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In the eastern-southeastern part of the state we are seeing some new developments I've never seen in ID or any other state where I've lived, for Mayoral races.
1. In the Idaho Falls Mayoral race, Gov. Otter endorsed one of the two female candidates. I can never remember the Gov. endorsing a Mayoral candidate before.
2. Despite there being four candidates running for Mayor of Idaho Falls, including a male militarily veteran and current IFPD officer and a second male who has business/mgt. experience; the locals think the race will ultimately be between the women candidates.
3. War chests are pouring in for the women. One is over $20 K and one was close to $ 20K the last time campaign contributions had to be filed.
4. The Post Register, which is a subscription only newspaper and has the largest circulation in eastern/southeastern ID, ran this as their lead story and the regular election hasn't been held yet. The run-off election in Dec. between two candidates should one not met criteria to win explains more. The candidates themselves think this election will go a run off.
I hope the PR gets picked up by other media so it can get posted here. Meanwhile the KPVI link I am posting explains the rules to win in Idaho Falls.
Idaho Falls had a three term, divorced female who served. So it is not simply having female candidates. And former Mayor Linda Milam- D, won re-election fairly easily. No war chests like the two females have in this race.
Pocatello has an interesting race with the current Mayor and the last Mayor both running.
Ammon, also has a female candidate.
What are the Mayoral races like in your part of ID? Has Gov. Otter endorsed anyone where you will vote?
Do you think local elections are being followed by State Government, citizens want to have their vote count and their voice heard on the direction of your City, or are we seeing history in the making in Idaho Falls?
Full disclosure on my part: I do not live within the city boundaries of any city I named. I have not donated to any of their campaigns or volunteered. I do have family in Idaho Falls and Ammon. I view the Idaho Falls Mayoral as a major race for reasons I've posted elsewhere.
Here are the links to the two women already thinking about a run off race in Dec. If you think this is minor, The Daily Kos posted a long article about one of the women.
Officer Tim Downs and Mr. Brian LaPray are also candidates.
I'm looking forward to your thoughts if you are seeing the same unusual points, I outlined above, in your part of Idaho.
Thanks in advance for your comments and courteous posts not writing negative things about our fellow posters. Opinions are opinions, not the person. Please treat the views of others with respect. If someone appears out of nowhere and starts slinging mud, please ignore those posts and mark them for Sage or another Moderator to review and potentially remove.
MSR
Last edited by Mtn. States Resident; 10-29-2013 at 08:26 PM..
I've never seen a mayoral race like this one in my life. I don't think Idaho Falls has ever had such a race before.
Something you didn't mention, MSR, is that the City Council races are also being hotly contended, with multiple candidates for some districts.
I think a lot of this came from Mayor Furihman's decision not to run. (for folks who don't know, our present mayor is a two-termer who is relatively young. He announced that he has a condition that has caused a loss of some of his short-term memory and would not seek another term earlier this year.)
Other elements, I believe, are tied to the growth here. Living in Idaho Falls is more expensive due to our higher taxes, but the county has long taken advantage of our higher services.
We pay the full rate for our fire department, for example, but the county pays a cut rate when they need our trucks and firefighters.
Our sewage plant was the only one around for many decades, and while the surrounding small towns in the county hooked onto it, they too paid cut rates while we bore the tax burden for it's upkeep and improvements.
The same goes for our police. Ammon had their own police force briefly, about 28 years ago or so, but the residents didn't want to foot the bill for them, and petitioned their city council to get rid of them. Two council members opposed this, and both were recalled. As long as Ammon was the poorer shirt-tail cousin to Idaho Falls, they got the use of our police and fire dept. on a pretty good deal, but they should have, by all rights, had both fire and police protection of their own for many years.
Now that the shoe is on the other foot, and Ammon is rapidly developing it's retail development along 17th st. within it's city boundaries, and getting a lot of city revenue from that development as well as all the new apartments and housing, they're still wanting I.F. to foot all the bills.
