Idaho Lawmaker Cole LeFavour Discusses Book in Eagle

Cole LeFavour grew up in an isolated rural community, far from where the law is made. Now, they are Idaho’s first openly LGBTQ+ lawmaker. They wrote a memoir to prove that rural life isn’t just a backdrop for political caricatures. It’s a place where people face rising extremism with courage.

On Thursday, July 16, that story hits The Bookworm. The Read With Pride Book Club, partnering with Mountain Pride, will discuss “In the Arms of Mountains.” LeFavour will be there in person. A Q&A session follows at 6 p.m., joined by representatives from the Eagle Young Democrats. Everyone is welcome.

The book is more than a personal history. It’s a warning about what happens when we let political parties parse us into red and blue states. LeFavour argues that resources flow only to places where elections hang in the balance. We leave people behind.

“My experience in Idaho shows that when political parties parse us into red and blue states... we leave people behind,” LeFavour stated.

The analysis is sharp. Idaho has gone two decades without significant national money spent on pro-democracy, pro-LGBTQ, or Democratic candidates. Non-profits are starved. The result? A haven for white nationalists. Next to no money has been spent raising up justice.

“No state is a wasteland,” LeFavour said. “We are all Americans, including those who’ve lived in our towns and worked beside us for decades with or without papers.”

The advice to neighbors is practical. Reach over back fences. Get to know the people next door. When it’s safe, ask them to stand with you. When it’s not safe, gather allies to create safety. Grow gardens. Build relationships that change minds.

It worked in the spring primary. Five of the eight leading white nationalists were voted out. It was a Republican legislative primary. Republicans in Idaho made the difference. They saw how devastating the new hateful policies are to families and communities.

LeFavour knows the grind of getting things done across the divide. In their final year as a Senator, they fought for an anti-bullying bill. A committee chair in the House held it in his desk drawer. He planned not to give it a public hearing. He was preventing it from being voted on.

The story cuts off there, but the implication is clear. Bureaucracy can stall progress. It doesn’t stop it.

This event in Eagle isn’t merely a book club. It’s a local echo of a national struggle. The Western Slope has its own rural isolation. Its own political divides. The message from Idaho is simple: divided we are falling. Standing together is the only way up.

The Bookworm is in Eagle. The time is 6 p.m. Thursday. The conversation is open. If you live here, you’re part of the story LeFavour is trying to tell.