2 ex-allies vie for Boise Council. Can a well-funded conservative beat them?
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- District 6 ballot pits former allies Hallyburton and Sánchez; vote may split Democrats
- Bradescu runs as conservative critic of council zoning, density and rising property taxes
- Hallyburton stresses pathways, housing and unity; Sánchez centers renters, immigrants
Voters in the North End, along State Street and up into the Boise Foothills will get a diversity of choices on the ballot this November, including two politicians who used to be friendly and supportive of each other.
Lynn Bradescu is a conservative real estate agent who has organized against Mayor Lauren McLean’s priorities. Jimmy Hallyburton is a longtime council incumbent who loves bicycles. Lisa Sánchez is a progressive former council member who faced multiple complaints while in office.
The seat they seek representing Boise’s District 6 is one of two contested races on the six-seat council on the Nov. 4 ballot. The part-time, four-year terms paid $28,000 a year as of December 2024, with raises on the way.
District 6 runs from West Downtown to Horseshoe Bend Road near Idaho State Highway 55. It’s bounded by the Boise River and runs all the way into the Foothills. (Boise residents can look up their district on the city’s website.)
Hallyburton and Sánchez used to be friends, Hallyburton told the Statesman, but they haven’t been close since she left the council and sued the city. The two had been “supportive of each other for many years,” Sánchez said, though she declined to call it a “positive” relationship.
Though the race is nonpartisan, the city and district are mostly Democratic. Both Hallyburton and Sánchez would appeal to Democrats and could potentially split the vote, said Stephanie Witt, Boise State University distinguished professor of public service.
“It’s unlikely,” Witt said by phone. “It could happen that way, most of the Democratic voters splitting between the two and (Bradescu) could inch in, but I doubt it.”
A Statesman spot check of six election precincts in District 6 showed that five overwhelmingly supported Democrat Kamala Harris in the 2024 presidential election, with the sixth overwhelmingly favoring Donald Trump.
Bradescu, 77, has been active in local politics for years. She helped organize a failed recall of Mayor Lauren McLean in 2020 and has testified in the Idaho Legislature against Boise’s rental ordinances. She donated $1,000 to McLean’s 2023 opponent, former Police Chief Mike Masterson.
Incumbent Jimmy Hallyburton, 42, has had a relatively quiet tenure. He’s known for his passion for bicycles and previously helmed the Boise Bicycle Project.
Sánchez, 54, was known on the council for speaking about her own personal experiences, race and housing. She’s been outspoken on race since the 1990s, according to the Statesman archive.
“We live in a city that was based on white supremacy,” Sánchez said in a December 2022 council meeting, when discussing a former police officer who had white supremacist ties.
Sánchez, however, faced several complaints and an attempted recall during her tenure on the City Council. She also alienated several of her council colleagues with her actions after she left the council, according to previous Statesman reporting.
She has a lot of followers and has been in politics for a while, said Witt, the Boise State professor. But there are also some negative parts of her name recognition.
“I don’t know how all that sits with voters, if they feel she was wronged,” Witt said. “Or they think it’s shaky and Hallyburton seems like a much more steady choice in light of that.”
As of Oct. 13, Hallyburton has raised over $15,000 in campaign contributions, half of Bradescu’s almost $30,000. Sánchez had not raised any money, according to the candidates’ latest monthly campaign-contribution filings with the Idaho Secretary of State’s Office.
Lynn Bradescu: Is the city listening to residents?
Bradescu told the Idaho Statesman that her central issue is that the city isn’t listening to people. She pointed to the council’s approval of Interfaith Sanctuary’s new location on State Street and its unanimous approval of a new zoning code in 2023. That zoning code aimed to mix uses, like allowing small coffee shops in residential neighborhoods, and to increase housing density, creating more opportunities for housing like duplexes. The code also eliminated some public hearings.
“I think that both of (my opponents) have served on City Council,” said Bradescu, who moved to Boise 24 years ago. “I think it’s time for a new voice.”
She’s also frustrated about property tax increases, which she said could affect elderly people and renters, because landlords pass on property taxes as rent increases. Bradescu, a landlord, said she tries not to do that unless she absolutely has to. Boise’s property tax budget increased 7.6% over last year.
“It’s a circular firing squad,” Bradescu said.
Bradescu also railed against apartments and an apartment mentality, though she said it’s fine to live in an apartment. She said that some renters are transient and don’t have a “stake in the game.”
“Because if you live in an apartment and you’re not encouraged to buy a house, it’s a mindset. You call the landlord for everything. I think people should have the ability to buy…Have a dog, have a garage, have a little place to do some woodworking,” Bradescu said.
Instead, she said wants to encourage more small homeownership options like duplexes, condos or townhomes.
She also said she wants to cut back on the number of city employees the city has, now about 2,100. She said she’s very happy with the Boise Police Department.
Boise officials want all Boiseans to be within 10 minutes of a park but she wants private companies to help pay for paths to the parks in exchange for naming rights.
“I think we probably could always use more parks,” Bradescu said. “I’m all for parks as long as the neighbors are happy with it as well.”
Jimmy Hallyburton: A continuation of previous work
Hallyburton told the Statesman that he wants to continue the work he’s done since joining the council in 2019.
