Development interests donate to Meridian candidates they favor. See who’s giving to whom

Rachel Spacek
·4 min read

Donations from development interests are playing a big role in Meridian Mayor Robert Simison’s re-election campaign and the candidacies of several people seeking election or re-election to the City Council this November.

Many donations so far in this campaign cycle have come from developers, builders and real estate companies and the individuals behind those businesses. Among the most prominent are Brighton Corp., run by David Turnbull, which has developed many sites in Meridian; and Tommy Ahlquist, who partners with Brighton and runs his own development company called Ball Ventures Ahlquist.

Simison is way ahead in fundraising among all city candidates, with over $168,000 in donations racked up, according to his filings with the Idaho secretary of state. His only challenger, Mike Hon, has reported no contributions.

Incumbent Robert Simison, left, and Mike Hon, right, are running for mayor of Meridian in the November election.
Incumbent Robert Simison, left, and Mike Hon, right, are running for mayor of Meridian in the November election.

Hon was the vocal leader of the Concerned Citizens of Meridian, the group that petitioned for but failed to win the dissolution of the Meridian Library District.

Under Idaho law, a donor may contribute up to $1,000 to a candidate per election cycle. Thousand-dollar donors to Simison include:

  • Brighton, based in Meridian, donated $1,000. Turnbull lives in Eagle.

  • Ahlquist and his wife, Shanna Ahlquist, who live in Eagle. They each donated $1,000.

  • Clyde Development, Inc. run by James Clyde, a developer based in Eagle.

  • Elton Development Inc., a Meridian real estate company. Aaron and Melissa Elton each donated $1,000, too, for a combined $3,000.

Meridian City Council campaign donations

The next highest fundraiser in Meridian is Brad Hoaglun, who will face Elizabeth “Liz” Strader. Both candidates are incumbent council members. They must run against each other this election cycle because they live in the same council district. This election will be the first in which Meridian voters elect their council members by district, not at-large.

The two incumbents are running for council District 2, which is located north of Interstate 84 and Ustick Road, and west of Locust Grove Road.

Hoaglun raised just over $43,000. His largest donors include Mark Bottles, a prominent Treasure Valley Real Estate Agent, and Travis Hunter, a co-owner of Boise Hunter Homes, a development company. Former City Council member and now state legislator Treg Bernt also donated $1,000. Fellow councilman Joe Borton donated $300.

Strader raised just $8,500. Strader didn’t appear to have the support from developers that Simison has. The Conservation Voters for Idaho Action Fund was one of Strader’s few thousand-dollar donors.

But she has support from colleagues on the council. Fellow council members Jessica Perreault and Borton contributed $140 and $300 respectively. Bernt also donated $150.

In the District 3 race, Doug Taylor faces Bill Chandler. Taylor has raised nearly $25,000. The Boise Hunter Home co-owners gave $2,200, the Coeur D’Alene Tribe gave $1,000, and legislator Joe Palmer gave $1,000.

Chandler did not file a campaign finance report.

District 3 is in the center of the city, south of Ustick and surrounding Fairview Avenue.

In the District 5 race, Todd Ebeling faces Anne Little Roberts. Roberts, who was the CEO of the Meridian Chamber of Commerce for five years and served on the Meridian City Council before an unsuccessful run for mayor in 2019, raised over $7,500 with large donations from Brighton and Clyde Development. She also received donations from Simison’s campaign, which gave $100 and Borton, who gave $200.

Ebeling raised $5,000 from donations mostly to himself. Idaho law imposes no limit on how much money candidates can contribute to their own campaigns.

District 5 is south of Interstate 84 on the east side of the city.

Without a challenger, incumbent John Overton is running to be reelected in District 4. He’s raising money anyway. He raised nearly $19,000 with big donations from donors including Brighton and Clyde Development He also received $1,000 from Hunter and $1,000 from SCS Investments LLC, an investment management firm based in Eagle.

District 4 is north of the freeway and east of Main Street.

Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 7. Early voting begins in Ada County on Monday, Oct. 23. Find your polling place by visiting the Ada County Election’s Website at adacounty.id.gov/elections.

Ada County voters: See here who’s running in November 2023 elections in your city

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