Boise City Council president could become CEO of Valley Regional Transit
Boise City Council President Elaine Clegg might resign next year to become CEO of Valley Regional Transit, which oversees public transportation in the Boise area.
The transit agency’s board will vote on Jan. 9 on whether to confirm Clegg as CEO, after the executive board recommended her for the position. The agency conducted a nationwide search to replace Kelli Badesheim, who announced her intention to leave in May, according to a Thursday news release.
Clegg is already a member of the Valley Regional Transit board, and she recused herself during the search process, Clegg told the Idaho Statesman.
The council president applied to the position in the fall, after becoming “excited about the possibilities,” she said by phone.
Transportation has been a focus of Clegg’s on the council, where she has spearheaded efforts to bring passenger rail back to Boise with the help of federal funding.
If confirmed to lead the transit agency, Clegg said she would use her “demonstrated ability” to “pull together coalitions and to find commonalities that lead to solutions on really gnarly issues.”
The news of Clegg’s potential role was first reported by KTVB.
Clegg said that there hasn’t been a strong coalition to implement a funding mechanism for transit in over a decade, and that she would also focus on making the city’s bus services more robust.
“The thing that excites me the most is that I do think I have the ability to do that, and I do think that that’s probably the thing we need most right now,” Clegg said.
Clegg is the program manager at Idaho Smart Growth, a nonprofit that offers urban planning and development expertise. She is also a board member of the Community Planning Association of Southwest Idaho, and the council’s liaison to both the planning association and Valley Regional Transit.
“We have gone through a very thorough search process and interviewed a slate of highly talented candidates for this position,” Nampa Mayor Debbie Kling, the chair of Valley Regional Transit’s board, said in the news release.
If confirmed in January, Clegg said she would step down sometime next spring, after consulting with the rest of the City Council on what the best timing would be. When there is a vacancy on the council, the mayor recommends a replacement, and the council confirms that person. In this case, the appointed council member would serve until early 2024.
The council typically elects its leadership at its first meeting in January, which will be on Jan. 10, according to the agenda calendar. Clegg said she will encourage the council to “look at new leadership,” given her likely departure.
Clegg was first elected to the council in 2003.
“When you’ve done something for 19 years that you love, it’s always hard to leave,” she said.
In next year’s council elections, the city will have new district maps, as required by the Idaho Legislature. For the first time, all council members will be elected by districts.
If Clegg were to run again, she would be in the same district as fellow incumbent Holli Woodings, who now serves as council president when Clegg is absent.
This story was originally published December 22, 2022 at 3:24 PM.
