Wagoner to face McGee in likely runoff for Caldwell mayor, Kling reelected in Nampa
The city of Caldwell will have a new mayor for the first time since 1996, but who? That’s not yet decided.
Residents will see a big change in the City Council too, with the stunning defeat of all three incumbents — two of whom had served for 20 years and the third for nine — on Tuesday’s ballot.
Two mayoral candidates, Jarom Wagoner and John McGee, will compete in a runoff election on Tuesday, Nov. 30.
Wagoner led the election Tuesday but did not receive the necessary 50% of the votes to make him mayor. He will face the second-place candidate, McGee. Wagoner received 47% of the votes and McGee 22.4%.
The five-way race in Tuesday’s election also included Chris Trakel, a GOP precinct chairman; Nicole Hyland, a homemaker; and Jorge Arancivia, an Air Force retiree. Trakel received 22.1% of the votes, Hyland 6% and Arancivia 1%.
Wagoner, 44, is coming from the City Council and Legislature. He was appointed in 2017 to a vacant District 10 seat in the Idaho House of Representatives, a seat he lost to Julie Yamamoto in the 2020 GOP primary. He was elected to the City Council in 2019, and his term is up in 2023.
Wagoner is also a local business owner in Caldwell. He ran on his extensive background in municipal planning, having served as Caldwell’s principal planner from 2013 to 2020.
McGee, 48, is attempting to build upon his political comeback after resigning in 2012 from the state Senate and later spending time in jail for disturbing the peace after he sexually harassed a female legislative staffer. McGee also was arrested in 2011 for drunken driving and stealing a vehicle. He pleaded guilty to the DUI, and the theft charge was dropped.
McGee, a Republican, served in the Legislature from 2005 to 2012. He had risen to majority caucus chairman, the fourth-ranked leadership position in the Idaho Senate. He also spent two terms as chairman of the Senate Transportation Committee.
McGee was elected to the Caldwell City Council in 2019 and began his term in January 2020. His term is up in 2023. McGee and his wife, Hanna, own a public relations firm in Caldwell.
Trakel, 40, was a Republican precinct committeeman and is a retired staff sergeant in the Marines. He has run previously for the council and the Legislature.
Hyland, 38, is new to politics and called herself the “underdog” in the race.
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Jacob Nye cast his ballot at O’Connor Field House for Wagoner, saying it mostly was a vote against McGee.
“It is the sexual harassment, stealing a vehicle, the DUI and getting away with it,” Nye said.
Canyon County officials were already planning before Tuesday for a runoff election, figuring the four-way race was unlikely to produce a majority vote for any candidate.
McGee won a runoff in 2019 for the City Council against Evangeline Beechler. That election was at-large. Beechler was the state chair of the Idaho Democratic Party. McGee received 2,072 votes, or 60.7%.
The mayor serves a four-year term. Mayor Garret Nancolas has served in the position since 1996 and announced his plan not to seek reelection earlier this year. Nancolas makes $93,220 a year, according to the Statesman’s employee wage database.
Caldwell City Council’s 3 upsets
In addition to the mayor’s race, three Caldwell City Council seats were up for election. All three incumbents lost.
Seat 1: Brad Doty will take over this seat. He beat incumbent Mike Pollard. Doty received 31% of the vote, Brett Slaughter 24%, Pollard 23% and Martinez 20%.
Doty, 49, is an Idaho State Police trooper.
Pollard was appointed to the council in 2012 and elected in 2013 and 2017.
Seat 2: Chuck Stadick will return to the council after winning this seat. He received 31% of the vote. Five-term incumbent Dennis Callsen received 27%, Florina Ruvio 22% and Shawn Harman 18%.
Stadick, 77, is a retired potato agricultural consultant. He served on the council for a four-year term until losing to McGee in 2019.
Callsen was elected in 2001, 2005, 2009, 2013 and 2017.
Seat 3: Diana Register will replace incumbent Rob Hopper on Seat 3. She received 36% of the vote, Hopper 34%, Carter 15% and Strong 14%.
Register, 49, is a real estate agent.
Hopper was elected in 2001, 2005, 2009, 2013 and 2017.
The councilors are elected at-large for four-year terms. After McGee’s runoff in 2019, the City Council changed city code to eliminate runoff elections in council races. Candidates with a plurality win the election.
Nampa: Incumbents win
Nampa Mayor Debbie Kling, 64, handily won reelection against challenger and political outsider Jerrold Smith. This would mark her second term as mayor.
Kling received 90% of the votes and Smith 9%.
The Nampa mayor serves for four years. Kling makes $39.08 an hour, according to the Statesman’s employee wage database
Two incumbent City Council members also won their elections.
In Seat 1, Victor Rodriguez, a retired Nampa Police detective, ran for a second term against challenger Rebecca Fisk. Rodriguez had 77% of the vote; Fisk had 22%.
In Seat 5, Randy Haverfield, seeking a third term beat his challenger, Rosie Soto Mustic. Haverfield had 70% of the vote and Mustic had 30%.
Meanwhile, in Seat 3, Natalie Jangula will replace Councilwoman Jean Mutchie, who did not run again. Jangula, 35, a financial adviser, beat Jeff Cornilles, with 52% of the vote to. Cornilles’ 47%.
Voter turnout
Canyon County had a 16% overall turnout of eligible voters, according to Joe Decker, county spokesman.
This story was originally published November 2, 2021 at 8:00 PM.
