City Government
Chamber Cheerleader Checks In For Council Contest
May 25, 2011 
You have to be careful what you wish for. The GUARDIAN has been seeking candidates–any candidates–to run in the Boise City November election to fill four council seats and the Mayor post.
At this point running unopposed for the council we have Ben Quintana, a public relations guy with the Chamber of Commerce. He is a fan of Mayor Dave Bieter and growth. The GUARDIAN predicts one of the incumbents will wait until it’s close to the September filing deadline to back out, creating an open seat. His writing talents and command of the language are apparent in his press release announcing his candidacy.
Quintana describes himself variously as, “visionary, passionate, dedicated, dynamic, enthusiastic, determined, successful, involved, inspirational, innovative, collaborative, encouraging, AND humble.” He expresses no dislike or opposition to any of the incumbents, but promises to not run against Lauren McClean who was selected instead of Quintana to fill the seat vacated in January by Vern Bisterfeldt who won a seat as an Ada Commish.
The entire press release follows below.
2011 Boise City Council Candidate: Ben Quintana
Email: [email protected]
Quintana to Run for Boise City Council
Boise, ID (Tuesday, May 24, 2011) – Ben Quintana today announced through Twitter (@BenQuintana) his intent to run for Boise City Council in the upcoming November election. Quintana will resign his current position as Director of Public Relations and Leadership Development with the Boise Metro Chamber of Commerce effective July 1, 2011.
After spending the past seven years working in multiple capacities at the Boise Metro Chamber of Commerce, Quintana is seeking to make an even greater impact on the Boise community. Quintana is well known for his passion and dedication to the constant improvement of Boise City. His background includes work in economic development, small business resource development, program management, and leadership development.
“I’m excited to take the information I’ve learned and the experiences I’ve gained to make the city I love an even better place for our future,” said Quintana. He continued by adding, “I have a strong vision for an even better Boise and I want to work closely with Mayor Bieter, Boise City Council and citizens of the City of Boise to increase our focus on job creation and economic vitality.”
Quintana was a finalist in Mayor David Bieter’s appointment process in 2010 for the open seat vacated by current Ada County Commissioner and former Boise City Councilmember Vernon Bisterfeldt.
Quintana has not selected a specific seat on Boise City Council. Quintana has stated he will not run against Lauren McLean, who was appointed by Mayor Bieter in 2010.
The Committee to Elect Ben Quintana for Boise City Council will host a kick-off celebration this summer.
More info about Ben Quintana:
Ben Quintana is a dynamic and enthusiastic advocate for the Boise Valley with demonstrated success in community and organizational leadership. He is a humble and determined leader who values the perspectives and ideas of others. Quintana is known as a dedicated spokesperson for the growth and development of business in the Boise Valley. He has consistently succeeded at implementing innovative ideas, enhancing programs and creating positive change.
Quintana has worked directly with site selection experts, corporate executives, government officials and local stakeholders to help attract new business and economic development opportunities to the Boise Valley. He has also worked closely to form partnerships and solutions for small businesses, early-stage startups, entrepreneurs and innovators.
Quintana has been actively involved as a member of the Board of Directors for Kickstand, a state wide organization dedicated to supporting entrepreneurs and innovators. He chaired IdaVation, Kickstand’s annual summit for entrepreneurs and innovators, furthering the support, inspiration and connections needed to foster a culture of innovation in Idaho.
Quintana worked closely with Hewlett-Packard Company (HP) and the City of Boise to help in the creation of the Business Advocate Program – helping connect local small businesses with talented teams of leaders within the HP network.
Quintana has spent years working to form and develop strategic partnerships with Idaho Technology Council, Kickstand, City Club of Boise, Idaho Business Review, Idaho Statesman, Boise Weekly, Boise State University, Idaho Shakespeare Festival, Treasure Valley YMCA, Boise Art Museum, United Way of Treasure Valley and many other community, civic, arts and business groups to collaborate on projects, share resources and create win-win outcomes.
Quintana is most widely known as the founder and director of the Boise Young Professionals (BYP) program. In just under five years, BYP has grown to an organization of more than 760 members from over 400 companies and is recognized as one of the premier groups of its kind in the country. He started BYP after identifying a need to better connect, empower and engage young professionals in the Boise area. By working in his capacity at the Boise Metro Chamber, the program evolved into a workforce initiative to help the Boise Valley better attract, develop and retain a talented workforce.
Quintana also recently launched major initiatives including the Leadership Boise Alumni Association, which is one of the longest-standing Chamber-run community leadership programs in the country. Leadership Boise has graduated more than 1,300 community and civic leaders since its first graduating class in 1977. Working with 50 participants each year, Ben helped guide and encourage a better understanding of the current and potential challenges and unique strengths of the Boise Valley. He also oversaw the high school version of the program called Leadership Boise Academy, which educates 55 junior-level high school students from over 15 area schools in Boise, Meridian and Eagle on the subjects of community engagement and leadership.
Quintana received his B.A. in Communication from Boise State University and his M.A. in Organizational Leadership from George Fox University. Quintana currently sits on the Board of Directors for Kickstand, Advisory Board for Boise State University’s College of Social Science and Public Affairs, Advisory Board for George Fox University’s School of Business, and has stayed actively involved in numerous other community organizations as a volunteer.
Quintana is a graduate of Leadership Boise and the Boise City Citizen Police Academy and is a recipient of the Idaho Business Review’s Accomplished Under 40 in Idaho, Kickstand’s Meg Carlson Leadership Award and the Idaho Lions Community Service Award.
Ben and his wife Christine, who works at Hewlett-Packard Company and has her MBA from Boise State University, live in Southeast Boise with their two dogs Charlie and Tucker.
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Comments & Discussion
Comments are closed for this post.
May 25, 2011, 3:05 pm
Come on Dave, I’m still waiting for you to toss your hat into the ring! After all, you have some of the same attributes as folks like Ben Quintana — though not necessarily all of them (visionary, passionate, dedicated, dynamic, enthusiastic, determined, innovative). You have widespread name recognition. You know where the problems of government exist and exactly how to solve them. You’re at a point in life where you could retire, live off the added income of a Council seat, and dedicate yourself to making things right. And undoubtedly the average folks on the street who compose much of your readership would gladly chip in to create the “war chest” necessary to run a grass roots campaign. As the old saying goes — “put up or … find someone else who can!” Think about it.
May 25, 2011, 3:37 pm
Granted he’s a PR flack, and the Chamber of Commerce is not exactly fiscally conservative since they always support any tax and spend scheme that comes along, but might we hope this guy isn’t as totally liberal as the rest on the Boise City Council? That he might actually look at the spending and say wait a minute?
EDITOR NOTE–We can indeed hope. He does seem like a nice guy, if he will respond to some supervision he may work out. 🙂
May 26, 2011, 11:36 am
Corporate welfare queens.
May 27, 2011, 5:47 pm
Why does Quintana feel that it is necessary to “resign his current position as Director of Public Relations and Leadership Development with the Boise Metro Chamber of Commerce effective July 1, 2011”? City Council is NOT a full time job, unless…
May 27, 2011, 6:55 pm
Looks like a guy trying to talk me into something really unpleasant.