City Government
Reader Comments On Bieter Statements
October 6, 2019 
EDITOR NOTE–The GUARDIAN has a policy of not endorsing any candidates. We will gladly post comments from both sides of issues as well as candidates. We require real identity, not screen names.
By STEVE HULME
With the city election less than a month away, it seems likely that Career Politician Dave Bieter will maintain the helm, barring a last-minute collusion or quid-pro-quo scandal. He’s got Mucho Dinero, and he’s running against a couple other career politicians with spotty backgrounds, a college student, a sunglasses distributor, and an auto mechanic who wants to build a wall to keep the Californians out. (Not a bad idea, actually…)
On my occasional visits to Social Media Land, Mayor Bieter has been prominent as of late. According to him (or whoever on Team Dave does the social media), “I certainly cannot take all the credit, but we’ve made tremendous improvements in our quality of life in Boise since I took office.” [stated time after time, on Facebook]
You fellow old-timers who were here before 2004… do you agree that your quality of life is “tremendously improved” since then?
More specifically, he claims, “we’re cleaner, safer, kinder, and more prosperous than we’ve ever been.” [September 18]
Thanks, Dave, for putting an end to weather inversions and wildland fires! Thanks, Dave, for reducing assaults and murders! Thanks, Dave, for making everybody so nice! And thanks, Dave, for that big bump in our paychecks!
Reelect him, and here’s what you can expect: “Together, we’re going to end family homelessness, combat climate change locally, reduce single occupancy car trips by 10%, work with business leaders to reduce waste, continue to ensure Boise is a welcoming city to everyone through Boise Kind, increase affordable housing through Grow Our Housing, and improve our transpiration [SIC] system through Keep Boise Moving. [September 19]
And – that’s all small potatoes, compared with his pie-in-the-sky dream projects: a city-owned sports stadium, a new $100 million palatial library, and a $100 million streetcar.
Isn’t it amazing what you can do, when you have a continuous flow of other peoples’ money?!!
Here are a couple noodle-scratchers:
“When I first ran for mayor, I promised to be transparent and accessible to the people of Boise.” [September 14]
How has that promise worked out?
“Housing affordability is an issue that we must tackle as a community, together.” [September 12]
That seems a little disingenuous, from a city administration that always wrings every property-tax dollar from residents. Is he concerned about working-class folks and senior citizens who could very well be forced out of their homes by soaring property tax bills?
I sure wish we could find a qualified manager who wants to stretch every taxpayer dollar, and who values function over form.
If we’ve settled into Bieter as mayor-for-life, I propose we all chip in to buy him a tuxedo and top hat, like the Monopoly mayor.
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Comments & Discussion
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Oct 6, 2019, 1:39 pm
I nominate him for a first place finish in the mayor who destroyed Boise and the Boise Valley. I pray he doesn’t get another term!!!
Oct 6, 2019, 2:27 pm
Bravo!
Oct 6, 2019, 2:33 pm
I am tired of Bieter trying to force taxpayers to pay for an unnecessary $100 million library, sports stadium, and streetcars. Trying to jam the F-35’s into Boise really did it for me. This aircraft does not belong in a metropolitan area due to the noise. Madison, WI got the F-35’s instead of Boise and Madison is now trying to get rid of them. He could care less what it would do to real estate values in the area and how it would affect home owners financially. Like a dirty diaper, all politicians need to be changed from time to time (and for the same reasons). But Dave, like other Republicans, couldn’t really care less what we the voters think.
Oct 6, 2019, 5:37 pm
Dave Bieter is a Democrat! If you want him out, vote for an alternative. And try to convince other folks to vote! Dave wins because the folks on the Bench and West Boise do not vote. Typical turnout in municipal elections is 18-20%.
