Eagle mayor forced into runoff. Another mayor beaten soundly. What suburban voters did

Election Day did not bring the victory the mayor of Eagle sought in his campaign for a second term. That was one of the key results of Tuesday’s voting in the eight largest cities in Ada and Canyon counties outside Boise: Meridian, Eagle, Kuna, Garden City, Star, Nampa, Caldwell and Middleton.

Jason Pierce, who successfully challenged then-Mayor Stan Ridgeway four years ago, beat him again on Tuesday. But two other candidates garnered enough support from Eagle voters to keep Pierce from winning a majority, forcing him into a runoff.

Within 30 days, voters will be asked to choose between Pierce, who won with 3,549 votes — 35.5% of Tuesday’s vote — and Council Member Brad Pike, who garnered 3,142 votes, or 31.4%.

“We’ll work hard for the next 30 days to make sure people understand why it’s important to voter for me and why my opponent is not the right choice,” Pierce said by phone Tuesday night.

Meanwhile, 14 miles to the west on Idaho 44, Middleton voters voiced displeasure with their mayor’s first term. Incumbent Steve Rule won just 579 votes, or 24.7%, losing to challenger Jackie Hutchison, who won 1,563 votes, or 66.7%. She is one of several candidates Rule defeated in the 2019 election.

In Meridian, a veteran City Council incumbent faced another incumbent as the city moved to elect council members by district instead of at large or citywide, thanks to a new state law affecting large cities. The veteran, Brad Hoaglun, was pitted against first-term Council Member Liz Strader, who considered Hoaglun a friend.

Hoaglun raised more than three times as much money as Strader. As Election Day neared, he mailed voters a flyer citing Strader’s history as a Democrat. She is now a Republican. Hoaglun’s efforts failed: Voters picked her with 1,364 votes, or 52.1%, to 47.9%. Hoaglun had raised nearly $50,000 and won 1,255 votes, a cost of nearly $40 per vote.

In all, voters chose from over 50 candidates to fill city council and mayoral ranks across the Treasure Valley. Candidates faced growing populations and increased development.

In Nampa and Caldwell, voters chose to stick with incumbents in four of six city council races. Newcomer Sebastian Griffin won a seat to represent Nampa’s new District 6, while newcomer Mike Dittenber won Seat 6 on the Caldwell City Council.

Nine open city council seats in Meridian, Nampa and Caldwell invited a number of candidates to help decide the future of some of the Treasure Valley’s largest cities. The races were packed with business owners, concerned citizens, elected officials and neighborhood leaders.

All results reported here are final but unofficial.

Ada County

Meridian: Mayor & City Council (3 competitive districts)

Meridian voters had plenty to decide in this election with three competitive City Council districts and the mayorship on the line. This is the first time voters elected council members who serve four-year terms by geographic district.

First-term Mayor Robert Simison was pitted against challenger Mike Hon. Simison won with 12,848 votes, 69.6% of the total. Hon had 5,602 votes for a total of 30.4%.

Simison has said he wants to keep focusing on efforts he has made to invest in city services related to public safety and quality of life, improve transportation and establish land-use designations.

The two at-large incumbents who ran against each other, Hoaglun and Strader, each sought to represent the new District 2, which covers the central northern portion of Meridian from West Ustick Road to Chinden Boulevard.

“I’m excited to serve Meridian again,’” Strader said by phone Tuesday night.

Strader added that it was a difficult campaign. But didn’t want to focus on that, she said.

“When people run who care about our city, and they’re both qualified, no matter what, Meridian wins,” Strader said. “That’s the most important thing that we shouldn’t lose sight of. It’s about the people of Meridian.”

Douglas Taylor, a consultant, faced Bill Chandler, a small business owner, in District 3. The district covers central Meridian from North Locust Grove Road in the east to North Ten Mile Road in the west.

Taylor won the race with 1,603 votes, or 70.2% of the total, while Chandler had 680 votes, or 29.8%.

Todd Eberling, a business owner and Oregon native, faced Anne Little Roberts, a business owner who served on the Meridian City Council from 2016 to 2019, in District 5.

