City Cast Boise invited all qualified Boise City Council candidates to complete a short questionnaire to help voters learn more about the people running to represent them in city government. All candidates were sent the same questions, and as you'll see, some questions are more policy-oriented and some are a little more fun!
Another political newcomer, Derek Smith has new ideas for City Hall. Autonomous buses? I’m listening. I’m also listening because his Bench restaurant of choice is unimpeachable.
Read the rest of the questionnaire responses here.
1. What’s the most pressing issue you want to address as a Boise City Council member?
The dream of homeownership in Boise is under threat. The current city council has prioritized the interests of rent-seeking corporations over those of home-seeking residents. Out-of-state investment firms are not only purchasing single-family homes but also developing apartments on nearly every available plot of land. Homes and condominiums are critical tools for individuals and families to build equity and wealth. While the city council race is nonpartisan, I am running to represent Boise’s working-class citizens, who are consistently outbid on homes by big businesses empowered by city hall.
2. How would you describe the City of Boise’s current relationship with the Idaho Legislature, and how would you work to change it?
To say the state and the city have a contentious relationships is to say, "the ocean is slightly damp." Boise, and Idaho, are not unique as other states have conservative state legislature with liberal city officials. However, those paying the price are the residents of Boise. When the Governor and Mayor are at odds, the cooperation needed to get out of this housing crisis becomes non-existent. I would change this relationship quite easily, by not antagonizing the state legislature. Young people cant afford an apartment, let alone a home, and prioritizing social issues to antagonize the state legislature is peak post-modernism.
3. What is a transportation issue in your district that you’d like to tackle during your term?
Autonomous busses are the future of American public transportation. Full stop. Directing any funds or attention in any other direction is a step in the wrong direction. Our current public transportation system is underutilized and tax payer subsidized, the city want to push people to use a mode of transportation that most people find inconvenient. I'd get on the phone it Tesla and request that Boise become a test market for their autonomous bus system. If you're reading this, go ride a bus (as I have) and you will be shocked at how few people are on such a massive vehicle. Our bus system is incredible inefficient.
4. What is the city not doing about housing that you think it should be doing?
The city is not prioritizing condos/homes and the Boise residents who need them more than any other time in American History. Home builders in the valley are starting to offer down payment financing so people can become home-owners without needing to save for a down payment. We as a city should be prioritizing home ownership for individuals though this type of business practice with Idaho based businesses, NOT out of state investment firms that view the individual as a commodity from which all resources should be extracted.
5. Do you support the open spaces and water levy? Why or why not?
In theory, yes. In this reality (where the largest demographic at risk of becoming homeless is adults over the age of 55 living alone - because their fixed income doesn't meet the rising cost of living) I say no to additional taxes for our most vulnerable citizens. I believe we should move to crowdfunding methods to raise money for non essential projects. As someone who has 2 daughters and loves the park system, I would gladly pay $1000 for this project. But I cannot, in good conscious, support anything that raises taxes on the many for something that will only be used by a fraction of the population.
6. How do you stand out from your competition?
I prioritize affordable home ownership, not affordable hosing at the cost of affordable living. I come from the world of manufacturing, where producing enough to meet the demand of the people is paramount. The current city government prioritizes corporate investors, not it's residents. I refuse to accept the status quo, because that means siding with big business over the individual. For decades, massive corporations have exploited every loophole to extract as much wealth out of the individual as possible, building apartments is the next step in that endeavor.
I am a harbinger of change, one where the people are put first, not the corporation.
7. The City of Boise has a tradition of welcoming refugees, which has been hindered by federal policies under the Trump administration. How do you want the city’s relationship to refugee settlement to continue or change in the near future?
While the city assists in the coordination amongst various refugee groups, almost no funds from the city currently goes toward refugee resettlement. I would continue to encourage the current system, which emphasizes societal integration, so those who are fleeing war and persecution can find purpose and meaning in this cruel world. We don't have the money to replace the funding from the federal government, heck we don't even have the money to build some parks... but we are a city who finds wealth in out volunteers and our charitable nature. As a city, I would continue to help coordinate the efforts of the volunteers to best assists the refugees.
8. The current Mayor and City Council have publicly supported its LGBTQ+ residents. In your opinion, should that remain a city priority?
For the record: to treat someone differently based upon their sexual orientation is personally unacceptable and incredibly divisive.
Making the pride flag an official city flag was an act of defiance against the state, regardless of your feeling on whether this was good or bad, it is going to have consequences. From discussions with those in the legislature, the state is attempting to exact it's retribution by taking away Boise's sales tax reimbursement, roughly $21 million. So, the question is, "Is the cost of never being able to afford a home (and rising taxes) worth having the pride flag on city hall?"
The challenges faced by the LGTBQ+ community in Boise are: unaffordable living expenses, high taxes, and wages that don't allow them the same level of disposable income of previous generations. AKA they are the same as every American.
Questions like this further divide us along identarian lines, when we should be identifying with our economic class. The virtue signaling of the city does nothing to improve the daily lives of it's residents. In my city, I don't categorize people by the flag they wave, they are all residents and deserve to be homeowners. Anything that delays that reality I deem to be unimportant.
9. Who’s an unsung hero (a person, business, group or agency) in your district?
My wife, Ashley. Without her love, I would still be in the hell of my own creation. She is not an extrovert, so it's my duty to take her love to the world around me and try and make it a better place for all the residents of this great city.
10. What’s your favorite meal in Boise?
Anything ordered from The White Rabbit off Latah.
