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!
Hallyburton faces perhaps the most challenging path to reelection, with former City Council member Lisa Sánchez running to unseat him, and the more conservative Lynn Bradescu looking to divide voters between Hallyburton and Sánchez.
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 most pressing issues in Boise and the surrounding Treasure Valley are related to growth. As a Boise City Council member, I am committed to addressing the immediate issues related to growth we're facing today (housing, transportation, public safety, etc.) while creating long-term plans that empower good growth in the future. As someone born and raised in Boise City Council District 6, I've seen a lot of changes--good and bad--over the last 40+ years. It will take hard work and deep collaboration, but I am confident we can preserve and amplify the aspects and values of Boise we hold dear while building a brighter future for generations to
As a former firefighter, nonprofit leader at the Boise Bicycle Project, elected official, and community college professor, I've spent my entire life serving the community and helping it overcome challenge after challenge. I know from experience that we are stronger together.
2. How would you describe the City of Boise’s current relationship with the Idaho Legislature, and how would you work to change it?
As political division has grown at the national level, I have seen the Idaho State Legislature taking more and more steps to remove local control from Boise and other cities in Idaho. I've even seen the Legislature take steps to limit Boise and ACHD's ability to make our streets safer in and around our local neighborhoods. At the same time, I've worked hard to improve Boise's relationships with municipalities in the Treasure Valley and beyond, and I am confident those relationships are stronger than ever. I believe there is a great opportunity for cities and community members across Idaho to work strategically to ensure our State elected officials truly understand the problems our communities face.
I am committed to this level of municipal collaboration and to continuing to build relationships with State elected officials on both sides of the aisle. To be clear, I don't think this is a quick fix or that the road ahead will be easy, but the work in relationship and coalition building is underway and must be continued.
3. What is a transportation issue in your district that you’d like to tackle during your term?
In 2021, I led and approved the Boise Pathways Master Plan, setting the stage for 112 miles of off-street walking and biking paths extending into every neighborhood. Pathways and key connections have already been constructed, and more are coming soon. A major focus for my third term on Boise City Council will be to construct three multi-mile pathways in NW Boise, the Boise Bench, and West Boise. I also plan to work with neighboring municipalities to ensure pathway connections extend across jurisdictions.
I am realistic that regional passenger rail will not be up and running by the end of my third term. However, I will be working with City of Boise staff, Valley Regional Transit, COMPASS, neighboring municipalities, and other stakeholders to ensure no stone is left unturned in bringing Boise to Caldwell passenger rail to our community. Every effort must be made today to establish regional rail as part of Boise's near future.
4. What is the city not doing about housing that you think it should be doing?
Boise's affordable housing land trust is making a difference in creating 100s of units of affordable housing for the average Boisean and for families exiting homelessness every year. These efforts are generating important options that the market is not creating on its own, and they should be expanded.
The market is also struggling to create smaller starter homes, duplexes, triplexes, and ADUs that provide an important gateway into homeownership, neighborhood stability, and the ability to live close to wear you work. I and working hard to make it significantly easier for small-scale local developers and regular community members to build these types of smaller units. This effort could include pre-approved building designs, a more streamlined ADU approval process, and flexibility in setbacks (similar to historic ADUs seen in the North and East Ends).
We must be examining every option to make housing affordable for renters and home buyers, and I am excited to work with nonprofits and housing advocates to explore additional solutions
5. Do you support the open spaces and water levy? Why or why not?
I am a vocal and enthusiastic supporter of the Clean Water and Open Space Levy. I've seen the incredible multigenerational impact past Open Space Levy projects have created, and I believe it is vital to Boise's future that projects continue. During my 6 years on Boise City Council, we've used 2015 Open Space Levy funds to protect the foothills from development and increase community access to trails, to restore habitat along the Boise River, to bring parks and pathways into neighborhoods throughout Boise, and to create wildlife preserves like the Hyatt Hidden Lakes Reserve. Those funds are almost gone.
