Who’s running and what’s on Boise-area ballots Tuesday in Ada, Canyon elections
In case you missed the memo: Idaho’s latest Election Day is almost here. It’s Tuesday, May 20.
The May off-year election is not high-profile. There are no prominent races for federal or state offices, or even county or city ones. But in Ada and Canyon counties, candidates are running for seats on the boards of library, auditorium and sewer districts that impose taxes to pay for government services. School, fire and ambulance districts are asking voters for more money.
Do you live in Meridian or unincorporated Ada County? There are library-board contests in each of those. Live in Canyon County? Paramedics are asking you to raise property taxes to support ambulance services. Boise? The auditorium district has board candidates to pick. Star or Middleton? The fire departments seek money to keep up with growth-stretched firefighting needs.
Here is essential information about the races and ballot measures in Ada County and eastern Canyon County, which includes Nampa and Caldwell. At the end, we tell you how to look up your ballot and where to vote. And along the way, we’ll highlight a few facts you might not know that may help you understand Idaho elections better. Like this one:
Did you know? Under Idaho law, all of the contests on the May ballot are nonpartisan.
If you want to learn even more, you’ll find links to authoritative sources throughout this story.
You must be a civic-minded reader or you wouldn’t have read this far. So let’s start with something that most civic-minder readers of all political stripes value: libraries. The contest for library-board seats in Meridian is particularly significant.
Meridian, Kuna, Ada County libraries
Children’s access to books with LGBTQ+ or other themes that some people deem harmful to minors is once again an issue in the Meridian Library District.
In the May 2023 election, two incumbents fended off challengers who objected to easy access to certain books. Some opponents of existing access policies sought to dissolve the library district. That effort failed.
But two of its proponents, Phil Reynolds and Mike Hon, are campaigning now for the two open seats on the library board. So are an incumbent and a newcomer who have joined forces. The incumbent, Jeff Kohler, is the library board’s chair. His running mate is first-time candidate Garrett Castle, who helped re-elect one of the successful incumbents two years ago.
The League of Women Voters of Idaho has scheduled a candidates’ forum from 6 to 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, May 7, in the large conference room at the Meridian Library, 1326 W. Cherry Lane.
Meanwhile, in the Ada County Free Library District, better known as the Ada Community Library, which serves mostly unincorporated areas, five candidates seek two seats. One is already on the board: Suzette Moore, who was appointed to fill a vacancy and is now facing election. She has teamed up with Rachel Moorhouse. Both are substitute teachers. Running against them are Johnathon Baldauf and Travis Worwood, who have likewise teamed up.
Two other candidates, Sabrina Napolitano and Lori Billaud, are on the ballot but told the Idaho Statesman that they have suspended their campaigns and are supporting Moore and Moorhouse.
Moore, Moorhouse and Worwood are listed by the Ada County GOP Central Committee’s website as Republicans, but the site says Worwood is “campaigning with the DEMOCRAT candidate” Baldauf, Boise Dev reported.
As for Kuna? There would have been an election for two seats had enough candidates filed. But Trustees Joan Gidney and Marie Leavitt are uncontested, so they will retain their seats without an election.
Read this Statesman story for an in-depth report on the library candidates (with photos) and issues. Don’t know if you live within one of the districts? Here’s a map showing their boundaries.
Did you know? Libraries are part of city government in many Idaho cities, including Boise, Eagle, Garden City, Nampa and Caldwell. Their residents don’t get to vote for library trustees.
Greater Boise Auditorium District
The district raises money for economic development. Its major project is the Boise Centre, the downtown convention center. It has built up tens of millions of dollars in reserves and is considering ways to spend that money, including a sports arena or a convention-center expansion.
Four candidates seek two seats with six-year terms: Danielle Horras, Sophie Sestero, Aimee Pollard Tylor and incumbent Jim Walker. Incumbent Jody B. Olson declared her candidacy for re-election but withdrew in time for her not to appear on the ballot.
All of the candidates but Horras took part in a candidate forum May 1 reported by BoiseDev.
This district includes most of Boise and Garden City plus pieces of Meridian and unincorporated Ada County. Check this interactive map to see if you live in it.
Did you know? Local residents don’t pay taxes to support the Greater Boise Auditorium District as they do for other local-government entities. Tourists and business visitors do. The district raises most of its revenue through a 5% tax on hotel rooms.
Canyon County paramedics
The Canyon County Ambulance District is asking property tax payers to come up with $7.9 million more per year for two years to hire paramedics and EMTs and pay for other expenses. It estimates that the levy will cost $18.62 a year per $100,000 of taxable assessed value. Two previous levies failed. Chief Michael Stowell told the Idaho Press after the May 2024 defeat that he didn’t take it personally.
Star and Middleton fire levies
The rapidly growing Star Fire Protection District and the Middleton Rural Fire District ask voters to approve an additional $2.25 million a year for each in property tax revenue.
The money would help to operate a new Star fire station on Floating Feather Road and help pay for other staffing and district expenses as the demand for service keeps rising in response to growth and development.
