City Government
It’s Litster vs Thomson
October 1, 2009 
The GUARDIAN has had a standing offer to all candidates to post their initial campaign blurb and profile. Dave Litster is running for the Boise City Council seat being vacated by Jim Tibbs.
LAY, LITSTER, AND SIEBERS ON CITY HALL STEPS
Today he was flanked on the steps of City Hall by two candidates who have quit the race and endorse him–Steve Siebers and Lee Lay. Part of the campaign hype was an old rubber tired replica of a trolley car that used to be on the streets downtown adorned with STOP THE TROLLEY FOLLY signs.
The photo op was short lived when City parking officials informed the candidate that 10 parking spots in front of city hall were “rented” for $100 by Komen breast cancer center for a health screening promotion. We never did see any of the vans or motor homes, but the candidate bus was moved.
Litster offers a conservative voice and a Harvard MBA to oppose the liberal TJ Thomson who the GUARDIAN has previously declared a winner based on his organization, endorsements and apparent money. As an editorial policy we do not endorse candidates.
Click MORE to get the candidates bio in his own words.
DAVE LITSTER’S BACKGROUND
HIGHLIGHTS
* Attended Garfield Elementary, East Junior High, Boise High
* Economics degree, BYU; MBA from Harvard Business School
* Business experience includes: Management positions with Micron PC
in Nampa and Micron Technology in Boise; working with small companies
BACKGROUND
Litster, 54, is a local businessman who was raised in Boise. Litster
attended Garfield Elementary, East Junior High and Boise High, where he was
student body president and state wrestling champion. He has a degree in
Economics from BYU where he also served as student body president. He has an MBA
from Harvard Business School.
Litster worked for Micron PC in Nampa where he served as the Director of
Sales and Operations Planning for five years. He also worked Micron
Technology in Boise where he was a manager in the Corporate Development group.
After graduate school, Litster worked for the commercial real estate
developer Trammell Crow in Houston. He also worked in Detroit for a risk
management insurance company. He and his family moved back to Boise in 1995 to
join a start up food technology company. Dave has consulted with several
companies in Boise and currently serves as the Director of Marketing and Human
Resources with his sister’s local law firm.
Dave and his wife Janet have six children, with tthree of them currently
attending, respectively, Roosevelt Elementary, North Junior High, Boise High,
and a son attending Boise State. He has been a coach in soccer,
baseball, and lacrosse, and served for five years as a Scoutmaster.
Dave is also a regular volunteer with the local Red Cross, where—because
of his rare blood type—he gets the privilege of donating six times a year.
Dave was active in the 2008 presidential primary on the Idaho fundraising
steering committee for Mitt Romney.
Dave and his family live in the foothills in east Boise and are a five
minute bike ride away from Boise’s fabulous system of both Greenbelt river and
foothills trails. He deeply appreciates and is committed to enhancing and
preserving Boise’s unrivaled beauty, friendliness and opportunities.
ISSUES
CREATING JOBS
*Facilitate business startups and business expansion
*Foster local, regional and national partnerships for company relocation
and job creation
*Make the City of Boise easy to do business with!
KEEPING YOUR TAXES LOW – TRANSPARENCY IN CITY GOVERNMENT
*Careful scrutiny on spending every tax dollar
*Eliminate duplication of services
*Insist on transparency and accountability in city government
*Dave opposes Mayor Bieter’s city trolley plan and the Mayor’s plan to
create a second, overlapping ambulance district
ENHANCING BOISE’S QUALITY OF LIFE
*Intelligent growth
*Preserve and enhance parks, trails, open spaces
*Promote transportation coordination valley-wide
*Support a well-funded, well-trained police department and fire department
EFFECTIVE LEADERSHIP
*Dave has close working relationships with key staff members and officials
in business, county government, state government, the Idaho legislature
and in Congress. These relationships will help get results for the City of
Boise.
To insure more advertising-free Boise Guardian news, please consider financial support.
Comments & Discussion
Comments are closed for this post.
Oct 1, 2009, 4:40 pm
Sister’s local law firm? Would that be the same firm where his brother used to practice when he still had a license? My understanding is that he runs the place and tries to keep Bill out of trouble. Not so good a job there.
Oct 1, 2009, 9:20 pm
Labeling any candidate for any office in Idaho a “liberal” is rather strange. Minnick votes with the Republicans.
At least Litster is against the trolley. Where does he stand on light rail? On de-subsidizing bus service? On bringing the police under strict civilian control?
Based on his list of issues (and his having worked for Mitt Romney), I conclude that he is a pro-business politician and would continue the normal practice here in Idaho of ignoring the needs of employees. (The old belief that what’s good for General Motors is good for America has been proven false)
Where do any of these candidates stand on enacting a city-wide minimum wage and a corresponding maximum wage?
