Eagle candidates raised over $90,000 last election. See where they are this time around

In 2019, developers, real estate firms and individuals with legal interests poured money into the Eagle mayoral and City Council races. The candidates raised over $90,000 according to reporting from the Idaho Statesman. This campaign cycle, nine candidates have raised less than $45,000 collectively.

In 2019 the developers of Avimor, the planned community that plans to have over 8,000 homes, wanted Jason Pierce elected mayor. Then-Mayor Stan Ridgeway hoped to prevent Avimor’s attempts to be annexed into the city. Pierce won, and Avimor is now part of Eagle.

With its interest at annexation fulfilled, it appears Avimor and its developers have not yet donated the tens of thousands of dollars they gave in 2019.

This mayoral race again features Pierce and Ridgeway again, but it also includes City Council Member Brad Pike and Marc Degl’Innocenti, who ran unsuccessfully for a council seat last year.

In Idaho, the most a person can donate is $1,000 per municipal race.

Pierce received $11,600 in campaign donations so far. His $1,000 donors include:

• Helen Russell, who sits on the City Council.

• Steve Bender, treasurer of the Idaho Republican Party and former Ada County Central Committee treasurer.
  
  

• James Craig Kvamme, who is running for the City Council. He is on the Eagle Urban Renewal board and served in the Navy, according to BoiseDev.

• Clint Siegner, a co-manager at Eagle’s Money Metals Exchange, a gold and silver dealer.

• Gretchen Meyer, a real estate agent.

Ridgeway had not raised any campaign funds as of Wednesday. But he says he is serious about his run for mayor. He told the Idaho Statesman by phone that he has received donations that were not yet reflected on the latest legally required monthly report but will be in his report of September donations, due Oct. 10.

All his donations so far are smaller than $1,000, Ridgeway said, so they haven’t triggered the law’s requirement that any $1,000 donations be reported within 48 hours.

“My campaign finances, unless I get $1,000 donations, will be reported at the end of September,” Ridgeway said.

After Pierce, Pike has raised the most so far: $7,775 with some donations of $1,000 from individuals like MariLou Terpenning, an oncologist in Eagle.

Degl’Innocenti has raised $3,800 in a mostly self-funded campaign so far. He is a retired captain of a U.S. Merchant Marine ship.

Five candidates are running for two at-large council seats that will be vacated by Pike and Charlie Baun. They are James Craig Kvamme, Christina Patterson, Christopher Hadden, Robert Imhoff and Mary May.

Kvamme has self-funded his campaign so far with $10,000. Christina Patterson raised $750 and Hadden and Imhoff had raised $0.

May, a former Ada County Highway District commissioner, has raised over $9,600. May lost her bid for reelection to ACHD last year. She has received several $1,000 donations, including one from Kvamme, who is also running for City Council.

Kvamme told the Statesman by phone that he donated to May because he thinks she would be a good fit for City Council alongside him.

“I think Mary May is an excellent choice, and I think I’m an excellent choice,” Kvamme said. “So I’m supporting her as well as myself.”

May received $1,000 donations from each of the three co-owners of Boise Hunter Homes, a local housing development company and from Engineering Solutions, a Meridian construction company.

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After Boise and Meridian, Eagle is generating the most contributions to mayoral and council candidates of Ada County’s six cities, at least so far this fall. Here’s what is happening in the three smaller cities:

Garden City

Two Garden City Council seats are up for election this year, and three candidates have registered to run. The two top vote-getters will take the at-large seats.

Council President James Page is running for reelection. He has not filed any fundraising this year. He has $308 on hand.

Kent Rasmussen, chair of the Planning and Zoning Commission, has raised $850.

Hannah Ball, a developer who ran unsuccessfully for mayor in 2021, announced her candidacy for City Council this month and has not filed any fundraising documents.

Kuna

Four candidates are vying for a chance to become the next mayor of Kuna, though none have so far received donations to support their campaigns, according to the Idaho Secretary of State’s campaign-finance reporting website.

Star

Star Mayor Trevor Chadwick is running for re-election against Michele Miles. Chadwick has reported just one donation: $500 on Aug. 18 from Brian Yeargain, a certified public accountant in Boise.

Two incumbent city councilors seek re-election. Kevin Nielsen and Jennifer Salmonsen have each raised $0 so far.