McLean didn’t plan to join Boise’s urban renewal board. Now she’s among 3 new members
Boise Mayor Lauren McLean on Tuesday followed through on her promise to join Boise’s urban renewal board if former Mayor David Bieter didn’t step down.
McLean said on the campaign trail that she didn’t plan to appoint herself to the board of commissioners of Capital City Development Corporation, the city’s urban renewal agency. In a statement to the Statesman last month, she wrote that “many commission boards operate just fine without a mayor, and I’m certainly able to empower commissioners to enact a new vision for our community.” And she argued that if a mayor was on the board, it should be a sitting mayor.
Bieter appointed himself to the board as mayor and now serves as its secretary-treasurer. His term runs through Oct. 16, 2022, although he can step down if he wishes. A bill that would remove people who are no longer public officials from serving on urban renewal boards passed the Idaho Senate last week, but it was held in the Idaho House of Representatives as of Monday.
In February, Bieter told a Statesman reporter that if McLean wanted him to step down, she should call him and talk about it. When she did, he told her that he wouldn’t do business over the phone. He responded that she declined to have an in-person meeting with him to talk. As of Tuesday, Bieter remains on the board.
McLean put out applications for anyone interested in being part of the CCDC board. She conducted interviews with candidates last week.
In addition to herself, McLean chose Latonia Keith, the interim dean of Concordia University School of Law, and Kate Nelson, director of economic opportunity at Jannus, a health and human services organization. In a news release announcing the recommendations, McLean said Keith has experience in affordable housing and finance, while Nelson has strong ties to Boise and expertise in economic development.
“It’s really great to have more citizens on the CCDC commission,” Boise City Council Member Holli Woodings said. “I think citizen voices on the commission help us to reimagine the places in our city that maybe need a little bit of reimagination, so I appreciate people stepping into this role.”
The Boise City Council approved the appointment of all three on Monday. McLean’s term will end in 2021, while Nelson’s and Keith‘s will end in 2025.
There will be another seat open in May, when Commissioner Ben Quintana’s term ends.
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