Ellen Spencer

This page was current at the end of the individual's last campaign covered by Ballotpedia. Please contact us with any updates.

Ellen Spencer

Independent

Elections and appointments

Last election

November 3, 2020

Personal

Birthplace

Boston, Mass.

Religion

Episcopalian

Profession

Entrepreneur

Contact

Campaign website

Campaign Facebook

Campaign Twitter

Campaign Instagram

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Personal Facebook

Personal LinkedIn

Ellen Spencer (independent) ran for election to the Idaho State Senate to represent District 14. She lost in the general election on November 3, 2020.

Spencer completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2020. Click here to read the survey answers.

Biography

Ellen Spencer was born in Dorchester, Massachusetts. She pursued her undergraduate education at the University of Massachusetts, Boston; Northeastern University; Suffolk University; and the University of Phoenix. Her career experience includes working as an entrepreneur, risk manager, executive assistant, and insurance agent.

Elections

2020

See also: Idaho State Senate elections, 2020

General election

General election for Idaho State Senate District 14

Incumbent C. Scott Grow defeated Ellen Spencer in the general election for Idaho State Senate District 14 on November 3, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		C. Scott Grow (R)	73.0	29,523
		Ellen Spencer (Independent)	27.0	10,942

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 40,465
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
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Republican primary election

Republican primary for Idaho State Senate District 14

Incumbent C. Scott Grow defeated Ted Hill in the Republican primary for Idaho State Senate District 14 on June 2, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		C. Scott Grow	52.6	5,686
		Ted Hill	47.4	5,114

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 10,800
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Campaign themes

2020

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Ellen Spencer completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2020. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Spencer's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

Expand all | Collapse all

Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

A 30-year resident of Idaho, the wife of a firefighter, and mother of a University of Idaho student. A problem solver by trade, I was the Risk Manager for the College of Western Idaho for 10 years and worked in both the legal and insurance professions. Now, I am an entrepreneur with a small jewelry business. Idaho made me a pioneer. When I moved here, I fell in love with this great state. I had left family, friends, and a job, to come here. Since then have created an amazing life. I am a worker. I'm passionate about people and letting them see the wonder of who they are, and what they are capable of doing. I believe in fairness, hard work, compassion and lending a hand, just as Idaho has taught me. I am running as an Independent to help facilitate conversations with all kinds of people, and help to move Idaho forward.

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

• To be a voice for the people. Currently, our super-majority legislature has failed to listen, and act on behalf of the citizens of Idaho, year after year, term after term. I want to change that.
• To develop an education system that fulfills the needs of all Idaho students; that citizens can be proud of; and that businesses around the country will be attracted to.
• To bring more transparency and accountability to our state government.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

Education

Transparency/Accountability/Ethics

Peoples' Rights (Constitution)

Who do you look up to? Whose example would you like to follow, and why?

I greatly admire Barack Obama for his integrity, perseverance, humility, compassion and intellect. I try to emulate those qualities and his humanity, though I am a little more feisty.

What characteristics or principles are most important for an elected official?

Integrity

Honesty
Timeliness/Punctuality

Transparency

What qualities do you possess that you believe would make you a successful officeholder?

Because of my Risk Management experience, I am able to see an issue from a number of perspectives, from the top down; how it affects the larger organization, to the individual.

I look at situations and try to identify any gaps there might that would prevent progress and develop mitigation plans for those gaps.
I problem-solve.

Because of my experience in planning, I am able to keep organized and operating in the midst of change.

What do you believe are the core responsibilities for someone elected to this office?

Core responsibilities of an elected public servant are to put the needs and concerns of the people of Idaho first, listen openly to all the perspectives, get all the facts, and communicate honestly.

Don't lie or cheat. Don't promise what you can't deliver, and if you say you are going to do something or be somewhere then follow through.

What legacy would you like to leave?

That I made changes that improved Idaho citizens' lives and livelihood.

That I was a legislator of the people.

That I did my best and thought of them first

What is the first historical event that happened in your lifetime that you remember? How old were you at the time?

The first historical event I remember was the assassination of John F. Kennedy. I was 4-years-old. I remember watching the news with my mother. I don't recall if it was the actual parade in Texas, or the news reel after the fact, but I knew something very bad had happened, and the grown-ups were very upset. I remember newscasters crying. I remember thinking it was an awful thing to have happened to someone who was beloved by everyone I knew or saw at the time.

What is your favorite book? Why?

I am a reader and have many books that have shaped my life and opened my mind. These are the books that come to mind, first:

The Shack, for the way it depicts in an uplifting way, the difference between faith and religion
Anything by Shakespeare, as his plays and stories show life and living in all its silliness, humor, despair and joy.
Anything by Doris Kearns Goodwin, as she is masterful in presenting historical perspectives.
Ken Follet's recent duo and trilogy, Pillars of the Earth, World Without End, and the Century Trilogy. Excellent historical period pieces, albeit fiction. Weaving locations and characters from generation to generation, illustrating the challenges of daily life of different types of people of the time.

The Bible. Because it has it all. Divinity, guidance, solace, joy, death and life and many good stories along the way.

If you could be any fictional character, who would you want to be?

Wonder Woman. She believes in doing the right thing, and champions that. That is how I was brought up and I believe it's still worth fighting for.

What was the last song that got stuck in your head?

Ain't No Stopping Us Now

Do you believe that it’s beneficial for state legislators to have previous experience in government or politics?

While It is beneficial to have prior experience as it helps with the learning curve of processes, policies and procedures, I do not think it essential.

If you are not a current legislator, are there certain committees that you would want to be a part of?

The following Committees are what I'm interested in participating on, in order of choice

• Education
• Local Government & Taxation
• Finance
• State Affairs
• Transportation
Interim Committees
• Economic Outlook and Revenue Assessment

• Joint Finance & Appropriations

Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.

See also

2020 Elections

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Footnotes

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Current members of the Idaho State Senate

Leadership

Majority Leader:Lori Den Hartog

Minority Leader:Melissa Wintrow

Senators

District 1

Jim Woodward (R)

District 2

Phil Hart (R)

District 3

Doug Okuniewicz (R)

District 4

Ben Toews (R)

District 5

Carl Bjerke (R)

District 6

Dan Foreman (R)

District 7

Cindy Carlson (R)

District 8

Christy Zito (R)

District 9

Brandon Shippy (R)

District 10

Tammy Nichols (R)

District 11

Camille Blaylock (R)

District 12

Ben Adams (R)

District 13

Brian Lenney (R)

District 14

C. Scott Grow (R)

District 15

Codi Galloway (R)

District 16

Alison Rabe (D)

District 17

Carrie Semmelroth (D)

District 18

Janie Ward-Engelking (D)

District 19

Melissa Wintrow (D)

District 20

Josh Keyser (R)

District 21

Treg Bernt (R)

District 22

Lori Den Hartog (R)

District 23

Todd Lakey (R)

District 24

Glenneda Zuiderveld (R)

District 25

Josh Kohl (R)

District 26

Ron Taylor (D)

District 27

Kelly Anthon (R)

District 28

Jim Guthrie (R)

District 29

James Ruchti (D)

District 30

Julie VanOrden (R)

District 31

Van Burtenshaw (R)

District 32

Kevin Cook (R)

District 33

David Lent (R)

District 34

Doug Ricks (R)

District 35

Mark Harris (R)

Republican Party (29)

Democratic Party (6)