I believe it's time for Ammon to pony up. That will mean more taxes for them, but so be it. They can't be the adult living in the basement for free forever. Iona is smaller by far, but it has had it's own city police and fire dept. for many years. Granted, 2 cops and 1 fire truck isn't much, so they need help sometimes, but at least they're paying their own way.
The same goes with all the residents of Bonneville County who live in the subdivisions outside of all the various city limits.
Our County Commissioners are very pro-growth, but they allow big subdivisions to be built with far too little planning or forethought to the needs and consequences that growth brings. Our county protection is far too weak now, while I.F. is paying our fire dept. too much overtime.
Iona was also the wheel horse in getting the new sewage plant built in a central location that serves Iona, Ammon, Shelley, and Taylor. If it had been left up to another village it would have never happened. But that's Iona. They have always coughed up the taxes and bonds when necessary, even though they hate to do it as much as the rest of us.
There are a lot of folks here who think our city government hasn't been aggressive enough in annexation. This is going to become an ever more controversial issue in the coming years. The county will need the water, protection services, and power lines as much as Idaho Falls, and even more, if development continues at it's present pace.
The proposed new power loop north of Idaho Falls is getting a lot of NIMBY opposition. Naturally so- no one wants a high tension line in their neighborhood. But if the Ariva project starts back up, they're going to be using megawatts all by themselves. And employing about 2200 new folks as well.
I'm sure I am letting my personal feelings show here. If I seem to be resentful about some things, it's because I am. But I'm also an optimist. I believe all this will be worked out sooner or later. And I'm also glad Ammon's new mayor is addressing many long overdue problems. To be fair, I believe Ammon is also responding more positively to these problems than I've ever seen before.
More than anything else, I simply can't see any way we can continue as it is now much longer. Taxes will have to go up somewhere for some area, and the longer that reality is avoided, the more it's going to cost when the needs have to be met.
I'm not sure that some of the candidates are ready for these challenges. Just like everywhere else in Idaho, we have all operated under the No New Taxes paradigm for a long, long time. Some seem to believe that these big problems are going to get fixed for free.
I think there's a possibility that some can be fixed for free. But others are going to cost somebody, somewhere. Growth and progress will happen, period. Idaho Falls needs to be ready for more of both to come, and must face whatever that readiness entails. Bonneville County and all the outlying communities need to do the same if we want to maintain our way of life here.
For all you folks in the panhandle: What we are going through right now will be happening in your neck of the woods soon enough if Idaho continues to be a destination state. Since we are the only state with as many neighbors, including another nation, I think growth here is inevitable. Idaho has been overlooked for a very long time, but that's changing rapidly now.
It would pay you well to keep track of what's going on down here, because growth always brings unexpected problems and complications.
All this has been building up down here for a long time. Don't let things sneak up on you, like they did down here!
As far as the races go…
I don't much like Gov. Otter or anyone outside of Idaho Falls endorsing anyone. Our city elections have always been non-partisan, and If Butch wants to come down here and live, that's fine. Let him do so and endorse anyone he wants. Same goes with any other person or entity from other places in the state.
As MSR mentioned, Idaho Falls has elected a lot of fine mayors, including a woman, all on our own. I don't think we need any help from any one or any political party to do it once again.
It seems there are several conflicting outside agendas creeping into our city politics, too, and I don't like any of it. Spending $20,000 each by 2 sides of a 4 way mayoral race in a city our size is ridiculous.
I agree with so much of what you said. It is true that the council positions for I.F. seem to have 3-4 candidates running for the vacant seats. I thought I had listed enough just trying to explain about the mayor so I didn't venture into council positions.
A couple things to add. I've posted in the I.F. sub-forum why I see the I.F. Mayor's election as the most important for the east side of the state. Given I.F. being the commercial, medical, transportation hub with the largest commercial airport after Boise, all the responsibilities of having some of the INLbuildings/ labs/ CAES and additional planned collaborations with R and D etc. In the city as well as being home to the media hub for eastern ID, western ID and southern Montana. I see this position incredibly important for a non-Boise metro election.