Oct 6, 2019, 9:13 pm
More sophistry from Team Dave, the carnival barker, front man and shill for the developers and Commerce Chamber who are turning the Valley into a grid-locked ghetto without a real, functioning economy of industry and prosperity. No, instead we get a monetary vortex sucking tax dollars out of citizens’ bank accounts, recycled into magnificent liberries and sports stadia which are alleged to cause the fantasy known as “home equity” to magically accrue in our personal vaults so that we may dive into it head first, like Scrooge McDuck in a sea of gold coins. In a virtuous feedback loop of perpetual motion and urban renewal, the Midas touch of Team Dave will turbocharge property tax receipts and turn Boise into a shining city on a hill, where everyone will walk around in a top hat reminiscent of J.D. Rockefeller and work will be optional. Be Kind and vote for Dave. He hasn’t updated his resume in years.
Oct 6, 2019, 9:30 pm
Go back through the mayor race campaign archives: in his second (I think) campaign he promised ‘stronger neighborhoods’. Where are these stronger neighborhoods. Many are overrun with apartments… more traffic, parking on the streets, no nearby services.
There is no code enforcement… period. Trashy houses are everywhere. Residents are expected to rat on their neighbors.
Try calling many City Hall offices: menu prompts like you won’t believe, and voice mail. Where are all these new positions that have been added? Maybe they are all planners and program managers, who don’t answer phones. Good luck finding a direct phone number!
Oct 7, 2019, 7:24 am
The price tag on the trolley WAS $125 million back a few years ago. Now it would be closer to $175 million to replicate the FREE BSU shuttle.
Elaine Clegg is big on this too. Course she’s in lockstep with Bieter so she needs to be dumped to the curb.
Vote Debbie Lombard Bloom.
PS TOm Lorentz. Bieter is a democrat.
Oct 7, 2019, 10:27 am
No, I’m not better off than 2004. As a matter of fact, those supposed jobs? Never found them and had to move out of state to pay the bills. My girlfriends who are college educated single moms are also struggling to make ends meet with no solid employment options.
How about taxing all those out of staters who came and bought up 2-3 houses and put them on airbnb? Do what Vancouver and Toronto are doing and put a huge tax on empty “investment” housing. I guarantee we will see housing become available quickly or there will be more tax revenue that doesn’t come from individual homeowners such as myself. I miss home, my amazing neighborhood and friends but every time I see boise mentioned in another “best place” list I have a mix of anger and sadness. One can have smart growth and terrible growth. So far I see only the latter. I want to come home but I have to bring my job with me because I cannot rely on any elected official to actually think about what would benefit us, the voters and citizens. Bieter had a vision but I think it was lost somewhere along the way.
Oct 7, 2019, 10:28 am
Biter’s reelection would be a mandate to him, his policies and his spending. I didn’t think Boise needed any improvement from 2004, I liked it then, still like it, but prices, traffic, congestion everywhere are becoming a concern.
Oct 7, 2019, 12:28 pm
Hey, Hey, Let us open our eyes!
Is there any local politico who does not burn through millions faster than NASA? No! These people all carelessly smoke through money while claiming to not have enough. What the hell it’s free to them and spending it makes them powerful and popular with the uber powerful rich people. If they play it right they can get a ride on AirForce One, and maybe even appointed a job by POTUS.
Dems vs. Reps is a marketing scam to make the average person think there are two teams. Like the NFL or NASCAR makes you think there are several teams and divisions instead of the truth of just one big team with multiple uniforms. Reps spend just as much and raise taxes just as much as Dems. Affixing a Dem vs. Rep label is a common and successful distraction. Reality is this is a Taxpayer vs. Tax spender battle and taxpayer is losing nearly every time. Local and national, both teams, are taxing the shit out of us while giving free stuff to big businesses. What was it ACHD wanted to attach to my little cars last year? A subsidy to give free ride to locals trucks? Does my registration tax keep going up up up? How much does the mayor charge this month to flush a toilet? Shameless, Dems and Reps both! https://boiseguardian.com/2019/01/28/achd-leaves-vehicle-fee-on-lightweights/
The Mayor’s administration: What we are looking at here in Boise is the administration has been allowed to remain in office for so long they successfully set up a wheeling dealing syndicate. Membership includes police departments, law firms, design & engineering firms, politicos, courts, media, corporations, nonprofits, real estate moguls, etc. etc. Membership includes Dems and Reps. The mayor has become emperor of SW Idaho. The mayor’s race is for who gets to be the next emperor. It should be a race about ending the syndicate.
