idaho within four years after their graduation.
Source: 2016 Idaho Senate campaign website Sturgill4Senate.com
Aug 31, 2016
On Homeland Security:
Maintain force structure needed for security of our nation
We must ensure that our Active Duty and National Guard/Reserve forces in Idaho maintain the force structure they need to continue to serve the security of our nation. The Idaho National Guard must be able to maintain its well-trained, well-equipped
units to be available for prompt mobilization if ordered to active duty and continue to provide services to the state of Idaho during state emergencies.We must assure that those who serve, and who are willing to risk everything for our country and
our state, are honored and respected by proper pay and benefits for them and their families. Veterans of all ages must be equally honored and respected. Our government, and our current Senators and Representatives, seem to have forgotten about our
veterans. We must address the troubled VA health care system by localizing management and decision making and by avoiding one-size-fits-all legislation that hinders the ability of local providers to truly serve our veterans.
Source: 2016 Idaho Senate campaign website Sturgill4Senate.com
Aug 31, 2016
On Jobs:
Wage inequality is unforgivable
We must eliminate wage inequality. Women who do the same job as a man should receive the same pay. In my church leadership positions, I have helped single moms who can't support their families on a single, minimum wage income.
Wage inequality between men and women is especially pronounced in Idaho. We can argue about how many pennies are involved, but wage inequality is unforgivable. Period.
Source: 2016 Idaho Senate campaign website Sturgill4Senate.com
Aug 31, 2016
On Immigration:
Refugees contribute to society; don't close borders for fear
Sen Michael Crapo (R) said he disagrees with banning people from the country based either on their religion or on their country of origin, both of which have been proposed at times by Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump. However, he stressed,
there is legitimate concern about whether terrorists are able to make it into the U.S. through refugee resettlement, and the federal government needs to address it. "The solution is to resolve the vetting issue," Crapo said.Sturgill said he has
worked with refugees who contribute to society and the economy and said he supports the inclusive views toward immigrants and refugees espoused by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, of which both Sturgill and Crapo are members.
Sturgill said he would oppose closing our borders based on fear. "It's inconsistent with my belief, it's inconsistent with the church's position, and we should continue to be that kind of beacon to the world that we've been historically," he said.
Source: Twin Falls Times-News on 2016 Idaho Senate race
Aug 11, 2016
On Corporations:
Financial adviser, and turnaround CEO
In 1997, Jerry co-founded the financial advisory firm, Outlook Capital. He joined Outlook full time in 2000, and there led the firm's private equity practice and helped manage its portfolio companies. Between 2001 & 2003, he served as the turnaround
CEO of a 500-employee, regional armored transit and ATM servicing company. From 2000 until 2008, he served as chairman of a food manufacturing company that supplied regional and national grocery retail companies.
Source: 2016 Idaho Senate campaign website, Sturgill4Senate.com
Aug 8, 2016
On Energy & Oil:
Energy law practice: finance & privatize electric utilities
21 years ago, Jerry left [the NYC financial law firm where he was a partner] and, with his young family, returned home to Idaho so his children could be closer to their grandparents. He became a partner in the Boise office of Stoel Rives Law Firm and
led its Idaho corporate practice. As a member of the firm's energy practice group, he worked on the acquisition and financing of power projects and privatized electrical utilities in Southeast Asia, Eastern Europe, South America and Australia.
Source: 2016 Idaho Senate campaign website, Sturgill4Senate.com
Aug 8, 2016
On Free Trade:
His company recognized as "Cross-Border Deal of the Year"
In 2010, Jerry became a Managing Director of Headwaters MB, a Denver-based financial services firm. Headwaters advises entrepreneurs, corporations and business-owning families to help them grow, recapitalize, and otherwise achieve their financial goals.
In each of the last two years Headwaters was named firm of the year by the M&A Atlas. In 2012, Jerry advised on the acquisition of a Swiss defense electronics firm in a transaction recognized by The M&A Advisor as a "Cross-Border Deal of the Year."
Source: 2016 Idaho Senate campaign website, Sturgill4Senate.com
Aug 8, 2016
On Principles & Values:
LDS missionary in French Canada; then NYC financial lawyer
Jerry is an Idaho native,
the oldest of six children raised in Twin Falls. After a summer working for the US Department of Agriculture, he attended Brigham Young University. He studied English, Economics and French and was an Idaho Rhodes Scholar
Following his undergraduate studies, Jerry attended and graduated with honors from BYU Law School with a Juris Doctorate. During law school, he served as executive editor of the BYU Law Review and after law school, clerked for one year for Judge
Eugene Wright of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. Following his clerkship, he joined the law firm Latham & Watkins, where he spent the greater part of his legal career in the firm's New York City banking and finance practice.
Source: 2016 Idaho Senate campaign website, Sturgill4Senate.com
Aug 8, 2016
On Energy & Oil:
Do more to reduce carbon emissions
Sturgill said he would focus on bringing home large budgets for federally funded programs and institutions such as Idaho National Laboratory. "I think INL is a treasure, and we should be bringing in as much as we can," he said.Sturgill also said he
thinks the country needs to do more to reduce carbon emissions in response to global climate change, and he thinks INL has a key role to play. "They are doing the research to find the kind of technology we need for clean energy," he said.
Source: Post-Register coverage of 2016 Idaho Senate race
Jul 1, 2016
On Environment:
Protect public lands by keeping federal control
Before going into business, Sturgill worked as a raft guide on some of Idaho's most famous waters. He says it taught him about leadership, and instilled in him a love for wilderness. Sturgill, a former board member with the Idaho Conservation League,
is a forceful opponent of efforts to transfer federal lands to the states. "We need to protect public lands," he said. "There is absolutely no way we should transfer them to state control."
Such a transfer would end with selling those lands to private interests, he said.
Instead Sturgill would focus on trying develop agreements between the feds and local interests as Rep. Mike Simpson did with the Boulder-White Clouds area.
Source: Post-Register coverage of 2016 Idaho Senate race
Jul 1, 2016
On Government Reform:
Sick of career politicians staying in office forever
Sturgill presents himself as a political outsider, unlike Crapo. "I'm sick of career politicians staying in office forever," Sturgill said. Sturgill has worked for years in the financial services industry, specializing in overseeing mergers and
acquisitions involving small-and medium-sized companies. He has also served as the CEO of a regional armored transportation company. Before going into business, Sturgill worked as a raft guide on some of Idaho's most famous waters.
Source: Post-Register coverage of 2016 Idaho Senate race
Jul 1, 2016
On Gun Control:
Keep guns from terrorists, but we have enough laws
Sturgill, a lawyer, said he understands and supports the Second Amendment, but he said he would support efforts to "keep guns away from people who are terrorists or are insane."
The country has enough gun control laws, Sturgill said, but they need to be enforced more effectively.
Source: Post-Register coverage of 2016 Idaho Senate race
Jul 1, 2016
On Jobs:
People need a living wage
Sturgill said he will also focus on issues of poverty and income inequality. "People need a living wage,"
he said. "We cannot expect people to be hard-working and expect them to live in poverty."
Source: Post-Register coverage of 2016 Idaho Senate race
Jul 1, 2016
Page last updated: Dec 08, 2018