ACHD

Like Phoenix From The Ashes, Brent Coles Arises

Boise’s Nov. 5 mayoral election took on a new candidate Friday who may have injected some interest among voters. After nearly 16 years on the sidelines and some jail time, Brent Coles is seeking his old job as mayor and offered apologies all around for his past actions.

Coles has recently made public appearances at hearings and city council meetings chiding councilors and the mayor for their spending habits and various decisions regarding the Library! and other projects.

As of noon Friday Coles will run against incumbent mayor David Bieter who ran on an ethics platform after Coles’ resignation, council president Lauren McLean, Courtney Nielsen, Adriel Martinez and Wayne Richey.

Don Day offers up a concise account at BOISEDEV.

1P.M. UPDATE, BREAKING NEWS

ACHD Chairman Rebecca Arnold has just told the STATESMAN she will also join the crowded mayor race. With four candidates who have a fair amount of name recognition running, it is likely there will be a run off election. The law requires the mayor to have a majority of the votes (not councilors however) cast.

Comments & Discussion

Comments are closed for this post.

  1. Arnold Has Also Filed
    Sep 6, 2019, 12:55 pm

    Just in. Now it will be really interesting to see just “how Kind” Boiseans really are.

  2. It seems to me that someone who is wiling to take a new battering of public humiliation in order to try to change things may in fact have what it takes to turn around the Growth At All Costs Machine that currently runs city hall.

  3. Deep Midnight
    Sep 6, 2019, 1:30 pm

    I wasnt in Boise during his time; how bad was this guy?

    EDITOR NOTE–He got too big for his britches and confused duty with desire. Sound familiar?

  4. Wasn’t he stalking someone at one time? Parked outside a house in the middle of the night? That is a little scary and I don’t see how he will get a pass on top of his conviction.

  5. TeamDave needs to be investigated
    Sep 6, 2019, 2:03 pm

    I suspect worse than what Coles did has happened since then? He was just not smart about it the way the new team is. Arnold? Is she the one who had the expensive kerfuffle with Stanley Idaho or is it just an unfortunate same name thing. Overall very disappointed with the options. None of them has an ounce of respect for what it takes to earn the tax money they forcibly take.

  6. E.B. Schofield
    Sep 6, 2019, 2:42 pm

    (Most) Everyone deserves to be given a second chance at some point in their life. Some people actually learn from the experience that caused the need for such a chance. Those who are so quick to judge, just might want to reflect on the second chance others gave them, and what might be different in their life if they had not received this.

    Meanwhile, elections are about issues and solutions, which he put forth some ideas today. I will be curious to hear what Rebecca puts forth.

  7. Sounds like a PERSI bump hope to me. Arnold would do well too, if elected.

  8. great!
    Now we’re just missing Harley Brown to complete the set.

  9. Hmmm…It doesn’t seem to me that people tend to be given ‘second chances’ when it comes to politics. And people seem to only only make a plea for that if the person in question happens to be on their own team.

    Arnold…I don’t know. She seems to always be negative and nit picky. I like the idea of a woman, but she seems to keep getting into it with others. Yes to the Stanley issue. Yes to trying to reduce her property taxes due to an insignificant reason. I think she might just like to cause problems. We shall see.

  10. Boisean Since Forever
    Sep 7, 2019, 10:56 am

    Brent gets my vote and my money. He really is “Boise Brave.” Let’s see how kind and welcoming the spider-webbed Bieter machine is. It won’t be hard to tell. Will the campaign be about issues or about past mistakes which have been paid for and learned from? Bieter owes his political life to two unfortinate events: Untimely death of his parents and unhappy resignation of Brent Coles. D.B. did not cause either, but he sure knew how to drive his wagon train through an open window of opportunity.

  11. Brian e Vermillion
    Sep 7, 2019, 11:38 am

    All of this reminds me of the DNC with all their clowns on parade.

  12. Second Chances
    Sep 7, 2019, 12:01 pm

    Bieter giving Jade Reilly a second chance after his driving while intoxicated incident?

    If Arnold was of the opposite gender, her approach would probably be viewed as strong, focused, and not afraid to take on a challenge.

  13. Anyone But Bieter
    Sep 7, 2019, 1:32 pm

    Just like 2016 and ABC (Anybody But Clinton) it’s ABB time!

  14. Chickenhawk
    Sep 8, 2019, 9:33 am

    Not only do I think Harley Brown would be a feasible candidate but Walt Bayes deserves another shot as well! Heck, those guys sure gave Idaho lots of attention in the Governor’s race. Great strategy for Team Dave – it worked for Otter in 2014!

  15. How about this perk
    Sep 8, 2019, 9:53 am

    I remember Bieter taking a trip to Washington DC for a mayors conference. The taxpayers paid his registration, hotel, meal, and travel. So he plays hookey and thumbs a ride on Air Force one back to Boise. That whole day not attending the conference, and on his flight to get to DC the second time, he played hookey, too. That was a comedy nobody investigated.

    Blue Cross is still in the pocket of the taxpayer, with Boise as one of its biggest customers, with Bieter’s signature.

    On and on.

  16. Second chance? You are right, he has the right to join the race and take his chances. Learn from mistakes? You are right, I likely won’t make the same mistake again.

