Garden City has changed fast. Do voters want change at the top?
Garden City residents will choose the city’s first new mayor in almost 20 years this November.
Three candidates threw their hats into the ring after longtime incumbent John Evans announced he wouldn’t run again. Evans has endorsed City Council Member Bill Jacobs. His opponent, College of Western Idaho Trustee Molly Lenty, is presenting herself as a change from the Garden City norm. The third candidate, Teresa Roundy, says she is running because of her concerns with the family court system.
Jacobs, 60, recently retired from managing Farwest Landscape. Jacobs moved to Garden City in 2018, he told the Statesman.
Lenty, 46, told the Statesman she is an entrepreneur and previously lived in Garden City before moving back around two years ago.
Roundy, 54, has labeled herself a “human behavior and development expert,” and told the Statesman she moved to Garden City in 2012.
“If people want status quo, if they want Garden City the way that it’s been run, then I’m probably not the candidate for them,” Lenty said in a phone interview.
Jacobs has pushed back on her characterization, telling the Statesman that he is different from Evans. Evans did a good job, but the city is changing, he said.
However, at an Oct. 7 forum at The River Club, the candidates were asked how they would be different as a mayor. Jacobs opened his response with the caveat that Evans would agree with everything he was about to say.
“To go in there and make changes for changes’ sake is really not very wise leadership,” Jacobs said in a phone interview.
There seems to be simmering tension between Lenty and Jacobs, with both taking shots at each other in interviews and at the candidate forum.
Roundy’s concerns with family court seem personal; she told the Statesman she got out of a bad relationship and her ex got custody of her children. Roundy’s ex-husband did not return a message seeking comment.
“We need to stop allowing children to hate a parent that loves them, through brainwashing,” Roundy said.
The big question is whether voters want things the way they’ve been run. The fact that voters gave Evans almost two decades in office suggests that they are pretty content, said Stephanie Witt, Boise State University distinguished professor of public service. That’s despite what Witt called an “almost unbelievable amount of change in Garden City.”
“But the mood of the public can change,” Witt said in a phone interview. “With Evans retiring like this, I think we may hear what’s on the minds of the Garden City residents. Are they happy with the way things are going?”
As of Oct. 24, Jacobs had raised just under $21,000 and Lenty had raised just over $26,000. Roundy does not appear to have an active campaign finance account.
The winner will serve a four-year term. The outgoing mayor worked part time and made $50,000 a year in 2024, according to a salary database published by the Statesman.
The mayor is the city’s chief administrator, Evans said, overseeing more than 90 employees and a budget of $31 million, but doesn’t vote on the four-member council except to break ties.
Jacobs: I’m ready to go
Jacobs’ previous experience means he’ll be ready on day one, he told the Statesman.
“John retires on Jan. 12, I’ll be ready on Jan. 13 to take over the reins and guide the city for the changes that are coming in the future,” Jacobs told the Statesman. “I don’t have to learn the job. When I get there, I’ll be prepared.”
There’s been “great” development in the city, Jacobs said, noting the Boardwalk apartment complex near 36th Street. The five-story, 234-unit complex is reminiscent of a cruise ship and features food and wine options like Bao Boi, Tim’s Burgers and Negranti Creamery, which sells ice cream from sheep milk.
“The city is really thriving,” Jacobs said.
But there’s also a lot more traffic, he said, most of which comes from people driving through Garden City.
Jacobs said he wants to update the city’s comprehensive plan. He also said the city needs to be more outwardly communicative. And he said he wants to streamline the city’s code, potentially to make development easier.
Jacobs said he wants sidewalks on Chinden Boulevard, the 35-mile-per-hour thoroughfare stretching through Garden City.
He said he wants lower density or lower heights by the river, with buildings getting higher further away. A variety of housing is important, he said.
Developing infrastructure in the area south of Chinden is key and would make the area “a great opportunity for redevelopment,” he said.
“The city does need density. We don’t have any outward expansion and growth,” Jacobs said. “I’d love to have more multi-use so that people who live-work in that area can get the services they need without having to get in their cars and go anywhere.”
Lenty: I’m against the status quo
Lenty said she’s running because she’s worried “with not having the right leadership that’s prepared to lead the critical work in the city.”
She touts her experience as a College of Western Idaho trustee, saying she’s “used to leading a large organization.”
“Do we need somebody that is more of an operations manager, that has the type of a background, that can keep the status quo?” Lenty questioned. “Or do we need a more visionary type of a leader?”
She said she’s a “servant leader.”
Lenty’s website lists some of her experiences serving the community, including that she “directed the Boise Twilight Criterium for ten years.” But Mike Cooley, race director for the Criterium, said Lenty directed activity on behalf of the sponsor. Lenty was deeply involved but was not the actual race director, Cooley said by phone.
As part of her job at a bank, Lenty worked as the event director or event coordinator, she told the Statesman by phone. As part of that, she supported the race director, she said.
Garden City is growing rapidly, but there’s no shared vision for “who we are,” she said. Knowing what people love is important so people know what to save, she said.
The enclave has an “exciting” and “burgeoning” wine- and craft-beer community, she said. But she also pointed to how “extremely congested” the city is. She said she wants places for people to walk and bike.
“We really need to provide additional pathways, so that we can create less congestion, more safe commuter routes, and also preserve the safety of the Greenbelt,” Lenty said.
Lenty also said she wants to make city information more accessible for residents.
When it comes to Chinden Boulevard, she said community-led beautification projects are a good idea, though they probably shouldn’t be required.
“I’m pro-growth, but I’m pro-guided growth,” she said. “I want to ask the questions. I want to listen. I want to learn. I want to know who as a city do we really want to be before we just keep putting one foot in front of the other.”
Roundy: I have family-court concerns
Roundy said she was running because people in government weren’t doing their jobs. She cited concerns with family court and said she wanted to retrain the Garden City police department to identify human trafficking, interference with child custody and perjury.
“All of those laws, if the mayors were enforcing them, would protect children immediately and families immediately,” Roundy said.
No one is addressing the issues she’s talking about, Roundy told the Statesman. “I’m going to solve it,” she said.
She said she wanted to invest in well water because “it’s cheaper,” and for Garden City residents to stop growing lawns and start growing gardens. People could also get water from the river, she suggested.
She said she wanted to make things affordable for community members and make a profit for the community. She suggested rubber ducky races along the river.
“There’s so many fun things we eventually can do to raise money,” she said.
When it comes to Chinden, she said it could be healing for the brain to go back in time.
“My ideas are a little wild,” Roundy said. “Going back and maybe just having horses and bicycles and having things be more pushed towards that area … I’m open to ideas like that, not saying that I would do that.”
Roundy said she liked Garden City and that it has the potential to be the best city on Earth.
“I believe that we can make Garden City the happiest place, especially once we start really protecting the children, elderly and families properly, and build a real community of support,” she said. “Not a fake one. Not a fraud front.”
Learn more about this race and other local elections at IdahoStatesman.com/Election. Find Treasure Valley candidate Q&As in the Statesman’s Voter Guide.
This story was originally published October 29, 2025 at 4:00 AM.
