Ada County voters will have competitive primary races for sheriff, county commission
Republicans and Democrats in Ada County got their first taste of their selection for candidates ahead of this year’s primary elections in May.
In Idaho’s largest county, that means important races for nearly every elected office at the county level, including two county commissioner seats, coroner, assessor, clerk, treasurer and sheriff. Twenty-two people filed for seven positions across the county by Friday’s deadline.
Possibly the biggest race will be for the County Commission’s District 3 seat. Democrat Kendra Kenyon declined to run for a second term, citing the growing hostility she and other Treasure Valley politicians have faced.
District 3 extends from Ada County’s southern border to parts of south Boise and Meridian. But commissioners are elected at large, meaning all county voters get to vote on each race.
The Republican candidates include former commissioner Sharon Ullman, who lost her seat in 2018; former Idaho state Rep. Tom Dayley; and Dawn Retzlaff. Democratic candidates include Lisa Schultz and Patricia Nilsson.
Should a Republican win, the commission could become entirely Republican, a stark reversal from the Democratic majority seen in 2020.
Commissioner Rod Beck will be seeking re-election to his District 2 seat. He faces no primary opponent but will most likely face former Eagle mayor Stan Ridgeway, a Democrat, in the general election, which includes Eagle, Star and most of Meridian. Ridgeway is also unopposed in his primary.
The primaries will also see a redo of the commission’s high-profile sheriff selection, this time decided by the voters. Sheriff Matthew Clifford will head into his first election since the county commission appointed him last July, following the sudden resignation of Steve Bartlett.
His Republican primary opponent will be Doug Traubel, whom Clifford edged out in the commission’s selection. Traubel came under fire during his interview with the board over comments that Jewish people were to blame for the creation of the Soviet Union and over social media posts that falsely claimed Black men accounted for a large portion of rapes committed and described Islam as a “culture of death.”
A third candidate for the sheriff’s appointment last year, Mike Chilton, did not file to run for the office.
One of the largest races will see five candidates — four Republicans and a Democrat — vying for the recently opened county assessor position. Assessor Robert McQuade, who has held the seat since 1994, opted not to run for an eighth term. One of the candidates, Rebecca Arnold, previously served on the Ada County Highway District Commission and ran an unsuccessful campaign for Boise mayor in 2019.
The race to replace Clerk Phil McGrane, who’s running for Idaho secretary of state, will be much simpler as current Deputy Clerk Trent Tripple runs unopposed, with no Democrats or Republicans filing against him.
Far fewer Democrats filed to run as committeemen in their local precincts. In total, Democrats had 69 candidates, compared with 271 Republicans, many of whose races are competitive.
Republican Elizabeth Mahn is seeking reelection as county treasurer, while Democrat Dotti Owens is running again for county coroner.
Here is the full list of candidates:
Ada County Commission, District 3 (four-year term)
Sharon M. Ullman – Republican
Dawn Retzlaff – Republican
Tom Dayley - Republican
Lisa Shultz – Democrat
Patricia Nilsson – Democrat
Ada County Commission, District 2 (four-year term)
Rod W Beck – Republican (incumbent)
Stan Ridgeway – Democrat
Sheriff (two-year term)
- Doug Traubel – Republican
- Matthew Clifford – Republican
- Victor McCraw – Democrat
Assessor (four-year term)
Bradley Bolicek – Republican
Ron DeRoest – Republican
Rebecca Arnold – Republican
Dave Litster – Republican
Laurie Barrera – Democrat
Treasurer (four-year term)
Elizabeth “Beth” Mahn – Republican (incumbent)
Melissa “Missy” Farris – Republican
Clerk (four-year term)
- Trent Tripple - Republican
Coroner (four-year term)
- Dotti Owens – Democrat (incumbent)
- Cheri Durst – Republican
- Rich Riffle – Republican
This story was originally published March 14, 2022 at 3:20 PM.
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