It’s the newly elected mayor who should be doing the reset on the library and stadium

The election results of Nov. 5 could not have been clearer.

An extraordinary majority of Boise voters voted against the incumbent Mayor Dave Bieter. Voters weighed in even more heavily on the two referenda asking voters if there should be votes on both a new library and a baseball stadium financed in part by the city.

Both projects are the mayor’s highest priorities and he did all he could to avoid referenda on the issues. Voters responded with 69.1% calling for a referendum on the library and 75.2% of the voters calling for a referendum on the stadium. Some voters may simply believe a referendum is in order even if they support a new library or a stadium with city support. But odds are that many voters were letting the first shoe drop, and they will show up for the two referenda with votes against both projects as presently conceived.

If there was a surprise in the election results, it was the margin that separated the victor, Lauren McLean, from the incumbent mayor. Loose talk around the city predicted McLean would probably win a run-off spot, but few predicted she would take such a commanding percentage of the votes and leave the incumbent mayor trailing by a 15% margin.

All the more surprising about his poor showing was the extent of TV ads financed by out-of-state firefighter PACs that apparently did little good. In fact, they may have even backfired at the idea of public employee PACs from outside the city and state trying to sway a local mayoral contest. Or perhaps it was concern over a conflict of interest some may see in public employee unions dumping so much money into a campaign for mayor, who ultimately decides on the contracts the city signs with the firemen.

Apparently, Mayor Bieter doesn’t interpret the election result as clearly as the numbers show. The mayor claims the people of Boise now need more time and a robust dialogue to decide who their next mayor will be. It was almost as if he was saying he would give the voters more time to figure out what they did wrong. To correct the error of their ways. Like Ripe Van Winkle, I wondered if I had slept through an entire campaign and election night and missed something.

The calendar of events speaks for itself. There were many campaign events where robust dialogue occurred, including seven candidate forums where all candidates were invited to participate. The opposition candidates to the mayor came from very different corners of Boise. A former mayor, a county official with strong Republican ties, a sitting member of the council. By the time Election Day rolled around, it’s safe to say that every issue facing Boise was addressed by the candidates from every perspective on the political spectrum in many forums and candidate appearances. Lauren McLean alone held over 30 listening sessions across the city.

The mayor’s latest “Hail Mary,” his effort to “reset” on the library is premature with an election on Dec. 3 to determine the victor. The voters have spoken loudly and clearly on the library and stadium issues, and it should be the mayor elected on Dec. 3 who takes the lead on how the city sets the terms of engagement in regard to these issues, especially since it took this election loss for Mayor Bieter to get the message.

In his last-ditch effort to regain the support he lost from Boiseans over the last few years, the mayor seems to be posturing as the more conservative candidate. Does a conservative mayor pile up cash reserves to use on a major project just so he can avoid a vote by the citizens on a bond issue to finance the project? This mayoral campaign focused on a city worried about growth, property taxes and a mayor with a tin ear when listening to constituents. Voters will not be fooled with this last-minute turnaround.

On Dec. 3, voters will be called upon one more time to decide the future of Boise. In recent interviews, Mayor Bieter claimed that this election will be easier for him without the referenda on the ballot. We can only assume that means he thinks those voting for the referenda will stay home on Dec. 3, giving him an easier ride. Let’s hope the voters understand that this is a two-step process, a marathon that started with going door to door to get petitions signed calling for referenda, and that they again make the time and effort to cast their ballots for Boise mayor on Dec. 3.

Then, the new mayor can do the reset on the library issue and stadium, as well. That’s how elections work, with the victors assuming the reins of government.

This story was originally published November 17, 2019 at 5:00 AM.