Nampa mayor dies during a regional town hall. Another mayor tried to save him
The newly elected Nampa mayor died following a medical emergency during a regional town hall meeting Wednesday evening.
Rick Hogaboam, 47, was elected as Nampa’s 31st mayor in November. He was sworn into office Jan. 5.
Hogaboam was attending a regional town hall hosted by the Treasure Valley Partnership, a local coalition of mayors and county commissioners, Wednesday evening at Eagle City Hall. According to a news release from the organization, Hogaboam started experiencing a medical emergency while he was speaking at the event at 6:45 p.m.
The release said that Eagle mayor and former firefighter Brad Pike, who was sitting next to Hogaboam, immediately administered CPR.
The Ada County Sheriff’s Office, Eagle Fire District and Ada County EMS services responded to the town hall and took over CPR.
The mayors and county commissioners who are part of the Treasure Valley Partnership released a statement saying they are “heartbroken” to have lost Hogaboam. They said Hogaboam was an exemplary public servant, a dedicated family man and a friend.
“While he was new to our Partnership this year as a Mayor, he was not new to us; his years of work for the City of Nampa and Canyon County led us to cross paths frequently, and his wealth of knowledge on policy was unmatched,” the statement read. “Our prayers are with Rick’s family and the Nampa community at this time.”
The city of Nampa posted a message to Facebook asking the community to keep Hogaboam’s family in their thoughts.
“As we begin to mourn this unbelievable loss, please provide grace while we navigate the loss of not only our Mayor, but also our friend,” the statement read.
According to Idaho State Code, when there’s a vacancy in a mayoral seat due to a death, the city council is instructed to appoint someone to serve in the position until the next election.
Before his role as mayor, Hogaboam was previously elected as a Nampa council member. He also served as the Canyon County clerk and chair of District 3 of the Idaho Association of Counties, and he worked as an advocate.
Hogaboam is the second Treasure Valley mayor to die this year. Middleton Mayor Jackie Hutchison died in February.
