ACHD moves to censure commissioner whose Facebook posts chastised ‘hypocrite’ lawmakers
The Ada County Highway District Commission is moving to censure Commissioner Kent Goldthorpe after he posted now-deleted Facebook comments about two Senate bills worming their way through the Legislature.
The commission has scheduled a special meeting at 2 p.m. Tuesday at ACHD’s headquarters at 3775 Adams St. in Garden City to vote on a resolution “for the censuring of Commissioner Goldthorpe’s alleged violations of the ACHD Commissioners Standard of Conduct.”
Miranda Gold, the commission president, did not respond to a voicemail requesting comment.
Goldthorpe said by phone that he would not comment on the agenda item. He represents ACHD’s District 4, which includes Meridian south of Interstate 84, Kuna and unincorporated Ada County.
Rachel Bjornestad, a spokesperson for ACHD, said the district was waiting to comment until the commissioners had voted.
The commissioners held an executive session Monday, an hour before the district sent an email with the Tuesday censure agenda item. Executive sessions are not open to the public and are generally intended for elected officials to discuss personnel or legal issues.
The commission was to “consider the evaluation, dismissal, or disciplining of, or to hear complaints or charges brought against a public official, employee or staff member and to communicate with legal counsel to discuss the legal ramifications for and legal options for pending litigation, or controversies not yet being litigated but imminently likely to be litigated,” according to the meeting agenda.
The move to censure follows several comments Goldthorpe made on Facebook after the Senate passed two bills that would force highway districts to prioritize vehicle traffic and ban them from narrowing streets to under 50 feet wide.
“Even the now hypocrites who always tout their supposed belief in local government, voted for it,” Goldthorpe said. “They voted to make the construction of sidewalks for your kids to get safely to school, A CRIME.”
The penalty for any elected official, officer or person who aids in violating the law could be found guilty of a misdemeanor, a fine of up to $1,000 and/or up to 90 days in prison.
Goldthorpe railed against lawmakers in his Facebook post, saying that he would be first in line for the charges.
Goldthorpe is known for his vocal, and at times emphatic, opinions. He was first elected to the commission in 2014, then re-elected in 2018 and 2022, serving as the commission president twice. Commissioners serve four-year terms, meaning his latest term will end in 2026.
Moving to censure would be a first for Goldthorpe and a first in recent memory for the highway district — though at times there have been calls to censure commissioners from writers of the Idaho Statesman’s letters to the editor.
A censure doesn’t always carry a formal penalty, such as in the U.S. Senate, and instead acts as an official denouncement or condemnation.
According to the resolution, Goldthorpe’s posts included “inflammatory and derogatory statements about fellow public officials” and “included mocking and demeaning languages towards individual legislators and employed racially charged language inappropriate in public discourse.”
Goldthorpe also gave interviews where he inaccurately conveyed information and failed to identify the opinions as his own, which reflected poorly on the reputation of the commission and the district, according to the resolution.
If the commission approves the resolution, Goldthorpe would be “formally and publicly censured for conduct unbecoming of an elected official, specifically for providing public comments without clarification that the opinions were his own, and including inappropriate, inflammatory and racially insensitive language, in direct violation of the commission protocols, code of ethics and the personnel policy.”
According to the resolution, Goldthorpe violated a rule in the district’s personnel policy handbook, which prohibits district employees from “engaging in any conduct that could reflect unfavorably upon the district’s service including engaging in discourtesy or rudeness that would affect the district’s goodwill.”
Why narrow streets in Idaho?
Sometimes highway districts narrow streets to add safety measures, sidewalks or bike lanes. But under the bills — which overwhelmingly passed the House on Thursday despite opposition from Boise-area lawmakers — those measures would no longer be permitted unless there were also car-specific improvements.
Local residents also joined in opposition to the bills, including 14-year-old Boise Bench resident Max Wyatt, who was hit by a van while riding his bike home from school in kindergarten. Improvements were made to the stretch of road along Kootenai Street where Wyatt was hit, including adding chicanes to slow down cars, a new sidewalk and wider bike lanes. Those improvements required narrowing the street.
Courtney Madigan, Wyatt’s mother, said the bills would put more people at risk, including kids, seniors, those with disabilities, visual impairents or those who use wheelchairs.
“The roads should be designed for everybody, not just cars,” she said. “It just feels like an attack on people who don’t have the privilege of driving a car every day … It feels like an attack on vulnerable road users.”
The House returned the bills to the Senate for amendments Thursday. From there, they would likely head to Gov. Brad Little’s office for him to sign into law, allow to pass into law without his signature, or veto.
This story was originally published March 31, 2025 at 4:47 PM.
