Lawmakers from Oregon & Idaho to meet in Baker City to discuss Greater Idaho

By Joe Hathaway on Tuesday, October 17th, 2023 in More Top Stories Northeastern Oregon News

BAKER CITY — former Oregon House minority leader and two state representatives from Idaho will meet in Baker City to discuss the Greater Idaho movement.

Rep. Vikki Breese-Iverson (R-Prineville) will meet with her Idaho counterparts, Rep. Judy Boyle (R-Washington County) and Rep. Barbara Ehardt (R-Idaho Falls) at the Geiser-Grand Hotel on Thursday, October 19. Leaders of Citizens for Greater Idaho will be in attendance, and eastern Oregon county commissioners may join in, according to Matt McCaw, a spokesman for Citizens for Greater Idaho.

Breese-Iverson led the House Republican caucus from 2021 until this past September.

In February, the Idaho House of Representatives invited the Oregon Legislature to begin talks regarding the issue. The meeting in Baker City is the first meeting pursuant to that invitation.

State Rep. Mark Owens (R-Crane), whose district covers Baker County, told Elkhorn Media Group he will not be attending.

In an email McCaw said the meeting will be closed to the public and press, but a press conference is scheduled after the meeting for media only.

The Greater Idaho movement is an effort to have counties in Eastern, Central and Southern Oregon become part of Idaho.

Voters in a dozen Oregon counties, including Baker, Union and Wallowa, have approved measures requiring their county commissioners to meet occasionally to discuss the Greater Idaho proposal.

Redrawing state boundaries would require approval from the legislatures of both Oregon and Idaho, as well as from Congress.