Contempt, resisting, bankruptcy: What to know about Ada commissioner candidates
Republican voters will choose between two candidates who have battled the legal system when they vote for the Ada County Commission District 1 seat in the primary election on Tuesday.
On one side is challenger Holly Cook, who has filed for bankruptcy twice, been held in contempt of court on nine counts, been pursued by multiple collections agencies and once was labeled a vexatious litigant, court records showed.
On the other is incumbent Ryan Davidson, who was convicted of resisting or obstructing officers, has been cited dozens of times for driving-related infractions and was also pursued by a collections agency.
Many of Cook’s issues stem from what the Idaho Supreme Court later called a “lengthy and contentious divorce.” That case began in 2015.
During that divorce battle, Cook was found guilty on nine counts of contempt of court after her ex-husband said she didn’t allow him visitation with their children. Cook, in an interview with the Idaho Statesman, blamed the judge and her former legal counsel. She said she was following instructions from the police.
Cook was labeled a vexatious litigant in 2018 until the Idaho Supreme Court in 2021 reversed the case, finding that the court abused its discretion. A vexatious litigant is someone who, while representing themselves, has repeatedly lost in court, uses frivolous tactics or tries to unnecessarily delay the case.
She also filed for bankruptcy in 2011 with her then-husband and again in 2022. The 2022 filing included over $17,000 that Cook owed a divorce lawyer, according to the bankruptcy filings and a 2018 civil judgment.
“I’ve scraped and clawed my way back from the most difficult situation that almost anyone could endure,” Cook said. “I think I’m far more fiscally conservative than the current commissioners by a long stretch. I’m very confident and I think (voters) should be, too.”
Cook, who is a communications and public relations consultant, also has jumped from job to job over the past decade. She currently does contract work for a government agency.
She worked for the Caldwell Mayor’s Office from June 2015 to February 2016, spokesperson Char Jackson said in an email. Previously, she interned for the city from November 2014 to April 2015.
From December 2017 to September 2018, Cook worked for the Idaho Falls Police Department, spokesperson Dustin Howell said in an email.
In 2020, Cook quit as campaign manager for Paulette Jordan’s Senate run days before the primary, citing differences on how to work with journalists, pay behind schedule and a “personal concern about the integrity of some of the people” chosen from out of state to work on the campaign.
Cook worked for the Boise Metro Chamber from October 2022 to August 2023, and then the Boise School District from August 2023 to November 2024. From October 2024 to November 2025, she worked at NeighborWorks Boise, according to an email from Sarah Fordham, the human resources manager.
“I don’t think there’s anything wrong with having a lot of different opportunities with organizations,” Cook said, adding that she left a couple positions for higher pay.
Her opponent, Davidson, has faced his share of troubles as well — including one prompted recently by Cook herself. Davidson is facing a voter registration challenge from Cook, who alleged his listed address is a vacant lot.
Davidson has a long list of legal transgressions spanning from the 1990s into 2024, the vast majority of which are traffic infractions. He viewed his first ticket as unfair, but his loss in court “lit a fire under” him, he said. He was working minimum-wage jobs at the time, he said, and couldn’t afford to pay the tickets.
His license has been suspended at least nine times, including four times for a failure to pay.
“That was further incentive for me, along with my natural stubbornness, to try to vindicate myself in court,” Davidson said. He added that he had felt that license suspensions disproportionately affected low-income people and that Idaho was suspending driver’s licenses unconstitutionally. “I started challenging that,” he said.
Davidson points to some of the cases where his charges were dismissed, but there are still over 50 cases, according to Idaho court records. He acknowledged that, but said it was mostly minor traffic issues stretched over 30 years. He said while working graveyard shifts, he was often the only car on the road and he stuck “out like a sore thumb.”
The most recent legal issue, a failure to register his vehicle annually, was “my fault,” he said. Davidson was trying to buy a new car but it took longer than he expected, and his registration expired, he said.
In 2007, a collections agency won a default judgment against him, which was subsequently renewed, according to court records. Davidson said he went “functionally bankrupt” around 2004 after a business project went south and he accumulated credit card debt. He told the Statesman he no longer carries such debt.
He was also found guilty in 2001 of resisting or obstructing officers — he received a withheld judgment. Davidson told the Statesman he was pulled over while on a bicycle and didn’t want to give officers his driver’s license.
Asked about his work history, he rattled off a list of jobs: heavy machinery moving, the family pest control business, lobbying, and property management for an Airbnb on his family’s property in Garden City. He has not worked outside of being on the commission, Davidson said, because it’s a “full-time job.” Davidson was first elected in November 2020.
“Everything in my background has been towards fighting for my principles,” Davidson said. “When you’re taking on the government, sometimes it leads to places you don’t want to go. … I have a very nontraditional background, work history, education, but it all sort of added up to, I think, being able to serve the public well.”