The new Clean Water and Open Space Levy will build on that legacy and ensure Boise has the ability to protect and create access to open space across the city. Without these funds, opportunities will slip through the cracks that may never emerge again. It's important to remember how these projects protect the climate and promote the physical, social, and mental health benefits that allow communities to thrive as they grow.
6. How do you stand out from your competition?
I've spent my entire adult life in service to the community, and I know the value that each and every community member brings to the table. As the founder and 16-year director of the Boise Bicycle Project, I worked closely with our neighbors facing the biggest barriers, as well as the nonprofit leaders working alongside them to overcome those barriers. I've worked across sectors and across divides to create life-changing programs and system-changing policies at the local, state, and national levels. I believe Boise needs leaders who can bring the diverse strengths of our community together to solve the local issues our families experience every day. I am proud of my long and unique history of bringing people together across divides to make Boise stronger, brighter, and more inclusive.
I've always said, if you want to create change, start with community-building at the local level. I believe my ability to do just that sets me apart from my fellow candidates.
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?
I've been working alongside the refugee community for the last 18 years, and I have benefited from each and every moment. I am a firm believer that everyone has something to learn as well as something to share, and I cannot begin to describe how much I've learned from interacting with refugees from all over the world who now call Boise home. I believe welcoming refugees into our community is not only the right thing to do, it's the smart thing to do. Despite having to restart their lives in a foreign land after fleeing unimaginable circumstances, our refugee population has created thriving businesses, expanded Boise's vibrant culture, brought important skills into our workforce, and contributed creative solutions to community-wide problems. Boise is stronger because of our long history of support for refugee resettlement.
I am proud of my role as an elected official, community college teacher, and former nonprofit leader in helping Boise achieve its "Welcoming City" status for refugee resettlement. I am proud of establishing a City Council Liaison role to Neighbors United (a community-wide refugee resettlement collective impact group) and of serving in that position for all 6 of my years on City Council. While the Trump administration has made a decision to significantly restrict, and in some cases block, refugee resettlement in the United States, I believe there will be a time when we welcome refugees once again. It is vitally important that we continue to empower our existing refugee population to grow, thrive, and contribute to Boise, while ensuring systems remain in place for future resettlement efforts.
8. The current Mayor and City Council have publicly supported its LGBTQ+ residents. In your opinion, should that remain a city priority?
Boise must continue to serve as a beacon of hope in Idaho and ensure every person is safe, welcome, and valued in our community. When state and federal laws attack the rights of the LGBTQ+ community, or any segment of the population, for that matter, I believe Boise has a responsibility to stand up for their human rights. When state and federal rhetoric amplifies violence against the LGBTQ+ community, or any marginalized community, I believe Boise has an explicit responsibility to speak up and to take steps to ensure their public safety.
I believe in a City of Boise where everyone is welcome and where nobody should live in fear for themselves, for their loved ones, and for their neighbors. If Boise does not stand up for our LGBTQ+ community while their rights and livelihood are under attack, the people we care about will move away, businesses with LGBTQ+ staff and family members will move away, mental health and suicide rates will increase, and the fabric of our community sewn together by our diverse strengths will crumble.
I believe Boise has to be a community that stands up for its neighbors. As a council member, I will continue to stand with our LGBTQ+ community.
9. Who’s an unsung hero (a person, business, group or agency) in your district?
Our community center staff and teachers at Taft and Whittier are unsung heroes creating life-changing impact for our youth and our community every day. Many of the amazing kids they work with do not have places to go after school, often face barriers and challenges that are unimaginable, and could easily go down a dangerous path without a helping hand. Our community center leaders make all the difference. They create places and spaces for youth to flourish, to expand their education, and to see themselves as valued. It is hard to quantify the impact that these unsung heroes have on our youth every day, but I've seen it firsthand during my time at the Boise Bicycle Project and on Boise City Council, and it is truly remarkable.
10. What’s your favorite meal in Boise?
It's gotta be a tie between Bar Gernika's Tuna Melt and Kibrom's Ethiopian Food!
