Former ID lawmaker who sexually harassed staffer wins Caldwell City Council election
Caldwell voters are giving John McGee another chance.
On Tuesday, McGee won the City Council runoff election with 2,072 votes, or 60.7%. The former Republican state senator resigned in 2012 from his post following allegations of sexual harassment.
While his public past was the subject of much discussion during the campaign, in the end, voters showed they were willing to overlook his past misdeeds to keep the seat in the hands of a conservative.
“Over the past month we have talked to so many, heard the voice of this community and the message was clear — people in Caldwell are focused on the future,” McGee said in an email to the Statesman.
His opponent, Evangeline “Van” Beechler, was a longshot in the council race. Beechler is the state chair of the Idaho Democratic Party. She ran unsuccessfully for Seat 3 on the council in 2017 and for state Senate in 2018. She won 1,340 votes, or 39.3%.
“I implore Mr. McGee to listen to the needs and wishes for every Caldwell resident,” Beechler wrote in a statement.
“We also hope that Mr. McGee will honor the second chance that the majority of voters who participated in this runoff, have given him,” she added. “We urge him to go above and beyond the call of duty in order to best represent those who live here, those who have been harmed by this election, and those who currently do not feel safe with his return to elected leadership.”
Turnout in the runoff exceeded the November election, with 3,412 voting compared with 3,290. Still, that represents less than a fifth of Caldwell’s registered voters.
While McGee appeared to have won the Nov. 5 election with 39.2% of the vote, and Canyon County declared him winner, Beechler requested a formal runoff. She pointed to city code stipulating that a winning candidate must receive a majority of the votes.
McGee’s attorney, former Idaho Attorney General David Leroy, had asserted that the runoff was unnecessary. But McGee later said that he would “abide by” the city’s decision.
Both candidates’ political resumes have turned the nonpartisan City Council race into a partisan battleground — with McGee supporters fighting to keep the council conservative, while Beechler’s fans hope for a fresh face in city government.
In the last several weeks of the election, Idaho Republicans have showered McGee with endorsements. He notched an endorsement from former Gov. Butch Otter, who said that McGee would bring “strong, conservative leadership” to the City Council. McGee also was endorsed by Republican state lawmakers like Rep. Scott Syme of Caldwell and Sen. Patti Anne Lodge of Huston in Canyon County.
Meanwhile, Beechler waged a strong get-out-the-vote campaign, hoping to attract people who don’t typically vote in city elections.
She also found support from conservatives who take issue with McGee’s past.
McGee’s troubles began while he was a state senator in 2011, when he was arrested on a misdemeanor DUI and felony charge for stealing an SUV and crashing into a driveway in Meridian. He pleaded guilty to the DUI, which allowed him to avoid a harsher felony conviction.
The next year, a female legislative staff member accused him of propositioning her for sex and making other unwanted advances toward her while in his Capitol office. McGee pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor for disturbing the peace and spent 39 days in jail.
McGee has apologized for his actions and said he wants to move on.
But some don’t think that’s possible. Even Stadick, who has been a strong conservative on the council, said he would vote for Beechler and encouraged his supporters to vote for her, too.
In the last few days of the election, Beechler came under partisan attacks.
Members of the Idaho 2nd Amendment Alliance, a group that fights for gun rights, gathered near the Canyon County Elections Office, the only polling place open on Election Day. They stood waving tall red signs reading: “BEECHLER (DEMOCRAT) BAD ON GUNS!”
Each candidate accused the other of bringing state politics into a city election.
“The people of this community need to know that the Idaho Democratic Party has taken a nonpartisan election and made it all about attacking my past,” McGee said during a Nov. 11 news conference.
Beechler previously told the Statesman that she was disappointed that McGee had “turned this local election into a partisan circus.”
“My opponent continues to seek the support of partisans in his attempt to make this race about politics, instead of Caldwell and our future,” she said in a statement.
McGee will begin his four-year term in Seat 6 in January. He succeeds Stadick, who served one term on the council.
McGee is a graduate of Vallivue High School in Caldwell and attended the College of Idaho. He served in the state legislator from 2005 to 2011 until he resigned, and later served as chairman of the Canyon County Republican Party Central Committee. He lives in Caldwell with his wife, Hanna, and two children.
“Hanna and I are thankful for the nearly 1,300 Caldwell residents who supported us when we won the first election on November 5,” McGee wrote in his email. “Our supporters have again voiced their strong support and I am humbled and honored to be the newest member of the Caldwell City Council.“
This story was originally published December 3, 2019 at 9:27 PM.
