The deadline to file for candidacy in November’s local elections has come and gone, so we now have a better picture of who’s running for office. Starting with Meridian today, I’ll go through city council and mayoral candidates for several cities over the next few weeks.
For the first time, Meridian voters will elect city council members by district. (MeridianCity.org)
Mayor:
Robert Simison was first elected as Meridian’s mayor in 2019, and he’s running for the office again. Mike Hon, best known for leading the unsuccessful effort to dissolve Meridian’s library board, is running against Simison. Hon’s Nextdoor account has a campaign website link, but it doesn’t seem functional.
🎧 Hear the Meridian Library District’s director defend the district back in March.
Meridian District 1:
City Council President Joe Borton’s seat isn’t up for election this cycle.
Meridian District 2:
Two incumbents, Liz Strader and Brad Hoaglun, are running for this seat. They were both elected before the districts were created, and the only race between two incumbents.
Meridian District 3:
Two new city council candidates are running to represent downtown Meridian: Doug Taylor, Attorney General Raúl Labrador’s former chief of staff; and Bill Chandler.
Meridian District 4:
John Overton is a retired police officer who was selected by Mayor Robert Simison to fill the vacated seat of a member who left to work as a legislator, and was sworn in in January. He’s a shoe-in, with no opponents.
Meridian District 5:
Jessica Perreault’s seat is up for election this November, but she didn’t file to run again. However, Todd Ebeling, who’s running as a “trusted conservative,” and former council member Anne Little Roberts are running to represent this southeast Meridian district.
Meridian District 6:
Current council member Luke Cavener’s term doesn’t expire until January 2026.
