Rep. Muffy Davis, (D) Ketchum, had a childhood dream of becoming a Winter Olympic skier and was well on her way until she had a terrible accident that would change her life. Davis was one of the top-ranked U.S. Junior Ski Racers who was positioned to achieve her goal of reaching the Winter Olympics. But Davis suffered a crash that would leave her paralyzed from the chest down. However, she did not let her injury stop her from accomplishing amazing things.
She’s gone from winning seven medals in the Paralympics to the Idaho State Legislature. Davis is serving her first term in Idaho House Seat A for District 26. The democrat related her Paralympic experience to the new job she has as a state lawmaker.
“I have always enjoyed leadership roles and through high school and even in college I was involved in different student government positions,” she said. “I enjoyed being able to represent and try and convey needs and things for my colleagues. And then I have been as an athlete, I have continued that on through sports politics and having been involved in leadership and different representative positions through the different various bodies of sports that I have been involved with.”
Davis is now in the Idaho House of Representatives and is trying to make an impact on different fronts in her new position. Her top priority is Medicaid expansion and getting health care to the Idahoans who need it.
“We have a lot of people in our state who need that, and we have an option in the Idaho solution which is Proposition 2, we just need to find a way to implement that,” she said.
Medicaid expansion isn’t the only thing on Davis’s to-do list. She shared with BYU-Idaho Radio what she hopes to accomplish and how her experiences as a Paralympian will help her achieve her goals.
She says she wants to work on more funding for teachers and education in Idaho, including all-day kindergarten that Gov. Brad Little talked about in his State of the State Address.
“Anything that we can do to make our kids the best prepared that they can be so that the can get the best education possible and make livable wages and be able to stay in this beautiful state.”