Diverse group of women — including a state senator — challenging CWI incumbents in November
A group of women from diverse backgrounds — including a state senator — are running for the College of Western Idaho’s board of trustees against experienced incumbents in November. Three of the College of Western Idaho’s five seats on the board of trustees are up for election this year.
State Sen. Cherie Buckner-Webb, D-Boise, is running unopposed for Zone 5. Buckner-Webb, who chose not to run again for her seat in the Idaho Senate this year, was the first and only Black female state senator in Idaho.
“I never said I was retired!” Buckner-Webb told the Idaho Statesman, laughing. “I said I had finished 10 years in the Idaho State Legislature.” Buckner-Webb would replace vice-chairman of the board, trustee Mark Dunham, who is not running for reelection.
Samantha Guerrero, a Latina from Caldwell, and April Baylon-Mendoza, a Filipina from Kuna, are running for the trustee seats in Zones 1 and 3, respectively. Both women are running for elected office for the first time.
Board Chairman Skip Smyser is the current trustee for Zone 1 and board secretary and treasurer Mary Niland — who helped establish the college as a founding trustee — is the trustee for Zone 3. Both are running for re-election, according to the Ada County Clerk’s Office.
Nampa native Niland has served on the board of trustees since CWI was founded in 2007 and recently retired from her position as the president and CEO of the Western Idaho Training Company (WITCO), a nonprofit that helps people with disabilities in southwest Idaho and eastern Oregon. Smyser, a fifth-generation Idahoan and Canyon County resident, is the former CEO of Lobby Idaho and the owner of Capitol Cellars, a restaurant in Downtown Boise. He is a former member of both the Idaho State Senate and the Idaho House of Representatives and a former deputy attorney general.
Each seat on the College of Western Idaho board of trustees has a four-year term and trustees are selected by voters in Ada and Canyon counties, regardless of zone. Trustees Molly Lenty of Zone 2 and Annie Hightower of Zone 4 are not up for reelection.
Buckner-Webb, who served on the Senate Education Committee, said she understands the need to preserve accessible and affordable paths to higher education in the community because she was a non-traditional student for most of her academic career. She also commented on the diverse backgrounds of her fellow challengers — although she did not coordinate with their candidacies.
“There’s plenty of good room for women and men with talent and skills and visions that represent communities that have not usually been represented,” Buckner-Webb said. “We did not plan a revolution! But we do want to be revolutionary contributors and thinkers for the College of Western Idaho.”
Baylon-Mendoza and Guerrero emphasized the need for more diverse representation that reflects the Treasure Valley’s population and to make college more accessible for students from non-traditional backgrounds or who are the first in their family to attend college. Like many other elected bodies in Idaho, every member of CWI’s current board of trustees is white.
Baylon-Mendoza, a graduate of CWI and Boise State University, is a child services supervisor for the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare.
“I’m one of CWI’s success stories,” said Baylon-Mendoza in a statement provided to the Idaho Statesman. “I loved my time at CWI. I got a great education that wasn’t expensive, and I went on to get my bachelor’s degree. But it was hard to figure out how to drive between CWI’s campuses to get to my classes and also see my children before bedtime. I know there continues to be some real infrastructure issues that the college has not solved in 10 years, and I am ready to work towards solutions so other students can have an easier time accessing the education they need.”
Guerrero is a Caldwell native and graduated from the College of Idaho in 2017. She is a bilingual community organizer for the Idaho Organization of Resource Councils and the co-founder of the Idaho Immigrant Resource Alliance, which is raising money to help undocumented Idaho families during the pandemic.
“I would love to serve as the bridge for CWI to allow new people to lead the college and transition to a new generation,” Guerrero said in a statement provided to the Idaho Statesman. “With 30,000 students, it is by far the biggest higher education institution in the state. But in order to be a successful college, we need to address the needs of the growing campus to ensure its success and positive education experiences. I am deeply connected to the community, and being born, raised and educated in Idaho, I will bring a perspective that the college needs in order to better serve the next generation of students and future leaders in this valley.”
Smyser, who served as the finance chairman for the campaign to establish CWI at the request of former Idaho Gov. Butch Otter, said he wants to continue to give back to the Treasure Valley community and help CWI remain a “high-achieving,” low-cost option for higher education.
“During the almost four years that I’ve been on the board, we’ve been able to offer a quality education without raising tuition for our students,” Smyser said. “That’s something that’s unheard of in today’s higher education world.”
Niland said if re-elected, some of her priorities for her next term would be to improve the college’s community engagement and serve new populations, such as senior citizens.
“We have a wonderful history, and we need to assure a wonderful future,” she said. “I hope to play an important role in creating that future. There is more to be done.”
This story was originally published September 2, 2020 at 6:22 PM.
CORRECTION: This story has been updated to reflect that Skip Smyser is the former CEO of Lobby Idaho.
