Ada County Commission races attract experienced candidates

The list of potential Ada County Commissioner candidates includes Boise City Councilman TJ Thomson, former Ada County Commissioner Sharon Ullman and Ada County Planning and Zoning Commissioner Teri Murrison.

Of those, only Murrison has confirmed that she actually will run. Thomson and Ullman have taken the first step in that direction, filing documents appointing treasurers. Not everybody who appoints treasurers ends up running for office.

Murrison and Thomson are eyeing the seat held by Rick Yzaguirre, who said he’s retiring at the end of this term, his fifth.

“I’m still in the exploratory phase,” Thomson said in a voice mail. “I’m having a lot of conversations with people in the community and I’ve started raising money. I will be making a firm decision by the beginning of February.”

Ullman, whose paperwork indicated an interest in knocking off incumbent Dave Case, said she’s in roughly the same boat as Thomson. She said county taxes have gotten out of whack since she left the commission, which she said is curious since the county has paid off its courthouse.

“Where is all this money going, I guess, is the question,” Ullman said.

Murrison’s day job is as the top staffer for the Idaho Soil and Water Conservation Commission. She said she wants to bring a more responsive style to the commission.

“I know how government should work and I have a vision for seeing it work that way,” she said. “The bottom line is that you cannot please everybody. And I have this saying that if everybody likes you, you’re probably not doing anything. And so, you have to be willing to make those hard decisions and I am. But, in the process of making those decisions, I’m not going to prejudge an issue by not listening to everyone who wants to talk about it.”

The official filing period for candidates starts Feb. 29 and ends March 11.

This story was originally published January 20, 2016 at 10:27 AM with the headline "Ada County Commission races attract experienced candidates."