That includes the pathways master plan, which is a blueprint for 112 miles of pathways in every neighborhood, he said. He also pointed to work on affordable housing, Boise’s climate plan and helping young people have places to go.
“But I think the biggest reason why I’m running for re-election is that we are just in such a challenging time right now and there’s so much division,” Hallyburton said by phone while attending a board meeting of the League of American Bicyclists in Seattle. “I really want to make sure that I’m there to continue bringing people together.”
Born in Boise, Hallyburton fought fires as a member of the Idaho City Hotshots to pay for college at Boise State. He co-founded the Boise Bicycle Project in his mid-20s, but stepped away in 2023. He now makes a living teaching pre-mechatronics and manufacturing at the College of Western Idaho.
He said he wants to keep investing in the Boise Police Department but also in preventative measures to keep kids from going down the wrong path.
He’s cast votes over the last few years for controversial projects like Interfaith Sanctuary’s move to State Street. Hallyburton said he never makes up his mind before the last person testifies, and a lot of land use decisions are based on state law. The council can’t violate people’s property rights, he said.
“But I really do believe that council does listen, even when we do disagree or go a different direction.” he said.
Hallyburton also alluded to potential vote-splitting among the three candidates. In his campaign newsletter, he wrote, “Anytime there is a three-way race for a council seat, there is a risk of splitting the vote, and I’m not going to leave anything to chance.”
He told the Statesman he was surprised that Sánchez had moved back into the district. Sánchez signed her lease on Aug. 29, she told the Statesman.
“I didn’t imagine that she would be running against me,” Hallyburton said. “It definitely feels a little weird, but that’s how democracy works. … I’ve got both Lisa and Lynn in my race so I’ll be pushing extra hard.”
Lisa Sánchez: A controversial past
Sánchez told the Statesman that she wants to stand up for Idaho’s Latino community and for the immigrant communities facing President Donald Trump’s increased immigration enforcement.
“I feel that the Latino community has been the backbone of our state. We do a lot of work on behalf of the entire state,” Sánchez said. “Very often, we are disregarded, and when we’re not disregarded or made invisible, we are the scapegoats we are used by politicians to frighten the voters into voting for their particular candidate.”
Sánchez also said she wants to drive conversations about the displacement of people from Boise and to create a new plan for how the city of Boise will grow and change.
When it comes to parks, she said it’s important to weigh recreation needs against other needs in the community.
She also said it’s important to have the voice of a renter on the council and that she strongly believes she is the first low-income person to serve on the council. She owns a business, Palote Power Consulting, but when Sánchez left the council in 2023, the council was her primary source of income. Palote refers here to a rolling pin. She chose the name to refer to her grandmother’s palote, which she said her grandfather made from the broken handle of a hoe. She said it symbolizes the idea that what may be broken or useless has value.
She said she helps coach first-time candidates from underrepresented backgrounds, inspire audiences and create fundraising training for grassroots campaigns.
When asked if she had any consulting clients, Sánchez said she was “focusing primarily on my city council race at this time,” though still offering her services to “various community groups.” She said she has advised clients such as candidates for office and the Idaho Democratic Party. The Idaho Democrats paid her $1,000 in 2022 for a training session held in conjunction with their annual gala, spokesperson Avery Roberts said.
She said she left a temporary fellowship with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development in October 2024. Sánchez said her income comes from selling collectible and vintage items as well as speaking and consulting work. She said she is applying for jobs but the labor market is tough.
“Any criticisms that I’ve had about me have been about style, they haven’t really been about whether I delivered on the work that I committed to,” said Sánchez, who questioned whether council members should have other responsibilities. “We’re living in very serious times. This is not a time for folks to be phoning it in.”
Sánchez has faced many criticisms over the years.
In 2022, the Hispanic Cultural Center in Nampa filed an ethics complaint with the city after she allegedly kept a painting that was loaned to her by the Center. Sánchez ultimately bought the painting.
Two years later, she faced a complaint over her campaign spending after she spent over $10,000 more than other council members. Her purchases, around a quarter of which were on food, included two meals at Chandlers, the fine dining steakhouse in downtown Boise. Ultimately, the Ada County Elections Office determined that her spending complied with the law.
Sánchez lost her seat on the council in 2023 after she moved without realizing that her new home was outside of her district. She moved back into it and applied to get her seat back, but she was not reappointed, in part because other council members didn’t support her return.
At the time, then-Council Members Elaine Clegg and Holli Woodings pointed to her attitude once losing the seat. Woodings said Sánchez had blamed city staff for her own mistakes. Then-Council Member Patrick Bageant-said he was concerned about her campaign spending.
Sánchez sued to get her seat back but was ultimately denied by the Idaho Supreme Court in June 2025.
In a lengthy phone interview, Sánchez blamed the city for what happened and questioned the court system. She said she had “no choice” but to accept the court’s decision but suggested the court was biased against her. She said she would only have done one thing differently, which was trying harder to meet with the city attorney during the process.
“I would say that this is what comes when you have an elected official who actually is an authentic individual,” Sánchez said. “Typically, the people who serve in these roles are wealthy individuals, or at least not low-income. They do not tend to be renters, they tend to have some sort of connection and power within the system.”
This story was originally published October 14, 2025 at 4:00 AM.
