Echoes of ’19: Incumbent, challenger duel over Avimor in Tuesday’s runoff for Eagle mayor

With the Nov. 7 election already far from most Treasure Valley voters’ minds, voters in Eagle face a runoff election Tuesday for mayor.

None of the four candidates won a majority in the November election, forcing the runoff under state law. Jason Pierce, the incumbent, won 3,549 votes, or 35.5% of the vote. He faces the runner-up, City Council President Member Brad Pike, who gathered 3,142 votes, or 31.4%.

Two other candidates competed for the same seat, but gathered fewer votes. Former Mayor Stan Ridgeway received 2,651 votes, or 26.5%, and landlord Marc Degl’Innocenti received 661 votes, or 6.6%.

The battle for mayor underpins a debate about the future of the city and how it responds to growth and the development of the massive Avimor and Valnova planned communities. The debate echoes the 2019 race, when Pierce, who favored the annexation of Avimor, unseated Ridgeway, who opposed it.

Pierce has a commanding lead in campaign contributions, much of it from businesses and developers, while Pike has chosen to deny developer contributions and mostly self-fund his campaign.

The race also has partisan undertones despite both candidates portraying themselves as the conservative choice.

An email from the Idaho Republican Party on Thursday charged that the Idaho Democratic Party campaigned for Pike and sent text messages supporting him. The email did not name Pierce but said voters should choose the candidate who “truly exhibits a commitment” to conservative principles.

Erik Berg, chair of the Ada County Democrats, said the party had not campaigned for either candidate but has been working to increase voter participation.

“We have not sent out any texts in regard to the Eagle election,” Berg told the Idaho Statesman.

Pike said he hadn’t received anything from any party campaigning for him. He said there has been a lot of rhetoric trying to paint him as liberal. He said he is a conservative Christian and has been a Republican for over 40 years.

“I’m not a plant from California,” Pike told the Statesman.

Getting out the vote

Both Pierce and Pike have spent the last month hitting the pavement to drum up support from voters, reminding them that there’s another election on the way.

“(I’ve been) just getting out, knocking on doors, making sure people know what the message is,” Pierce told the Statesman by phone. “There’s some pretty stark differences.”

Pierce said he’s most focused on preserving the character of downtown Eagle, making sure development doesn’t creep into the city and protecting open space.

“I really want to be able to take control and make sure we can have the destiny that we want for the city of Eagle,” Pierce said.

Pike said he’s doing much of the same — walking neighborhoods and attending meet and greets with community members.

“We’re not giving up,” Pike said in a phone interview. “We’re pushing forward.”

Pike, who is a commissioner for Eagle Fire District, said his priorities are economic stability and public safety. He said he hopes to find a good balance as the city continues to grow.

“You can’t just wave some magic wand and you get all the answers and it becomes Shangri-La in Eagle,” Pike said.

Issues around Avimor and Valnova

Much of the rhetoric surrounding the election has been focused on how the city manages growth.

Like most cities in the Treasure Valley, Eagle has ballooned in population. The population sat at nearly 20,000 in 2010 and swelled to just over 32,000 by 2022, according to U.S. Census Bureau data. That amounts to roughly 1,000 new residents per year.

The annexation of Avimor into city limits could add nearly 9,000 homes. Avimor is a planned community northeast of Eagle that could stretch over 170,000 acres through Ada, Gem and Boise counties. The controversial development in the Eagle Foothills spent years facing opposition and protest until the council approved it in March.

Avimor’s managing partners flooded the 2019 election with over $20,000 to replace City Council members and then-mayor Ridgeway, who opposed annexing the community, with candidates who viewed Avimor favorably, according to prior Idaho Statesman reporting.

Of the four members of the current council, Pike was the only one to vote no on the annexation in March.

“We’re not ready for it,” Pike said. “It was not a planned addition to the family.”

Strained emergency services

The addition of Avimor and the Valnova planned community to the northwest, formerly named Spring Valley, could contribute to urban sprawl and continue to strain emergency services that are already understaffed, Pike said.

With an increase in population after the annexation of Avimor and the planned addition of two more sworn deputies, the city will still be 10 officers short in order to hit the goal ratio of one officer per 1,000 residents, Pike said.

The city is on track to pass the over 600 felony crimes committed in 2022, according to Pike.

“We’re already behind the eight ball on public safety,” Pike said. “We’re so far behind.”

Pierce acknowledged that they’ll need to add police to account for Avimor, but said that the annexation also adds 500 homes into the tax-base and that the community would kick in $130,000 to help provide policing services.

“(We’re) going to be bringing in property taxes immediately,” Pierce said.

Avimor was already in the fire district and the community will build and use their own water system, which they will give to the city of Eagle, Pierce said.

“(Avimor) was getting built whether it was in Eagle or not,” he said.

Pierce said he wants to make sure there is as little negative impact from growth on current residents as possible and that he wants to make sure that responsibility falls on new people moving into the community.

Business, economy and the outdoors

The two candidates also have differing opinions about business in Eagle.

Pierce aims to keep downtown Eagle quaint and wants to do things different from cities like Meridian, Boise and Star. He doesn’t want to allow excess development to creep into the city and said Pike voted to approve a four-story building downtown.

“That’s just not what we want in Eagle,” he said. “We have to take control and manage what’s around us as much as possible.”

Pierce said he is focusing on preserving and protecting open space. He was excited about adding 100 miles of equestrian trails for Avimor and the 98-acre Eagle Regional Sports Park that would include eight baseball and softball fields, five grass fields, tennis and pickleball courts and trailheads leading out into nature.

“So many people have moved here from places where every inch was built on. We’ve been able to protect that,” Pierce said.

Pike said Eagle needs to bring in small and large businesses.

People sometimes freak out when he mentions bringing in bigger businesses, Pike said, but they can attract smaller, innovative tech businesses.

But he added, “You always want to support your local businesses first.”

Pike said he’s walked every business that’s opened in downtown Eagle, and they’ve all said the same thing: They need customers.

He said he remembers when the downtown area was mostly dirt lots. Now, he supports creating a downtown association that can help bring in more business.

Campaign contributions

The race has seen over $100,000 poured into it since August, according to candidate filings with the Idaho secretary of state.

Pierce leads with $70,869 gathered from 136 donors, while Pike has brought in $30,504 from 48 donors.

Since the Nov. 7 election, Pierce has received the maximum allowed contributions of $1,000 from seven donors, including Burdge Aerospace Group, SMC Properties and Stefan Gleason, the owner of Eagle-based Money Metals Exchange.

Pike has loaned himself $3,000 and received a $1,000 donation from Brent Sturgill since the Nov. 7 election. Most of Pike’s fundraising since August comes from himself and donations of $500 or less.

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

Who’s running for Eagle mayor and council? Our voter guide highlights the candidates

3 Boise-area candidates have past arrests. 12 didn’t disclose bankruptcies or tax liens

New taxes may be coming for 1000’s of unbuilt houses in Eagle’s Foothills. This is why

‘This gives us control’: City of Eagle makes final decision on massive annexation