Boise voters elect 3 City Council members, pass big sewer bond. Here’s who won
Two incumbents survived and a Republican newcomer ascended to the Boise City Council, keeping the six-member body relatively unchanged after months of fierce campaigning, according to unofficial election results.
Meanwhile, voters overwhelmingly passed a measure to raise sewer fees to pay for upgrades to the city’s wastewater treatment system.
In District 3, Council Member Lisa Sánchez bested her opponent Greg MacMillan with 57% of the vote. Many had predicted a close race between the two, especially as money poured into both campaigns, but results showed that MacMillan won only three of 17 precincts.
In a Wednesday morning phone call with the Statesman, Sánchez thanked her supporters in what she said was often a hard-fought race.
“The big message I took away from this is that these particular Boiseans want to be taken seriously,” she said by phone.
MacMillan, who conceded the race, said he was disappointed not to come out victorious on election night, especially given the support he had from the city police and fire unions.
“I kind of feel like I let them down,” he said.
Council Member Holli Woodings easily won reelection in District 5, beating out her nearest opponent, Katie Fite, by 18 percentage points.
But the new face on the council will be Luci Willits, after she handily defeated Laura Metzler to secure the District 1 seat with 56% of the vote. She will be the only Republican on the council, in what are nominally nonpartisan seats.
Willits said by phone that her wins signifies a mandate from voters for a new perspective on the City Council. She’ll take her seat in January.
“West Boise wanted a different voice — I think I’m going to bring a unique perspective to the council,” she said.
In total more than 22,000 Boise residents voted in a City Council election, with District 3 showing an impressive turnout of more than 10,000 voters, nearly half the total.
This election was Boise’s first with City Council districts divided geographically: District 1 (West Boise), District 3 (North End, Northwest Boise, Veterans Park, Collister) and District 5 (the Bench, downtown, East End, West End). Each winner will serve a two-year term before every council seat goes up for election.
Proponents of the districts argue an end to at-large seats will the make the City Council — historically dominated by members from the North and East ends — more representative. Opponents say the state-mandated change disenfranchises Boiseans from voting on multiple council seats.
District 3 has been the most competitive council race in Boise. The two main candidates, Sánchez, a consultant and public speaker, and MacMillan, a real estate agent, each raised more than $40,000 in campaign contributions, far more than any other candidates this cycle. MacMillan did so in less time, receiving thousands from local developers, committees and conservative donors across the Treasure Valley.
It also was Boise’s most aggressive campaign. The Responsible Government Fund, a developer-backed committee, sent out mailers in support of MacMillan. The Ada County Republican Party Central Committee and Conservative Citizens for Thoughtful Growth have sent out aggressive ads attacking Sánchez. Those include text messages, mailers and large billboard signs.
Sánchez told the Statesman she believed the negative ads led to a backlash against MacMillan and other candidates.
“I hope that is a message that is sent loud and clear to future candidates, that people in Boise do not embrace that type of campaigning,” she said.
MacMillan said he believes the large number of negative ads did impact the election, but added that rumors and speculation were launched at both campaigns. Asked if he would run for office again, MacMillan said he didn’t have an answer at this time.
Sánchez is the only person of color and renter on the council, having been elected in 2017. She, along with Mayor Lauren McLean, was the subject of an attempted recall campaign in 2020, which was ultimately abandoned.
MacMillan, a political newcomer, ran on a platform of supporting Boise’s first responders, which earned him endorsements from city police and fire unions.
Some precincts in District 3 saw such high turnouts that election officials needed to deliver more ballots throughout the afternoon.
Paula Karpan, who voted at Pierce Park Baptist Church, said she decided to vote for Sánchez because of negative ads run against her.
“I didn’t like the way the other politicians were acting,” she said. “There were far too many (mailers).”
District 1, West Boise, saw Willits, who works for an education research company, face Metzler, a retired postal worker, as the main candidates in the race. Willits said she hopes to bring a “fiscally conservative” point of view to a body dominated by members from the city’s North and East ends.
Willits has a history in Republican politics in Idaho. She previously served as a spokesperson for U.S. Rep. Mike Simpson and as chief of staff for Tom Luna at the Idaho State Department of Education. Luna and other Republicans donated large sums to her campaign.
Metzler previously ran unsuccessfully for state Senate in 2016 as a Democrat.
The Idaho and Ada County Republican parties have said they backed conservative candidates to get Republicans on the council. There are no GOP members on Boise City Council currently.
In District 5 (Bench, downtown, East End, West End), incumbent Woodings squared off against Fite, director of public lands at WildLands Defense; Steve Madden, a retired builder; and Crispin Gravatt, a senior research analyst at the Idaho STEM Action Center.
Council Member TJ Thomson opted not to run for reelection.
A massive water bond passes
Boise voters also overwhelmingly approved a $570 million sewage infrastructure bond on Tuesday.
As of midnight, more than 21,000 residents voted in favor of the bond’s passage, comprising about 80% of the total vote.
The bond is to help fund nearly $1 billion in improvements and repairs to Boise’s aging wastewater treatment infrastructure, which the City Council approved in October 2020. Tuesday’s vote does not determine whether repairs will take place, only how they will be paid for.
The city had said sewage bills would increase up to 53%, or $19 per month, if the bond did not pass, compared with a 10% increase, or $4 per month, if it did.
A political action committee, Yes for Clean and Affordable Water, was formed in support of the bond and received large donations from such corporations as Micron and the J.R. Simplot Co.
Not all Boiseans could vote on the bond. Those living in the West Boise Sewer District are on a different system and don’t pay fees to City Hall.
This story was originally published November 2, 2021 at 8:01 PM.
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