  17. Boisean Since Forever
    Sep 8, 2019, 5:52 pm

    Bieter on Air Force One. I had forgotten that glorious day. Maybe Brent Coles can find an archive photo of Bieter waving from A.F. One and then caption it with reference to the day of conference he missed.

  18. Conspiracies?
    – One of these 2 is funded by Idaho Freedom Foundation.
    – Someone else put is supporting these 2 in running for mayor. Prior to this, the 3 unknown candidates would of taken votes from just Bieter. (anybody but Bieter). This ensures a runoff election.

  19. OK, the Air Force one thing is a bit much, you guys. ANYONE would have jumped on that opportunity of a lifetime. It was a nice spontaneous event that brought goodwill to our state. I’m not saying there aren’t plenty of other things you could complain about, but that particular one makes you sound whiney and jealous.

  20. How about this perk
    Sep 10, 2019, 7:13 am

    Bieter sought out that spontaneous event, it was not spontaneous. Others would have attended their conference.

    Hubris syndrome.

  21. We can only wish Margaret Lawrence was alive today….

  22. Must be the season for Phoenixes and bad candidates.

    McGee announces for city council.
    https://www.idahostatesman.com/news/local/community/canyon-county/article234898517.html

    Seriously, did McGee hear Coles was running and then say, “me too” (compared to his previous #metoo moments) ?

    Just get the correct letter behind your name and “you’re in the game”.
    Heck, Butch Otter’s DUI and lying about it didn’t stop him.
    Plagiarize some political website content, or get an unrelated online degree- no problem, you can direct the Dept of Education.
    Make shady illegal deals; whatever, you too can be ‘public servant’.

    Be a real weirdo and you get to be in charge of the ‘whole party’– either one.
    Hookers, lying, stealing, cheating, — it’s just living the life of a politician.

    The ‘majority of Idaho voters’ don’t care about character. It only matters, 1) what letter is by your name and 2) where you go to church.

    Just like Trump said,”I could stand in the middle of 5th Avenue and shoot somebody and I wouldn’t lose [my dumb]voters.”

    On to NOVEMBER!

  23. Easterner: “The ‘majority of Idaho voters’ don’t care about character. It only matters, 1) what letter is by your name and 2) where you go to church.”

    That’s a shame, isn’t it? The reality is, lots of voters don’t take the time and make the effort to get informed, and instead just vote the party line. If the candidate goes to the same church, all the better!

    Equally shameful would be voting AGAINST somebody simply because of the letter by his/her name, or where he/she goes to church.

    IMO, the Democrat Party (nationwide) makes winning difficult for their candidates in a conservative place like Idaho. (Except for Boise and Blaine County, perhaps.)

  24. Agreed Bikeboy.
    Easy to see that pattern with the 2018 Idaho R & D governor’s PRIMARY results- tell me the County and the results are fairly predictable.
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2018_Idaho_gubernatorial_election#/media/File:Idaho_gubernatorial_Republican_primary,_2018.svg

    It could also be said, the current (state and national) Republican party is making it difficult for some of their own candidates to win in traditionally conservative places-
    seen with incumbents not as easily winning and some results moving left:
    -See Iowa’s J.D. Scholten.
    -See 2018 Arizona Senate race to replace Jeff Flakes. A Dem (openly gay/bi) woman wins a long-time R seat.

    As long as moderate and traditional Republicans allow the party to be hi-jacked by the likes of IFF and the Tea Party, they will see the trend continue with younger voters to shift more left- rejecting the far-right message in the future.

    On the other side, the Idaho Democratic messages of a quality environment, higher wages, strong and equal public education, alternative energy, equal pay, fair taxation, local-option taxation, fair access to quality health care, public lands, plentiful migrant farm workers, breaking up corporate agriculture monopolies, and open world-markets (no trade wars), SHOULD all be things that resonate well with rural Idaho.
    However, guns and the bible are tough to overcome. :-/

    So, the US rural/agricultural market is on the decline again. And when things aren’t going well, it’s easy to blame someone else.
    Let’s remember the FarmAid concerts started in 1985. About that time, after many years of Idaho Democrats Andrus and Evans, the state moved to the Red side.
    After enough tough years under the recent regime, I imagine rural Idaho will move left, politically and geographically to the big city.
    See the above reference to IOWA.

    Imagine an Idaho farmer voting for their own economic interest, instead the interests of Simplot, LambWeston, & Melaleuca.

    As for Boise, 2015 had Judy Peavey-Derr run/lose against Bieter.
    Now Arnold jumps in. I can’t tell the difference between JPD and Arnold. They even have the same hair style. “Repeat and try again.” We have enough ACHD experience from Arnold to see how ‘that’ City meeting would go.

    And the best the Idaho conservative pool can do, is recycle Coles and Arnold??????? Is there any leadership even trying? Albeit mayor is supposed to be nonpartisan. ha!

  25. Nor' Easterner
    Sep 24, 2019, 10:03 pm

    Your last 2 paragraphs would have sufficed for this article. Blow hard. Off topic. You show some promise as a textbook writer.

Get the Guardian by email

Enter your email address:

Categories