Change is name of the game in Eagle City Council race this November. Here’s why
Residents in fast-growing Eagle are looking for a change, if the number of candidates in this November’s City Council race is any indication.
The question is: What kind of change? That’s what six City Council hopefuls sought to answer at a busy forum Tuesday night, where roughly 150 residents gathered to meet the individuals running for two open seats at the helm of the city. A seventh candidate was unable to attend, said forum organizers with the citizens group SOS Eagle.
The candidates, who varied widely in their political experience, background and demeanor, tried to sway voters that they were the right people to steer the city in a different direction than its current leaders — back to the way things were in years past, or somewhere new.
Many in the audience at the Eagle Middle School cafeteria held pens and paper, diligently taking note when candidates stated their names or listed campaign priorities. Several called on candidates to speak louder when people in the back couldn’t hear.
“Can you hear me?” was a repeated refrain of the evening. So was the notion that something in Eagle’s city government — from growth and budget management to transparency — needed to change.
The winners on Nov. 4 will take the place of incumbents Helen Russell and Melissa Gindlesperger, who opted not to run for reelection at the end of their four-year terms. In Eagle, unlike Boise and Meridian, the City Council election is held at-large instead of by district, meaning that voters will be able to cast two votes among the seven candidates.
They are: Robert Gillis, Beth Haney, Kenny Pittman, Tom Letz, Danielle Davis, Nancy Merrill and Steve Bender. Bender was absent because of a memorial service, he told the Idaho Statesman by phone.
‘Shut the gate’? Eagle growth challenges in the spotlight
Growth and government spending took center stage at the forum, where candidates emerged with largely similar positions.
“Everything that they just said,” jested Pittman, when it came time for him to answer an audience question about a recent proposal to decrease density in new residential development citywide. “It sounds like we’re all on the same page about density. I think it’s a great, great thing that they’re doing right now.”
Pittman, who served on the Eagle City Council from 2018 to 2021, said he had a 15-point plan for planning and zoning changes to address concerns related to unchecked growth. They include stricter development agreements, he said.
“These developers seem to like to take advantage in the gray areas, and we can’t have that,” he said.
“Lower density sounds good,” echoed Letz, a contract courier and frequenter on Eagle social media forums. The political newcomer added that he wanted to see more commercial development and the parking spaces to support it.
“We have a lot of money that passes through this town,” Letz said, noting that more businesses would bring needed tax revenue for the city. “They just drive by, and they don’t spend.”
Several candidates also noted concerns around police and fire services as Eagle’s population has continued to swell.
“I would love to just shut the gate right now,” said Haney, a former City Council member and mayor of a city in Orange County, California, who moved to Eagle full-time in 2024 after purchasing a property in 2021. “Unfortunately, that’s not going to happen.”
Haney, a nurse practitioner, said public safety is her “top priority” and added that managing growth responsibly would be key to preserving the city’s charm.
City spending, budget woes shape City Council race
The desire to tighten the city’s budget belt was another refrain that appeared to play well with the crowd.
“I’m very conservative,” said Merrill, who served as Eagle mayor from 2002 to 2008 after being elected to the City Council in 1995. “I know how to make things squeak.”
Merrill said that when she became director of Idaho Parks and Recreation in 2009 under Gov. Butch Otter, the department took an 80% cut to its general fund appropriation, and she helped find new revenue sources. She also said she helped guide the city through rapid growth as far back as the early 1990s, when Eagle had roughly 3,300 residents, according to the Community Planning Association of Southwest Idaho. By 2000, it had just over 11,000.
Davis, a tax accountant and first-time elected office seeker, said she would go through the budget line by line to find opportunities for cost reductions. Davis said that in her reading of the city’s most recent budget, “almost half a million dollars is going out the door for legal” fees.
“In the past five years, we’ve had a plethora of legal troubles,” Davis added.
Those have included a 2020 lawsuit a developer filed against the city and then-City Council members, including Pittman, as well as now-Mayor Brad Pike. The city has also been embroiled in a legal battle with the nonprofit Eagle Senior Citizens Inc. since 2023, court records show.
More concerning to some was city spending on capital projects, including a regional athletic park planned near Idaho 16 and a shooting sports park in the Eagle Foothills north of Beacon Light Road, which has also placed the city under legal scrutiny, candidates said.
“We have 450,000 acres of (Bureau of Land Management) land that you can go for free and go shooting,” said Letz. “Why are we building a shooting range?” he continued, drawing applause. “I do not understand. This doesn’t make sense.”
Gillis, a crime-legislation advocate and retired California law enforcement officer, said he would also like to “reassess” the city’s budget and projects. “If there’s certain things we need to put on hold because we don’t have the money, and we need to find it from other avenues, like grants, then so be it,” he said. “But (let’s) not set our city up for failure by creating a bunch of things going on at the same time and not being able to finish them.”
Candidates noted that transparency was crucial in City Council decision-making, something some voters felt had been eroded, according to a question from the audience. Pittman said he would bring back open public testimony to each City Council meeting.
Candidates, split on political experience, decry partisanship
Despite holding similar positions on issues, candidates tried to distinguish themselves as proven leaders or political outsiders, though some subtly signaled to party alignments.
“I don’t know if I’m the right guy for the job,” admitted Letz, a longtime Eagle resident who described himself during opening statements as “nobody special.”
“We need help,” he said. “I’m not going to lie. Things have gone on here that have transpired in the past few years that have (brought) me to the point where I am going to step in, because somebody has to say things that haven’t been said. … I’m tired of the political game.”
Davis, the tax accountant, said she was running as an independent. “Too often we see tension and partisanship overshadow and even prevent the real work of governing,” she said. “I’m not a politician. I’m your neighbor.”
Toward the close of the forum, Pittman thanked his fellow candidates for keeping the conversation focused on issues rather than politics. “This is a nonpartisan race, and I think everybody’s been really respectful of that,” he said, though he added in his closing remarks that he is socially and fiscally conservative.
In an Idaho Statesman Voter Guide, Bender, who serves as director of the Eagle Sewer Board and treasurer of the Idaho Republican Party, said, “I’m not interested in political posturing. I’m interested in results.”
Bender noted in a Thursday forum held by the Ada County Republican Women’s Club and to the Statesman by phone that he was pleased with the civility of the race and candidates. The race, he said, has brought back “the old-school politicking of Idaho.”
“It’s been fun,” he said.
Voters, incoming council members have ‘tough decision’ to make
With early voting set to begin on Monday, Oct. 20, voters have a “tough decision” to make, according to Letz.
Final decisions related to controversial capital projects as well as the possible updates to citywide density requirements are expected to fall onto the new council’s lap, added Gillis.
“We have to have serious people for serious times,” Gillis said. “If you don’t vote for me, please just vote.”
To learn more about this race and other local elections, go to IdahoStatesman.com/Election. To hear the candidates in their own words, find Treasure Valley candidate Q&As in the Statesman’s Voter Guide.
This story was originally published October 17, 2025 at 12:02 PM.
