A Boise City Council member does not live in her district any longer. What just happened
Boise City Council member Lisa Sánchez was not present at Tuesday’s council meeting because she is no longer living in the district she was elected in, according to a spokesperson for Mayor Lauren McLean.
At the start of the evening meeting, which began 20 minutes late, Council President Elaine Clegg announced that Sánchez “may no longer be a legal resident” of her district, and that was why she was not attending.
Clegg said this was “uncharted territory” for the city, and that she knows it was not intentional.
“We are looking for a path forward and will work with Council Member Sánchez to see if we can find one,” Clegg said.
In November, Sánchez told the Idaho Statesman that her lease was not being renewed at the North End apartment she had lived in for a decade, and that she would have to move.
“Since candidates and sitting council members are required to reside in their districts, affordable housing options for me are limited to the boundaries of my current district,” she said then in a text message.
In December, Sánchez said at a council meeting that an acquaintance had offered her a place to live in her district, but that the process of finding an affordable place to live had been stressful.
In a text on Tuesday, mayoral spokesperson Maria Weeg said Sánchez had informed the council Tuesday afternoon of her new address. That new address is not in District 3, which Sánchez was elected to in 2021, Weeg said. It is not allowed for council members to live outside of their districts, Weeg said.
In December, the council created new districts for this coming November’s elections, as required by state law. This year, for the first time, all council members will be elected by district.
In the last elections, in 2021, a portion of council members were elected by district, as part of a transition to geographic districts. Sánchez and council members Holli Woodings and Luci Willits were elected by geographic district.
For the 2021 elections, a consultant drew the district maps. In 2022, a citizen commission drafted new district maps.
Under the new maps, Sánchez’s previous address would be in District 6, along with council members Patrick Bageant and Jimmy Hallyburton, who are finishing terms in at-large seats.
It is unclear what the legal issues with Sánchez’s new residence mean for her tenure on the council. The city’s legal team is analyzing relevant city law, Weeg said.
“This is unprecedented in Boise,” she added.
Sánchez did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
“I cannot imagine how hard it would be to be a renter and to try to navigate finding a new affordable place to live in the climate that’s in Boise while also navigating an old district, a new district, and these tremendous amount of changes,” Hallyburton said at Tuesday’s meeting, after it was announced that Sánchez would not be there. “I feel sad and frustrated for the situation that Council Member Sánchez is going through. It’s just unbelievably unfortunate. It breaks my heart.”
The council also held leadership elections on Tuesday, which members said was bittersweet because of Sánchez’s absence. Woodings was selected as the new council president, while Hallyburton will be second-in-command as council president pro tem.
Clegg, the former president, plans to leave the council in February to become CEO of Valley Regional Transit.
This story was originally published January 10, 2023 at 10:04 PM.