Roberts won the race with 2,146 votes, or 62.4%, while Ebeling received 1,294 votes, or 37.6%.

District 5 covers southern Meridian in a patchwork from Interstate 84 in the north to Columbia Road in the south. The district covers Mountain View High School and Hillsdale Park.

Eagle: Mayor & City Council (2 at-large seats)

Pierce said he expects the runoff election between himself and Pike to be easier than the three opponents he faced on Election Day. Along with Pike and Ridgeway, who received 2,651 votes, or 26.5%, Pierce also faced landlord Marc Degl’Innocenti, who drew 661 votes, or 6.6%.

“When you can really get down to the issues, one on one, with someone and not have slander coming from all different sides, that makes it a lot better,” Pierce said.

Pike did not answer a phone call Tuesday night.

Meanwhile, five candidates competed for two at-large seats on the Eagle City Council.

The candidates were retired business owner James “Craig” Kvamme, consultant and former Ada County Highway District Commissioner Mary May, social worker Christina Patterson, contractor Christopher Hadden, and Robert Imhoff, who ran to represent Senate District 14 as a Libertarian in the 2022 general election.

Kvamme and May won. May led with 4,518 votes, or 25.4%, while Kvamme had 4,132 votes, or 23.2%. Hadden had 3,905 votes, or 22%, Patterson had 3,257 votes, 18.3%, and Imhoff had 1,970 votes, or 11.1%.

The council members and mayor will serve four-year terms.

Garden City: City Council (2 at-large seats)

No matter how Garden City residents voted, two of three candidates would find themselves in the two open at-large seats on the City Council.

The three were incumbent Council President James Page, former mayoral candidate Hannah Ball, and Kent Rasmussen, chairman of the city’s Planning and Zoning Commission.

Just 175 votes separated the candidates on Tuesday. Page kept a seat to the council with 1,296 votes, or 35% of the total, and Rasmussen won the second seat with 1,281 votes, or 34.6%. Ball had 1,121 votes, or 30.3%.

Many of the issues the new councilors will face involve growth and new development, such as the 18-story Boardwalk Residences from Erstad Architects.

Kuna: Mayor

Two challengers took on Mayor Joe Stear, who has served for eight years.

They are Bobby Rossadillo, president of the Kuna Chamber of Commerce and owner of Kuna Healthcare and MedSpa; and Cristin Sandu, a former circus performer and owner of trucking company ISTICX.

Stear previously served on the Kuna City Council for four years and as a commissioner for the Kuna Rural Fire District for 18 years.

Stear easily won re-election with 57.4%, or 2,127 voters, while Bobby Rossadillo had 1,243 voters, 33.5%, and Cristin Sandu had 336 voters, or 9.1%.

Star: Mayor

In Star, one of Idaho’s fastest-growing cities, incumbent Mayor Trevor Chadwick faced Michele Miles, a physician assistant and political newcomer.

Chadwick won the race with 85% of the vote, or 2,887 voters, in Ada County and 100% of the 21 votes in Canyon County. Miles had 510 voters, or 15%, of the Ada vote and received no votes in Canyon.

Chadwick said his top priorities included improving public safety and hiring more police officers and firefighters, improving transportation infrastructure and shifting the tax burden from residential to commercial.

Canyon County

Nampa: City Council (3 competitive districts)

For the first time, voters in Nampa chose three city councilors by district. A field packed of nine candidates vied for those seats. They ranged from political newcomers to veteran councilors with a knack for fundraising.

The three districts are:

• District 2, which includes the eastern edge of Nampa and a chunk in the northeast.

• District 4, which includes southern Nampa from Locust Lane to Roosevelt Avenue.

• District 6 along the western edge of town from Midland Boulevard to slightly past Midway Road.

In the race for District 2, Troy Keith faced incumbent Natalie Jangula. Jangula won with 751 votes, 56.3%, while Keith had 582 voters, or 43.7% of the total.