The two adjoining districts have an expense-sharing partnership and are running nearly identical levies in ballot measures using nearly identical language. But the tax burden for Middleton homeowners would be higher than those in Star, which has a larger property-tax base to draw upon. Middleton’s would cost property taxpayers an estimated $61.72 a year per $100,000 of taxable assessed value. In Star, the estimated cost is $44.79 per year per $100,000.
The measures require two-thirds majority votes.
Did you know? The taxable assessed value of your property is what’s left after you subtract Idaho’s $125,000 homeowner’s exemption from the full value on your annual tax-assessment statement.
Middleton school bond
The Middleton School District, which hasn’t built a new school in 17 years, is asking voters to authorize the sale of $19.9 million in bonds to be paid back over 20 years with a property-tax increase to finance a new elementary school. It would cost about $34 per $100,000 of assessed value in 2026, as this Statesman story reports.
Bond measures failed in 2018 and 2022. Superintendent Mark Gee told the Idaho Press that the 2022 measure’s tax burden, $161 per $100,000, was much heavier than this one’s.
Did you know? General obligation bonds are a form of debt, and the Idaho Constitution requires a two-thirds majority of voters to approve such indebtedness.
Vallivue school levy
The sprawling, growing Vallivue School District around Nampa and Caldwell is seeking to renew a $7 million yearly supplemental levy that voters approved and that will expire on June 30, 2026. It would help pay for transportation, teachers and other personnel and programs that state funding won’t pay for.
But unlike most new levies or levy renewals, this one won’t actually raise taxes or even maintain them at current levels. The existing levy costs $76 per $100,000 of taxable assessed value, and the new one would decrease that by $11, the ballot measure says.
Did you know? Many Idaho school districts rely on supplemental levies to help pay for school operations. They last two years, and they require only a majority vote, not the two-thirds required for bonds.
Other districts
Eagle Sewer District: Incumbents John R. Bennett and James Gruber face Christopher Hadden, Deborah L. Kowalcyk and Angela Stoppello Russell for six-year terms. Vote for two of them. Also, incumbent Tillie Reed faces Miguel DeLuna for a two-year term.
Gruber, the chair of the district’s board, told BoiseDev that this is the first election he can remember where partisan politics is playing a role. He, Reed and Hadden said DeLuna, Kowalcyk and Russell represent an effort by hard-line Republicans to subject the district to political influence.
West Boise Sewer District: Two candidates seek one seat with a six-year term: Gerald W. Bresina and Logan J. Kimball.
Did you know? To save time and money, elections for some uncontested races in Idaho are canceled and do not appear on voters’ ballots. Whatever candidates there are win their seats automatically. That’s the case in Ada County this election with the Kuna Library District, the Star Sewer District and the Boise Warm Springs Water District.
What’s on your ballot, and where and how to vote
To see what’s on your May ballot — and to see if you even have one — type in your name and date of birth on the state-run VoteIdaho.gov’s voter-information lookup page. This will also tell you where your Election Day polling place is. But note: This works only if you’re already a registered voter.
Ada County has an interactive map where you can zoom in on where you live to see what’s on your ballot even if you’re not yet registered. But it might not display optimally in some browsers on your computer, including Chrome. Try Firefox or another browser if needed.
Early voting opens on Monday, May 5, and runs until Friday, May 16. For early voting, voters can go to any of these sites from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.
- Ada County Elections Office: 400 N. Benjamin Lane in Boise.
- Boise City Hall: 150 N. Capitol Blvd. in Boise.
- Eagle Public Library: 100 N. Siterman Way in Eagle.
- Garden City City Hall: 6015 N. Glenwood St. in Garden City.
- Meridian City Hall: 33 E. Broadway Ave. in Meridian.
- Library! at Bown Crossing: 2153 E. Riverwalk Drive in Boise.
- Star City Hall: 10769 W. State St. in Boise.
Canyon County Elections Office, 5801 Graye Lane, Building B, Caldwell.
Want to vote absentee? You must request a ballot by 5 p.m. Friday, May 9, on the state’s VoteIdaho.gov site. You must return it by mail or to an election drop box by 8 p.m. Tuesday, May 20, the same time as polls close.
The deadline for preregistration has passed, but voters can still register in person on Election Day. Voting hours are 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Check VoteIdaho.gov’s register-to-vote page to see what you need to bring.
Did you know? This is the final election for Ada County’s Mobile Voting Unit, which has traveled to high-traffic sites on scheduled days to make early voting easier. Launched in 2016, the unit has become less important as the county has increased early voting locations in buildings, County Clerk Trent Tripple says. It will remain available for emergencies.
Find out who won and what passed
We’ll post an Election Night story on the races and ballot measures at IdahoStatesman.com, updating it with the latest results until they are complete.
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Reporter Rose Evans contributed reporting on the library districts and on early and absentee voting.
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Updated Monday, May 5, 2025, with Sabrina Napolitano saying she no longer seeks election to the Ada County Free Library District board, though her withdrawal is too late to be reflected on the ballot.
This story was originally published May 3, 2025 at 12:33 PM.
