What Boise mayoral candidates had to say at the last forum before the election
Meeting as a group for the last time before Tuesday’s election, six of the seven Boise mayoral candidates spoke at the University of Idaho College of Law’s Idaho Law and Justice Learning Center on Wednesday.
They spoke to an audience of about 35 people on topics ranging from legal issues to wildfire prevention. Mayor David Bieter was not present at the event due to a previous commitment, his campaign said. City Council President Lauren McLean left about halfway through the event, saying she had to attend another panel.
The candidates started the 90-minute forum with a question about Martin v. Boise, a legal case that questions whether the city can prosecute homeless people for sleeping in public when they have nowhere else to go. Boise has asked the Supreme Court of the United States to hear its appeal in the case.
Rebecca Arnold, president of the Ada County Highway District commission, said she felt that changing the penalties on the ordinance in question might be better than repealing the ordinance altogether.
“I think you have to work with individuals who are homeless and try to help them find alternatives for immediate assistance,” Arnold said, “and then, long term, look at the causes of homelessness and make sure we’re providing adequate facilities to address those.”
Former Mayor Brent Coles said he did not condone criminalizing homelessness and that he felt the city should focus on the root causes of it.
McLean said she opposed ticketing because it did not represent “Boise values,” arguing that things have changed since the Cooper Court homeless camp and that the city needs to develop effective partnerships to try to compassionately prevent homelessness.
Adriel Martinez said he would drop the ordinance in question, saying it makes Boise look bad. Wayne Richey argued that ticketing people made a bad situation worse, while Cortney Nielsen said that speaking from her own experience with homelessness, she would not pursue the case.
Candidates also weighed in on whether the city needs districts for City Council members to better represent people living in all parts of the city. Karen Danley, running for Seat 1 on the council, proposed a plan earlier this month to create districts in the city if elected.
Martinez, Nielsen, Arnold and Coles all said they’d support districts for the city. McLean said that she saw it as her job as a member of the City Council to represent the whole city, but that Boise needed to do better investing in all of its neighborhoods rather than a select few.
“There could well be a long-term solution in districts,” McLean said. “I think that before you can say yes or no, we’ve got to have a community conversation about what it is we’re trying to solve, if it’s all districts, if it’s some, or if as voters and elected officials we maintain this overarching city-wide look but with more of a recognition that people in all areas of our community want to hear from some more.”
Early voting is underway at Boise City Hall and the Ada County elections office.
This story was originally published October 30, 2019 at 9:20 PM.
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