City Government
Boise Voter Apathy Means 14% Is A Landslide
Each election we try to put things in perspective when it comes to the voting numbers game with the typical GUARDIAN SLANT. Boise incumbents retained their seats with only 11-15% of the possible votes. Just divide the number of votes by the 108,000 registered voters and you start to see the picture. Top vote getter […]
Boise GUARDIAN Election Analysis
While there were no surprises with the incumbents keeping their Boise City Council seats, we were surprised to see Bill Jarocki come in third in the race against TJ Thomson who was also challenged by Jill G. Humble. The big news was the defeat of both bond debt proposals which would have cost taxpayers more […]
Explanation of Incomplete Vote Tally
The Ada elections office under the command of Phil McGrane got the votes tallied for the entire county prior to midnight Tuesday, but the official results were a few points shy of 100%. McGrane told the GUARDIAN the reason was a couple of precincts had no votes! Two were on the fringes of Meridian with […]
Boise Councilors Stay, Bond Debt Goes
At 11:30 p.m. Tuesday it looks like the Three Musketeers of the Boise City Council–TJ Thomson, Marryanne Jordan, and Ben Quintana–easily retained their seats. It also looks like both the Fire Safety and Parks Open Space bonds failed once the precinct results began coming in. The votes “bought” with direct mail absentee ballot request forms […]
Boise Candidate Public Forum
The GUARDIAN offers free space to all candidates who wish to post comments or statements. They will be posted in the order they are received. We do not endorse candidates and strive for objective treatment of all candidates. BOISE COUNCIL CANDIDATES: Seat 2: Ben Quintana (incumbent), Tyler Smith Seat 4: T.J. Thomson (incumbent), Jill G. […]
Republican Insider Uses Own Funds Against Bieter Bonds
Republican insider Mike Tracy has used personal funds to send out a post card urging voters to oppose the two bonds on the November 5 ballot in Boise. Tracy noted the sophistication of the campaign waged by Team Dave to get the bonds passed and decided to send his own message to conservative voters. He […]
Council Candidate Slams Mayor Over Bonds
After attending the City Club of Boise forum Monday which featured only pro-bond speakers, City Council Candidate Bill Jarocki came out swinging with his views. Here is what he reported to the GUARDIAN: “Mayor Dave Bieter was one of three guests at the City Club of Boise today who were trying to convince the audience […]
Up And Down With BOI
First we get news the Boise airport is ranked #7 in a poll of some sort by a travel magazine. On time departures seemed to be the reason for the national ranking. GOOD NEWS! Then, the same day we hear the airport is turned down for a $700,000 grant from the Feds to get flights […]
Bond Opposition Muzzled By Team Dave And Friends
The standard media statement about the upcoming bond election is along the lines of, “There is no organized opposition.” Pretty hard to have organized opposition when the health care industry, contractor/developers, unions, and others who do business with the city pony up $137,000. Consider the following: –Boise’s City Council passed an ordinance and rushed to […]
News “Forthcoming” On Vacant Ombudsman Post
In the wake of the viral video of the lady copper confronting the camera-toting antagonist, the GUARDIAN has fielded several inquiries about the position of ombudsman for Boise. Council President Maryanne Jordan has told us, “The position is important to the community. Next steps should be forthcoming shortly.” The first and only ombudsman to oversee […]
Big Money For Bieter Bond Proposal
Proponents of the bond measures that could put Boise into debt to the tune of $51,000,000 have collected about $137,000 to push the ballot question. The Boise WEEKLY checked the campaign finance reports and came up with the following highlights: ESI ($15,000) Gardner Property Holdings ($15,000) Thornton, Oliver, Keller ($1,000) Old Boise Properties ($1,000) Boise […]
Nampa Urban Renewal Run By Out-of-County Residents
In yet another revelation of urban renewal misdeeds, word comes from Nampa that members of the local Urban Renewal Agency Board not only don’t live in the city, they don’t even live in Canyon County. The GUARDIAN has long been an opponent of urban renewal districts because they have no oversight by ANY government agency. […]
Illuminating Idea Could Save Bike Riders Lives, Offer Coppers Chance To Issue More Than Tickets
The GUARDIAN has posted numerous stories promoting bike safety and invariably the comments turn to “Bikes vs Cars.” We don’t know any car drivers who want to hit bikers, but we sure see a lot of bikers who simply disregard their own safety. In nearly 50 years of working and living in Boise we have […]
Boise Lady Copper Big Hit On You Tube
A female Boise PD sergeant is a big hit on YOU TUBE, but the national and international publicity isn’t the type the city wants or needs. In the approximately 15 minute clip the copper, identified as “Sergeant Lori Sperry,” walks right into the typical baiting by the video guy calling himself Gavin Seim. While conducting […]
Boise Candidate Forum Uneventful
Not only were there no fireworks at Wednesday’s Boise City Council candidate forum, there were hardly any sparklers or firecrackers. Incumbents were all singing from the same choir book and even the challengers joined in at times. One of the few substantive topics was the proposed fire department and park bonds. All but two candidates […]
Boise Council Candidate Forum Wednesday
The League of Women Voters is sponsoring a forum 7p.m. Wednesday night for Boise City Council candidates at the Main Library! on Capitol Blvd. Eight candidates are running for three council seats. Ben Quintana, T.J. Thomson and Maryanne Jordan are the three incumbents. Bill Jarocki, Jill Humble, Tyler Smith are challenger candidates. All will respond […]
“Buck-A-Month” Sales Pitch Ignores $51 Million Debt and $18 Million Interest For Boise Bond
Gotta hand it to Team Dave on the sales campaign for the proposed debt question before voters in November. The NorthEnders have been mobilized and the council candidates have all avoided the issue in a joint campaign brochure. Even the DAILY PAPER editorial has offered an endorsement while addressing–almost point by point–the GUARDIAN concerns. We […]
Commishes Back Flip On Trail Portion Of Eagle Park
Ada Commishes lifted their stop work order Friday over the issue of Eagle City construction of a bike trail on county owned land leased by the city after engineers approved an application to the county. However they tell the GUARDIAN there are two primary issues. First is the winter terrain portion of the land leased […]
“Three Musketeers” Of City Council Run As Team
Three incumbents on the Boise City Council are triple teaming challengers and sending out a single joint flyer to voters, encouraging them to vote early. “Keep Boise moving forward” is the motto Ben Quintana, T.J. Thomson and Maryanne Jordan have adopted in their effort to hold off a total of five challengers–all political unknowns for […]
Ada To Eagle Mayor: “Cease And Desist” At Park
Ada County Commishes have sent a “cease and desist” letter to Eagle Mayor Jim Reynolds over commercial use of Ada land leased to Eagle City for the purposes of a a public park. The latest wrinkle is excavation being conducted at the site off Old Horseshoe Bend Road for a commercial bike “flow trail” activity […]
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