Here are the Statesman’s picks for ‘highly consequential’ ACHD Commission races
While the presidential election is grabbing most of the attention, that doesn’t mean some local elections should be ignored.
One local election in the Treasure Valley, in particular, could prove to be highly consequential for Ada County for years to come.
Three out of five seats for the Ada County Highway District commission are on the ballot this cycle.
ACHD is a countywide agency, determining maintenance for $3 billion worth of 5,600 lane miles of roads all over the state’s most populous county. Commission members also decide on future road projects, balancing it all with an approximately $136 million budget.
Though the district is countywide, the commissioners are elected by district, so candidates must live within their boundaries, as do the voters who elect them. The commission is nonpartisan, so candidates do not declare their party affiliation. The commissioners are elected to four-year terms and are paid $26,000 annually.
Up for election are:
District 1 (east and south Boise, stretching to Cole Road): Incumbent Jim Hansen faces a challenge from Kara Veit.
District 2 (parts of west Boise and through central Meridian to Linder Road): Incumbent Rebecca Arnold faces a challenge from Alexis Pickering.
District 5 (west Ada County, including parts of Meridian, Eagle and Star): Emilie Jackson-Edney and Dave McKinney are running for this vacant seat left open by outgoing commissioner Sara Baker.
District 1
The Idaho Statesman endorses District 1 incumbent Jim Hansen in the race for Ada County Highway District commission.
His challenger, Kara Veit, a public relations manager and political newcomer who worked as a community relations manager at ACHD for a year, had solid answers to questions of funding, community engagement and even having designated streets that prioritize bicyclists.
We give Hansen the nod in this race because he recognizes that ACHD can and should be more than just a “road agency,” simply building more and wider roads to accommodate more and more cars from more and more subdivisions in every corner of Ada County. He said ACHD planning has incentivized urban sprawl, and he wants to reverse that.
District 2
One of the knocks against Ada County Highway District commissioner Rebecca Arnold is that she’s confrontational and hard to get along with, which is important in light of complaints that the commission doesn’t get along with city officials when it comes to approving projects or collaborating on planning.
In the editorial board’s joint interview with Arnold and her challenger Alexis Pickering, Arnold did little to convince us that those fears are unfounded.
The Idaho Statesman editorial board endorses Alexis Pickering for the Ada County Highway District Commission in District 2 for a change in vision and a change in how the commission works with other agencies.
District 5
The race between Emilie Jackson-Edney and Dave McKinney for Ada County Highway District Commission District 5 was a difficult one to decide.
Both candidates are highly qualified. Jackson-Edney worked for 37 years as an engineer with ACHD, so she has the technical expertise. As does McKinney, who is a lawyer and civil engineer who serves on Meridian’s Transportation Commission.
In a joint interview with the Idaho Statesman’s editorial board, both spoke knowledgeably and in detail about the issues facing Ada County and transportation planning. Either candidate would be an excellent addition to the commission.
Jackson-Edney has the edge in this race for recognizing that ACHD can and should be more than just a “road agency.” Both candidates are very qualified, but Jackson-Edney represents a more progressive approach to transportation planning and offers the better chance of changing the way we’ve always done things in Ada County.