Mike wrote what I was thinking. I hope our friends in the Panhandle, Twin Falls area and even Boise metro will read, post and think this could be my Mayoral Race next election. The campaign donations are only going to increase.
But like Mike, having Gov. Otter or a future governor endorse a mayoral candidate in essentially a non political race bothers me. If Butch and Lori Otter are planning to become residents within a year then I think they should disclose that Info when they endorse a candidate. I honestly don't know if Gov. Otter's endorsement will help or hurt the candidate he endorsed.
The present mayor, a former IFPD officer, is not running due to medical issues. The City Council President, a woman who has served 22 years or more, is retiring as well. They have both endorsed the same candidate Gov. Otter did. Stating that slightly differently, they are not endorsing a sitting councilwoman who wants to totally ensure every ordinance, annexation and other activities the City does is defensible in court.
Please share your thoughts from your part of Idaho. Do you think we'll see the Gov, Lt. Gov and others from state government, let alone Congress, endorse local elections in your part of ID? Please add why you think we will or won't and how you feel about these levels of campaign donations becoming the new norm or just a quirk that might happen where you live.
Thanks again Mike for adding to the discussion and clarify issues.
MSR
Last edited by Mtn. States Resident; 10-30-2013 at 10:08 AM..
In CdA its pretty important. I will try and abstain from my views so it doesn't distract anyone, but our current mayor has been very controversial and it has caused a lot of issues. We have 3 hopefuls and here are very distinct sects voting for one of them. It is very fragmented up here. You have the youth trying to get their voice heard and make change, then old who want to stay in the dark ages, and then the people in between who are can't decide what side they are on so they choose the 3rd guy for the hell of it. City council is much of the same. Been following this closely, and I honestly think I am going to run for city council next time around, it amazes me who sits in these spots.
Blackfoot got into some trouble due to closed meetings, and the county officials in Jefferson county have drawn a lot of ire for closed meetings and some other problems.
I really believe we will see more of this. It's a new century, and Idaho was a quiet backwater for a very long time. Not now, though, and I believe there will be a lot of voter challenges to all kinds of things in the way we have governed ourselves in the past. Really a lot of our currently serving officials have been in office for a long time, and haven't adapted to the present times well.
In CdA its pretty important. I will try and abstain from my views so it doesn't distract anyone, but our current mayor has been very controversial and it has caused a lot of issues. We have 3 hopefuls and here are very distinct sects voting for one of them. It is very fragmented up here. You have the youth trying to get their voice heard and make change, then old who want to stay in the dark ages, and then the people in between who are can't decide what side they are on so they choose the 3rd guy for the hell of it. City council is much of the same. Been following this closely, and I honestly think I am going to run for city council next time around, it amazes me who sits in these spots.
Great post Shaner.
It is frightening to know the power the Mayor and City Council and how often the trust citizens give them with their vote. Thankz for your view about CDA challengers in the Mayoral election.
Let me be among the first to encourage you to run for City Council. And the best of luck. I respect anyone who wants to serve others in an elected position.
as far as I know, the Gov has not endorses anyone in CDA. I googled it for a couple mins and couldn't find anything besides when he endorsed our current mayor some years ago.
as far as I know, the Gov has not endorses anyone in CDA. I googled it for a couple mins and couldn't find anything besides when he endorsed our current mayor some years ago.
Shaner,
Maybe Idaho Falls residents should hear that the current CdA Mayor was endorsed by Gov. Otter at the last election. Maybe there is a lesson to learn. If nothing else it appears the Gov. Picks and choices what city is his focus.
Possibly, after some research, they were friends or acquaintances from sometime before as I found info about them from a couple years prior at some event.
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Has Gov. Otter Endorsed?
Good to Know
