Jaci Kettler, who has a doctorate in political science, has made a name for herself as one of the Treasure Valley’s go-to political analysts. She's also one of the hosts of the new podcast "Scandalized," and visited with the City Cast Boise podcast today to discuss the work of digging up old stories people would rather let lie. A few months back, Hey Boise sat down with her to hear how she navigates this public-facing role, and what she’s got her eyes on.
How do you approach your public-facing role to encourage an engaged citizenry?
“I’m from a rural area. I speak very plainly, which is something I think a lot about because there’s the imposter syndrome — I don’t sound like an academic, but I also think that there’s a benefit for direct and plain language. What’s the purpose of [professors] writing a lot of things that ten people will read and understand?”
As a woman who focuses on state politics, how do you manage the frequent stress of Idaho politics?
“Being someone who researches and studies state politics often gives me a bit of distance … which sometimes can help me. But I had a baby last year. I had doctors leaving while I was pregnant. I still got phenomenal coverage, and thankfully, everything worked out fine. But there were some scary moments … more and more people in the state are either going to be that person or know someone who’s struggling with some of the legislation that’s particularly connected to gender or health care in one way or another.”
What’s something Idaho does well that other states could make note of?
“One thing I've worked on is on the election security side. I think Idaho has done a very good job running elections and doing so in a safe and secure manner, but also trying to make it accessible … In general, the message has always been very much encouraging, trying to help people turn out to vote while also trying to combat claims about election fraud. So that's one place where I think that Idaho has done a very nice job, and I think … for states that are running elections similar to Idaho, they could learn a lot from Idaho.
