Boise mayoral candidates talk conservation, transportation and growth at public forum
Growth in the Treasure Valley should not equal a loss of sustainability, Boise mayoral candidates told voters Wednesday.
Meeting in public collectively for the first time Wednesday, four of the five declared candidates spoke to nearly 200 people at the Linen Building as part of the Conservation Voters for Idaho’s mayoral forum.
Questions, asked by moderator Gemma Gaudette of Boise State Public Radio, focused on how Boise could best be a city that values conservation and open space even as people continue to move to the area. Boise Mayor David Bieter, City Council President Lauren McLean, former council candidate Adriel Martinez and political newcomer Cortney Nielsen took turns speaking.
The forum lacked the theatrics of a presidential debate — candidates generally respected time limits, handed the microphone peacefully back and forth, and even clapped for their opponents at some points. There were still points of tension between candidates, however, as they talked about what would be best for Boise’s future sustainability and who would be the best leader to get the city there.
Bieter talked about what he had accomplished over his four terms as mayor, including creating new parks. Nielsen said a major part of her platform was encouraging emissions testing for cars across the state to promote environmental well being, while Martinez talked about his experiences in cities around the world and how they compare to Boise in air and water quality as well as transit. McLean called upon her background in sustainability and her recent push for the city to shift to 100% clean electricity use in businesses and home by 2035.
McLean said that if elected, she would try to make the shift by 2030 instead.
“When we do that we’re opening up the opportunity to create new jobs in the city, which is so tied right now to be able to afford a place to live,” she said.
That led to one of the only major policy divides of the night after Bieter said he wanted to focus on reaching that goal while still making electricity affordable for those in the city, saying “people are stressed as it is.”
Keeping electricity affordable was “a qualifier that we made sure was part of the goal of 2035,” Bieter said. “And that’s a challenge, and that is the first order of business as part of that goal.”
Beyond that, candidates gave similar answers on several questions, including how they’d envision sustainable transportation (a better public transit system to help cut down on single-user car trips) and what the most immediate threat to air quality is in Boise (cars and the pollutants they produce).
Candidates, with the exception of Nielsen, also agreed on the importance of open space in the city and the need to avoid sprawl as Boise continues to grow and develop. Nielsen said she hadn’t heard of sprawl in that context before and would need to research it.
While attendees appreciated the overall civility of the forum, the similarity in answers didn’t do much to sway some voters. Some had already decided who to vote for before walking in, while others wanted to see the candidates focus on topics other than just conservation while making a decision.
Afterward, McLean and Bieter both said they felt they did well. Nielsen said she felt she did “terrible” but was still upbeat because it was her first time doing something like that. Martinez said his campaign hasn’t been what he wanted it to be in terms of drumming up support, but he felt the forum made a good impression.
Martinez said he wants to win, but if he can’t do that, he hoped to get the kind of support that could lead to a run-off election, which would happen if no mayoral candidate gets at least 50% of the vote.
“Maybe down the road, I’ll build up a small base ... but I’ve gotta run either way,” he said.
The election is Nov. 5.
This story was originally published August 28, 2019 at 11:23 PM.
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