The incumbent in District 4, Dale Reynolds, faced Amy Hannu, a business owner who hoped to bring a “fresh perspective to the table.” Reynolds won with 672 votes, 65.5%, while Hannu received 354 votes, or 34.5%.

Five candidates sought the seat in District 6: Sebastian Griffin, Jennifer Niles, Isacc Solis, Margie Potter and David Lambert.

Only two, David Lambert and 22-year-old Sebastian Griffin, have served in elected office before. Griffin won with 463 votes, or 40.8% of the total. Potter had 236 votes, 20.8%, Solis had 155 votes, 13.7%, Lambert had 152 votes, 13.4%, and Niles had 129 votes, or 11.4%.

Griffin said the election was intense and that he knocked on over 2,000 doors this season to meet with voters. He said it felt like he had brain fog for the last 90 days.

“It’s a surreal feeling,” he said by phone Wednesday morning. “I feel super grateful.”

Griffin, a small business owner and law student at the University of Idaho in Boise, said his age was a common issue throughout the election. Some argued that he was too young to serve on the council, but he was undeterred.

“When you know what you’re talking about, you can convince a lot of people,” Griffin said.

Griffin also said his age gives him a different perspective: He’ll grow alongside the city.

He intends to continue raising his family in Nampa, focusing on impact fees and ensuring developers invest in the community.

Caldwell: City Council (3 competitive districts)

Caldwell voters faced a packed race, with 11 candidates racing to win just three seats. Two challenged incumbent Geoff Williams’ hold on Seat 4, three took on incumbent Chris Allgood for Seat 5, and four ran against one another for Seat 6.

Williams and Allgood dominated Caldwell’s campaign contributions, with Williams raising nearly $15,000 and Allgood nearly $12,000. Mike Dittenber raised the most in Seat 6 with nearly $8,500.

Williams’ competition included Becky Mitchell, an instruction coach at Elevate Academy and the 2018 Idaho Teacher of the Year; and John Carter, who is self-employed.

Williams won with 1,566 voters, which totaled 37.6% of the vote. Carter received 1,363 votes, or 32.7%, and Mitchell had 1,236 votes, or 29.7%.

Allgood faced former Caldwell Planning and Zoning Commissioner Ramzy Boutros, Family Engagement Coordinator Florina Ruvio and truck driver Christopher Mortenson.

Allgood won the race with 1,879 voters and 44.4% of the vote, while Boutros had 1,136 votes, 26.8%, Ruvio with 832 voters and 19.7% and Mortenson with 385 votes and 9.1%.

The four in the Seat 6 free-for-all were Dittenber, the director of the Caldwell Housing Authority; Scott Tilmant, a civil and structural drafter; Eric Phillips, the director of student safety and emergency operations for Caldwell School District; and Dave Larson, a commissioner on the Caldwell Planning and Zoning Commission.

Dittenber won with 1,395 voters, or 33.6% of the vote. Tillmant followed with 1,252 voters, 30.1%, Larson with 762 voters, 18.3%, and Phillips with 746 voters, or 18%.

“The election for me was tough,” Dittenber said by phone Tuesday night. “It was a good feeling for me tonight and for all the elections here in the Caldwell area.“

Dittenber said he hopes to bring his experience with housing to the council and provide a different perspective.

Middleton: Mayor & City Council (2 at-large seats)

Two people challenged incumbent Rule’s bid for a second term: Hutchison and small-business owner Tyson Sparrow, who gathered 200 votes and 8.5% of the total.

Hutchison said her priorities included hiring and retaining more police officers, and improving traffic and residents’ quality of life.

Three candidates sought the two open, at-large seats on the City Council. They were incumbent Timothy O’Meara, is a former executive director of the parks and recreation district; Ray Waltemate, a military police provost marshal; and Mark Christiansen, who is self-employed.

O’Meara won with 1,314 votes, or 38.7% of the total. Christiansen had 1,105 votes, 32.5%, and Waltemate had 979 votes, or 28.8%.

Update: Treasure Valley election results, latest vote totals for Ada, Canyon County races

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