After a contentious vote, this Idaho city has a new mayor

For almost three months, the city of Nampa has had no mayor following the sudden death of Rick Hogaboam, who was less than two months into his first term.

In a special meeting on Monday, City Council members picked former City Council member Darl Bruner to be interim mayor out of a pool of three candidates that included former Mayor Debbie Kling and Clay Long, the city’s chief of staff.

Bruner was confirmed in a 4-2 vote, with council president David Bills and council members Victor Rodriguez, Sebastian Griffin and Debbie Skaug in favor. Council members Natalie Jangula and Dale Reynolds voted no.

Long was considered due to his current integral role in the city government and mentorship under Hogaboam. Kling did not receive further discussion after a vote on her candidacy to return to the office failed.

“This decision for me is significantly factored in with Darl filling that public-facing role and serving it operationally while still having Clay continue to provide operational continuity and staff leadership, which is also necessary,” Bills said.

“One thing about Darl — he’s been elected twice,” Bills said. “He’s had a vote of confidence from the people. He got another vote of confidence once again on a reelection. Whether you agree with him or disagree with him, you know what you get with him. Very clear, very transparent, very directed.”

Bills acknowledged potential violations of Idaho’s Open Meetings Law. The law states that when governments make important decisions — such as deciding who will be the interim mayor — they need to do so in the open during public meetings, so the people of Nampa can stay informed about how those decisions are made.

By directing city staff to create a questionnaire and distributing it to the candidates without notifying the public, Bills said it may have inadvertently obscured the voting process. In a preemptive effort to remedy the situation, Bills said the council had compiled all correspondence and questionnaires for the candidates and will be releasing it to the public. No timeline on the release was given.

Bruner is scheduled to be sworn in at 4:30 p.m., Monday, June 15, at City Hall.