Oct 2, 2009, 9:39 am
I’ve known Dave since our paths crossed at East Junior, more years ago than I like to think about. And I was in school band with his older brother Bill, the disgraced ambulance chaser / sax player.
Bold prediction: Those who are either opposed to Litster or in favor of Thomson will make the Litster sibling relationship the Number One Issue.
Is it?
Obviously each voter will have to decide. If it is, then obviously we need to know what Thomson’s brothers and sisters do, and have done, so we can make an informed decision.
Others may believe other issues are more important.
Buzzwords like “intelligent growth” make me a little nervous, because they can mean anything to anybody. Likewise “company relocation and job creation.” But frankly, if one candidate for Council already looks to be walking in lock-step with the current crop of “representatives,” I’m leaning toward the other guy.
Oct 2, 2009, 11:46 am
I think it’s too early for any candidate to take a permanent stance on the streetcar project. The city is still working on a feasibility study and reviewing costs, budgets and tax plans. The information to make a firm decision simply isn’t here yet.
The fact that Litster is already against the streetcar (and calling it names) shows he’s not the kind of person I’d want representing me on our City Council. Instead of a knee-jerk approach along party lines (in a non-partisan seat), we need someone like Thomson who will carefully analyze all the information and hear from all points of view before making a decision.
Oct 2, 2009, 4:52 pm
it is dawning slowly but surely why T. J. Thompson is more than likely to win a seat on the City Council. Boise needs more “CHANGE” Obama style. I bet T. J. Thompson has his eye on the Mayorship. Heck, I may even want Cole back if Thompson succeeds.
Oct 3, 2009, 11:30 pm
Need I note that Chryssa is the Chairman of Ada County Democrat Party? I only mention that in the interest of full disclosure. Maybe Marcel Bujarsky, the Ada County Republican Chairman, should come on the Boise Guardian to defend Litster. Oh, wait, there are non-party people already doing that. Maybe the other guy should get some non-party allies, if he wants people to see him as a grown man who stands on his own ideas.
Oct 4, 2009, 7:55 pm
Chryssa, you are either the most ill-informed person in Idaho, or you are incredibly naive! “Too early to take a permanent stance on the streetcar”?? “in a non-partisan seat”??? Your kidding right?? It won’t matter how this pig of a streecar is portrayed, it is, and will be in the next 20 years, a complete loser!
Is Litster better than Thomson? Hell, I don’t know. Thomson won’t take a stand on any issue and is doing a good job of avoiding letting the voter know what he stands for. Litster has only been in that race for, what, 5 days?
Oct 5, 2009, 10:52 am
That’s “Chairwoman”, Lucas.
And Cyclops, yes, all City Council seats are non-partisan. Regarding the Streetcar, we don’t even have a final price tag let alone other important details. As a Democrat and citizen of Boise who works downtown, I haven’t decided for myself if I’m for or against it. I need more information.
Thomson is very clear on a wide variety of issues, which you can see here in detail:
http://www.tj4boise.com/Issues.html
Oct 5, 2009, 4:33 pm
Chryssa, I went to the link you provided,(I have been there before) and I continue to ask the same questions! This is a vanilla list of talking points that contain no information at all with regard to how Thomson stands on issues. HOW will he accomplish the goals he has outlined? WHEN will he turn the bare ground Bieter bragged about as additional parks during the mayoral campaign. That land is nothing but weeds and mud to this day!
HOW will he improve the relationships between Boise and neighboring cities? Bieter has said he didn’t want to have relationships with the other cities! He just wants to be mayor of Boise!
I maintain my original position here, I don’t know where Thomson stands!!!
As far as “non-partisan” races go? Your statement is just insulting to anyone that realizes what goes on in city government!!!!
Oct 6, 2009, 1:38 pm
So, this was not a public forum run by our tax dollars…
Are ya just seeing too much “brown shirt” attitude from this city, this state as of late…. like for the past four years?
Not fond of that style in this country, nor any other for that matter.
Oct 11, 2009, 6:36 pm
Hi Chryssa, good to see you engaging the issues. Given your endorsement of TJ’s non-stance, will you blast the incumbants for their stance being too early and ill-informed? One has even voted to fund the Beiter choo-choo. Given that you said,”I think it’s too early for any candidate to take a permanent stance on the streetcar project.”, will you be looking to find a mayor that is more thoughtful than the current one? The curent council spent $25,000 to promote this thing and had it been able to sneak in the $90,000 expenditure without the public knowing, it would have done that. Using your logic, the mayor and city council needs to be replaced. That is my intention. I want to figure out how to make the bus system viable. I am sure this can be done for far less than 20 million dollars!
Oct 14, 2009, 2:59 pm
I just read what TJ Thompson indicated what was needed in Boise. I have lived in Boise all my life and, ho-hum, heard it all before. Sadly some of the cronically dumbed down will listen to his lollipop dreams and rainbow bubbles. sigh.