The Conservative team is set in Legislative District 4 as news comes today that term-limited House member, Tom Boone, has decided not to seek the Senate seat being vacated by current Senator Jack Harper. Instead, Harper will seek Boone’s House seat while former State Senator, Scott Bundgaard, will re-enter political life with an apparent clear path toward the LD-4 Senate seat. In districts like LD-4 where voter registration overwhelmingly favors one party over the other, whoever wins the Primary Election is almost certainly guaranteed the win in the General Election.

Boone’s decision not to seek the House seat may have something to do with recent attention given to Boone’s position and relationship as CEO of Valley Schools Management Group and Board President of Desert Valley Unified School District. According to another blog, Boone’s position with each entity may have placed him in a questionable role in the use of taxpayer dollars through intergovernmental agreements, procurement policy and no-bid contracts. This may have influenced his decision not to run.

Regardless, Boone’s exit from the legislative scene helps the party avoid a potentially damaging primary at the same time it allows resources to be used in other tightly-contested races including LD-10, 11 and 20.

The same won’t be the case in Legislative District 12 where Senator John Nelson is expected to be challenged by Litchfield Park resident, Clark Silver in the Republican primary.