The Race for City Councils
The people you elect have a tremendous impact on your daily life
If you went onto a crowded street in your city or town and asked people who the President of the United States is, most would know it is Donald Trump. Ask who our governor is, or our two U.S. senators, and I would bet more than half could name all three correctly.
But what if you started asking about our state legislators? That number would probably drop below half. How about your mayor and city council members?
Paradoxically, despite being much less well known than our statewide and national politicians, city council members have a far greater impact on your day-to-day life.
Filing for open seats closed last Friday, so now the race is on to see who will make decisions about your property taxes, parks, trails and recreation, traffic control, business environment, and—most importantly—the never-ending growth affecting nearly all Idahoans.
Under legislation passed a couple of years ago, any city with over 100,000 residents must divide itself into districts, with each district voting for its own council member. Currently, three cities meet that threshold: Boise and Meridian in Ada County, and Nampa in Canyon County. Some smaller cities have already divided into districts voluntarily.
To see who has filed for office in your county, visit your county’s elections portal. Each one does it slightly differently. Ada’s is particularly user-friendly, while I have to wonder what is going on in Madison County.
Boise, as the largest city in Idaho and our state capital, has policies that affect all of us. In recent years, under the leadership of far-left Mayor Lauren McLean, Boise has embraced initiatives related to climate action, LGBTQ+ issues, and mental health in law enforcement.
Five of the six members of the Boise City Council are unabashed leftists, with Republican-identifying Luci Willits the only outlier. Even so, the most recent city budget, which included significant tax increases and a ballot question for even more taxes, passed unanimously. The “Clean Water and Open Space Levy” will appear on Boise voters’ ballots this November.
Three Boise council seats are up for election this year. In District 2, incumbent Colin Nash faces Josh Ellstrom and Derek Smith. In District 4, incumbent Jordan Morales is unopposed. District 6 has incumbent Jimmy Hallyburton running for reelection, challenged by former council member Lisa Sanchez and conservative activist Lynn Bradescu.
Full disclosure: I am working on Bradescu’s campaign, assisting with communications and social media. She is also a longtime sponsor of the Gem State Chronicle.
This race should prove interesting. Hallyburton’s base is the bicycle-liberal crowd, and this summer he visited China and Colombia to learn how to implement more bicycle-friendly policies in Boise. Sanchez’s base is the anti-white identity politics crowd; she is returning to politics after losing her original council seat in District 3 when she moved homes. Bradescu is the chair of the District 19 GOP and the Syringa Speaker Series, and has built a reputation for speaking her mind, and many people either love her or hate her.
Three council seats are also on the ballot in Meridian, but voters won’t actually see them because none of the incumbents drew challengers. Brian Whitlock, John Overton, and Luke Cavener will each win another term, which suggests Meridian residents are satisfied with their council members’ work.
Voters will, however, see a ballot question regarding a permanent $5 million tax increase to fund public safety. I wrote about that particular levy along with larger questions about paying for government services last June.
My hometown of Eagle has two at-large council seats open. Incumbents Melissa Gindlesperger and Helen Russell chose not to run for reelection, and seven candidates subsequently threw their hats into the ring:
Steve Bender, Idaho GOP treasurer and director of the Eagle Sewer District
Kenny Pittman, former city council member
Beth Haney, former mayor and council member from Yorba Linda, California
Rob Gillis, president of Idaho Tough on Crime
Danielle Davis, who calls herself “Eagle’s problem solver”
Nancy Merrill, former mayor and city council member
Tom Letz, local Facebook and Nextdoor user
Eagle’s recent political history has been a tempest in a good-sized teapot. When I moved here in 2018, the mayor and council leaned fairly liberal. Citizens formed a powerful organization that elected a conservative mayor and two new council members in 2019, establishing the current status quo. Yet outspoken progressives, along with some who claim to be Republican but oppose conservative ideas at every turn, have fought to regain control. From recall petitions to lawsuits to LLCs funneling money into PACs, this small group seeks to put Eagle back on a leftward track.
Will conservatives become complacent again, or will they stand up and fight for their city? We shall see on Election Day in November.
Garden City has its own electoral free-for-all, with six candidates running for two seats and three candidates for the open mayoral position.
Star has a four-member city council divided into districts. Two seats are up this November: District 3 incumbent Kevan Wheelock faces challenger Art Soukup, while seven candidates are vying to replace outgoing Council Member David Hershey in District 4.
Down in Kuna, incumbent council president and sitting state representative Chris Bruce is running for reelection, along with two others seeking two at-large seats.
Next door in Canyon County, every council seat and the mayor’s office in Nampa are contested. Current Canyon County Clerk Rick Hogaboam is running to succeed outgoing Mayor Debbie Kling, along with three other candidates. Council districts 1, 3, and 5 are also on the ballot. Voters must contend with big issues such as what to do with the expensive Ford Idaho Center as well as a pay increase recently approved by the current mayor and council.
Caldwell is in a similar situation, with the mayor’s office and three council seats up for election.
My friends in Kootenai County also have a full ballot this year. Coeur d’Alene has three council seats and the mayor’s office up for grabs, while Post Falls has competitive races for mayor and two of the three council seats.
There are, of course, races in Idaho Falls, Pocatello, and all the other major Idaho cities. School board, fire district, and other special taxing district races are on the ballot in each county as well. I’m not familiar with every single race, but I compiled a list of links to each county’s elections page, which should have all the information you need:
Above all, make sure to vote. Let’s not repeat last May’s election, in which only 8% of Ada County voters participated. Vote in person on Election Day, vote early, or vote by mail—I don’t care how, just vote. Even though they aren’t on Fox News every night, your mayor and city council members have a tremendous impact on your cost of living and quality of life. Do your research and cast your vote—that’s the basic duty of citizens in our Republic.
Feature image: Boise City Council chambers taken by Don Day of BoiseDev
Thanks for putting in the hard work, Brian. I, too, believe we need to push hard to get people to vote. Let's start the ball rolling toward the midterms. Vote every time you can!