Bieter, McLean threw accusations at Boise runoff debate. We fact-checked their claims
A week after the election that led to Boise’s first mayoral runoff race in decades, the two remaining candidates faced off in a City Club of Boise forum.
Mayor David Bieter and City Council President Lauren McLean answered questions on the proposed downtown library, The Cabin, taxes and more. They bickered a few times: Bieter accused McLean of not attending Valley Regional Transit meetings, and McLean said Bieter wanted to build a new sports stadium as a legacy project. Both made jabs about past decisions.
The Idaho Statesman fact-checked three accusations the candidates made about each other:
1. Valley Regional Transit
The claim: McLean hasn’t attended Valley Regional Transit meetings until recently.
Who made it: Bieter
The quote: “The first time, Lauren, that you’ve been to a Valley Regional Transit meeting was two months ago.”
The facts: The Valley Regional Transit board is made up of officials from cities, counties and other government agencies from across the Treasure Valley. Boise has three members representing the city: City Council President Pro Tem Elaine Clegg, Bieter and McLean. Clegg and Bieter are listed as primary members. McLean is an alternate. Clegg and Bieter are both executive board members; Clegg is the secretary-treasurer, and Bieter is the chair-elect.
Minutes on the board’s website list past attendance. They say McLean this year has attended only the August executive board meeting, but as an alternate, her job is to fill in when necessary. There is no expectation that alternates attend.
Bieter attended meetings in January (when he went to both the regular board and executive board meetings) and executive board meetings in March and May. He was marked absent during executive meetings in February, June and September, and during two separate meetings in April and a special meeting in July. Clegg has attended every meeting in 2019.
The verdict: This claim is true, but it missed some context, which McLean provided in her rebuttal.
2. Stadium spending
The claim: The mayor’s budget included a line in 2018 to put $3 million toward the stadium; McLean held it from the budget.
Who made it: McLean
The quote: “In that budget presented to us by the mayor, there’s a line item that I held because we hadn’t had a public hearing.”
The facts: Council meeting minutes say that at the council’s budget workshop on June 26, 2018 (for the 2019 fiscal year), the council heard about the $3 million for the stadium project, dubbed the Boise Sports Park, alongside many other pieces of the budget.
McLean asked about holding the funding pending more information, saying she was concerned about approving money for a project she had not seen. Later that day, the council accepted the appropriation but attached stipulations requiring additional briefings and a final council vote on the budget before the $3 million could be used. The budget was ultimately approved.
Mike Journee, David Bieter’s spokesman, said Tuesday that the money wasn’t spent and was rolled over into the budget for the 2020 fiscal year, which began Oct. 1. He also said that now that voters have passed Proposition 2, which requires a citywide election on any sports park project that costs $5 million or more, officials need to discuss what to do with that money.
The mayor is responsible for proposing a budget each year, but the council decides what to leave in, take out or alter, with the mayor voting only to break a tie. It’s important to know that the stadium’s would-be developer, Greenstone Properties of Atlanta, has yet to propose a plan publicly.
In Tuesday’s forum, Bieter seemed to imply that the $3 million would not be spent when he said, “If there’s going to be a tax, it’s a room tax, from the auditorium district.” The Greater Boise Auditorium District collects the 5% tax on hotel rooms, and it has legal authority to own and operate stadiums.
The verdict: McLean’s claim is technically true, but the money was later appropriated and still could be spent.
3. The Cabin
The claim: McLean voted to move The Cabin, a historic building near the main library
Who made it: Bieter
The quote: “Council member McLean and the council voted to move it.”
The facts: The Cabin is a historic log structure located on Capitol Boulevard just south of the main library. There were two City Council votes to move it over the past year. Preservationists opposed removing the building from its historic context. Leaders of the literary organization that the building houses worry that a new library design would cramp their outdoor space and parking.
The first council vote came in November 2018. McLean and council members Scot Ludwig, TJ Thomson, and Holli Woodings voted to move The Cabin without deciding on a specific location. Clegg and Lisa Sánchez voted against it. The second vote came in February. Then, the council voted unanimously to move the building to the northeast corner of Julia Davis Park.
Those votes were made in the context of architect Moshe Safdie’s design, which is now up in the air after Bieter called on Monday for the project to go back to the drawing board. On Tuesday, Bieter said the building will be retained but the location of the structure depends on the new library plans. McLean said she sees voters’ approval last week of Proposition 1, requiring a citywide election on a new main library, as an opportunity for a new conversation with the community about The Cabin’s fate.
The verdict: Bieter’s claim is true.
This story was originally published November 12, 2019 at 6:46 PM.
.jpg)