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Let's face it, Wayne Hoffman has a long history of ruffling feathers. He also has a long resume of reinventing himself.
First things first: For transparency's sake, Hoffman covered the Idaho Legislature for us and did a fine job. So much so, the Idaho Statesman scooped him up and kept him on the legislative beat.
A few years later, Hoffman took a job with the Idaho Department of Agriculture. Then he started boosting politicians in their local election battles. He helped Tom Luna get elected to state schools superintendent and later became the spokesperson for Bill Sali.
It's no secret that Hoffman rocks the boat. He worked for U.S. Rep. Sali and he worked on his re-election campaign. Even though it was legal, we questioned the ethics of Hoffman's dual role as a spokesman for Sali as a representative and Sali as a campaigner. Revisit the editorial. Read Hoffman's rebuttal. More commentary about the topic.
Now that Hoffman wears the Idaho Freedom Foundation's executive director hat, he writes a weekly opinion column that we publish most weeks in our print edition â€" Sundays or Mondays â€" and on the Web.
He doesn't tap dance around controversial issues and he's not afraid to challenge the norm. Readers have asked: What makes him special? Why does he get a weekly shot?
Simply, Hoffman serves in a unique role. He doesn't work for the government, for politicians or for any media outlet. As a "very conservative watchdog" Hoffman barks loudly when, in his opinion, someone pushes legislation too far or spends tax dollars unwisely.
The Idaho Press-Tribune does not endorse Hoffman's opinions, nor do we pay him. He covers a wide variety of topics. When the Idaho Freedom Foundation started in Idaho just more than a year ago, most states already had similar think-tank organizations in place.
The Freedom Foundation is a "nonprofit educational and research organization that develops and advocates the principles of individual liberty, personal responsibility, private property rights, economic freedom and limited government."
Hoffman often backs his columns on the research that's shared at idahofreedom.net.
The Idaho Freedom Foundation operates three other valuable Web sites that provide watchdog-like information. Hoffman writes his weekly columns based on the foundation's research.
We believe the weekly column - even if we don't agree with it - sparks dialogue that needs to occur. It also provides the opportunity for readers to comment on the Web version to further the debate on a wide variety of topics.
I would be thrilled to find a similar "liberal" watchdog or columnist who writes well, is well established as a researcher and who represents a foundation or organization of sorts.
Idahofreedom.net-related sites
• Ouridaho.com is a central spot where anyone can look up the salaries of any government employee in Idaho, from the top level to the deep, dark corners of a small-town city hall. It also includes expenses. You can see how much money someone spent to buy gas. Some don't like the fact that Hoffman's group has made it so easy to look up this public information. I know one teacher who is actively looking for a new career, in part, because that private information was revealed. Nampa Mayor Tom Dale didn't want to reveal information about the police department because he worried it could endanger those employees.
• There's a new site called idahoreporter.com. From there, a couple of reporters write stories about the Idaho Legislature. The staff covers topics that aren't always covered by the mainstream media.
• idahovotes.org provides a breakdown of the legislation from the Idaho Legislature and includes the voting records for each of the bills. As of Friday afternoon, there had been 250 bills and three amendments introduced and zero laws passed. But you can plug in the name of your favorite legislator and see how he or she voted on a particular issue.
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