I do agree that eligible voter apathy is the core problem. Followed closely by INTENTIONAL lack of local coverage and FALSE news.
I have a dream. I want to vote for someone who wants to shut the syndicate down and be a fiduciary for the taxpayer. I don’t see anyone, do you?
Oct 7, 2019, 2:57 pm
“Dave wins because____”” WHY???
In typical political fashion Rebecca Arnold blames someone else. I imagine that will be her statement on Nov 6th too.
Let’s see the truth. In 2015 for example, some samples:
Precinct 1502 (Cloverdale/Chinden)
30% voter turnout and Bieter got 62%
Precinct 1602 (State St/Pierce Park)
25% voter turnout and Bieter got 70%
Precinct 1707 (Cassia/Rose Hill)
33% voter turnout & Bieter got 74%
Precinct 1807 (Vista/Targhee)
32% voter turnout & Bieter got 65%
Precinct 1810 – SE Boise- unrelated to the North End and the above claim,
35% voter turnout and Bieter got 73%
This counters the idea of Bieter’s support is only in the North End.
In the LOWEST turnout of 14% in Precinct 1512– Bieter got 51%.
So the lowest turn-out actually produces the lowest Bieter support, (contrary to Arnold statement) but still a majority?
In the FEW other Boise precincts with less than 20% turnout(1710 1711) Bieter scores in the 70% range.
So, regardless of the turnout, Bieter support is consistent.
Bieter had comparable results regardless of turnout or geography. I recall he narrowly lost 3 of 88 precincts. I suspect this year will be similar if Bieter and McClean are viewed as ‘alternates’- the difference being the gender vote and the library.
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If someone donates $500 to the Guardian, I’ll put the 2015 results in a matrix for the editor so the exact overall numbers can be posted. For another $500 donation, I would do it for the 2019 results- and then a comparison would show the impact of McClean and the library case. Then we can geographically quantify some of the opinions floating around here.
Although, since the Commissioner made the statement one would think she already has ‘the evidence’. But in modern Trumpian-style it’s easier for politicians to make false statements and hope no one follows up, right?
And guess what? It’s not voter turnout. 😉
Seems to me the problems listed above have more to do with the operations of ACHD and URDs and less to do with City Hall or how much a new library is going to cost.
Oct 7, 2019, 6:17 pm
What happened to the city’s vacation balance fund?
Oct 8, 2019, 5:23 pm
Bieter has increased prosperity alright – for the developer class. And the “Grow Our Housing” project will continue to do the same, as it will only marginally address affordability while posing as the reason for the city to approve upzoning, which the City’s current electorate appears to fully support.
Take 30 minutes of your time and get informed about what upzoning will do. Austin is a few years ahead of Boise in the zoning code rewrite. This film captures it perfectly.
Zoned Out – released on Sept. 2
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=qsYOurWEoSc
Oct 8, 2019, 10:31 pm
I’m not sure how many of you have ever lived with common wall/floor/ceiling neighbors such as with apartments or town homes? There is no privacy and never enough parking. You can hear everything, smell their food and cigarettes, etc etc. I don’t know what kinda fool pays so much money to live like that, apparently there are many who do. These places totally suck for the price and the realtors will never say so.
Oct 13, 2019, 5:59 pm
Since 2004 there are needles on the street showing up here and there. People poop in dumpster pens. I know, one of my 3 jobs is to pick up trash off the ground and I see them.
Homelessness is the result of a sicko monetary policy and “easy credit” debt plots that create UNAFFORDABLE housing. The same with health care and transportation and education.
Look at California. Bieter’s policies are chasing the very same path that progressives have in their big cities. Look at the homelessness, the crime, the trash, the needles, the poop, the crazy politicians, the total failure of the entire state. They have spent billions on a high speed rail that can’t even show 1 foot of track yet. Is THIS what you want for Boise?
We can do much better for much less.
He wants us to look at downtown and see all the fancy storefronts and say “wowie zowie…ain’t that neat.” Well, back in the 60s, downtown was a hopping place with way more stores to visit and more people working for much better pay. That’s what I want back. Not smoke and mirrors.