Where is Boise headed? Mayor Lauren McLean in Q&A explains her vision for Idaho capital

Boise Mayor Lauren McLean is up for reelection this fall, after taking office just before the COVID-19 pandemic began. Seeking a second term, McLean is running on her plans for housing, public safety, parks and job growth.

A lot has happened over the past four years, including debates over where to relocate Interfaith Sanctuary, a homeless shelter; repeated antisemitic incidents and crimes against the LGBTQ+ community; efforts by Idaho lawmakers to counter Boise’s clean energy efforts; controversy over Lisa Sánchez’s City Council seat; and questions about McLean’s management of the Police Department.

Critics have said McLean shouldn’t have hired former Chief Ryan Lee, or that she did not properly handle his dismissal once complaints about his leadership became public. Two months after he resigned, the police oversight director was fired.

After a Boise police officer was tied to white supremacist posts, a law firm was hired to investigate potential racism in the department and recommended some major changes.

This month, McLean talked to the Idaho Statesman about the issues facing the city. The transcript has been edited for brevity and clarity.

As Boise is growing, developers can’t keep up with the boom, and housing has become very unaffordable. I know that you’ve pointed to the zoning code rewrite as key to making housing more affordable, and housing is a big part of your campaign. What would you do on housing in your second term that you haven’t done in your first?

“The modern zoning code will make it possible for us to have more homes for Boise families. And it creates the opportunity to have even more incentives to advance our affordability principles in public-private partnership. I’m so proud of the work we’ve done so far and excited to see nearly 300 homes open on the Bench this fall. We have set goals for how many homes at Boise budgets from a workforce perspective we need, and then we also have a goal to preserve existing affordable housing.”

Only the Boise Rescue Mission and Interfaith have emergency shelter space in Boise. While Interfaith is building a new shelter, it’s usually past capacity each night, and homelessness is rising in the region. What’s your plan for homelessness going forward?

“We are committed to supporting people and not turning our backs on folks. I’ve said from the beginning of my term that this is an issue that matters to me, that we will come up with solutions and seek every willing partner that’s willing to engage, because there’s a need and we have an opportunity to stay ahead and to learn from the mistakes of other cities.

What we need is partnership in the region.”

Boise has seen some homophobic and antisemitic incidents in recent years, including the destruction of Pride flags along Harrison Boulevard and Swastika graffiti on the Greenbelt. You’ve been a vocal supporter of LGBTQ+ rights and said that you won’t tolerate extremism in Boise. But those incidents haven’t stopped. Do you have a tangible plan to try to counter that in the city?

“We aspire to be a safe and welcoming city for everyone. And that means that we build relationships with each other, that as a city, we hold folks accountable, and we’re serious about accountability when these terrible, terrible incidents occur.

While the Statehouse is targeting folks, especially those most vulnerable, we’re going to stand up for them. And ultimately, it’s the connections that we’ve built with the Jewish community and with the LGBTQ community that allows us to maintain not only the relationships but sense of safety folks have so that when they do need help, they feel comfortable calling and will call.”

Idaho lawmakers have passed bills in recent years curtailing the ability of cities like Boise to require high levels of energy efficiency in new homes or amenities like electric vehicle charging capacity. State laws have also made it tough to fund public transit improvements and bike lane projects. How will Boise meet its climate and public transit goals with that resistance?

“So much of the work that we’re doing around energy efficiency and clean energy transition is voluntary. It’s incentivized. It is unfortunate that outside of our city, I expect that this relaxing of building codes and energy codes has real effects on people’s pocketbooks. I expect the market in Boise will still require energy efficiency.

I’m concerned about the impact that these laws have on everyday Idahoans because as our days get hotter and our winters get cold-hot, cold-hot, the utility bills that we have will just get more and more, and that impacts what we can afford in terms of rent for our housing.

On transit, it’s really the same.

We need to be able to provide transit throughout this region so that folks can spend less on a monthly basis to get to jobs or have opportunities for jobs that they can’t otherwise reach if they don’t have a car.”

Switching gears a little bit to the City Council. What happened with Lisa Sánchez losing her seat, and then the decision to go with another candidate instead of appointing her to that seat?

“It was my job to select someone who could do the job and who would be approved by City Council. I appreciate that Council Member (Latonia Haney) Keith was able to jump right in, has deep background on affordable housing, and agreed not to run so that this can work itself out in the fall.”

I think that some people were surprised that someone who’d been elected wasn’t then appointed. Were you interested in appointing (Sánchez) and thought you didn’t have the votes on City Council to necessarily get her confirmed?

“She was a finalist. I wouldn’t have taken anybody’s time if I wasn’t seriously considering that person. Ultimately, I made the decision to appoint someone that could jump in and get the job done and be approved by City Council because the City Council must approve those positions.”

A law firm hired by the city to investigate racism in the Police Department recommended some major changes, including a need to recruit more diverse officers, have more rigorous training standards and improve promotion practices. Are you implementing those changes?

“The recommendations they gave us were really, really valuable. And the night that we received them, I directed our staff to come up with a plan based on those recommendations, and they’ll be providing that plan to City Council very soon.

Safety, justice and accountability are key values of mine and of the city’s. We had a shocking incident, took quick action, learned from it, and now it’s absolutely imperative that we address the recommendations for the good of our officers, for the good of our community, for our ability to maintain the trust and sense of safety that we have in Boise.”

What happened with the investigation’s funding? In his presentation, a lawyer said that he had been clear with you about how much it would likely cost and even said he would have rather not started the investigation had he known there was going to be a cap on funding.

“He was clear with our city staff about the likely costs. They were clear with him that we had a limit, at which point he would need to come back to council with information to determine if we should move forward beyond that. Based on his early findings, we had to make a decision as to whether or not we wanted to spend more. I believed — as did council — that we received great recommendations, but that we could handle them in more affordable ways and create a plan with the department and others to meet the needs.”

You’ve received some criticism about your management of the Police Department and its oversight office. What’s your response to those criticisms?

“It’s really easy to criticize from the sidelines. And we have a police chief, Ron Winegar, who manages the Police Department, and I appreciate that he came in when he did, and he’s trusted by the department and by the community and is providing the leadership that we needed. And accountability is key in keeping a city safe. We’ve got to have independent leadership of our Office of Police Accountability, and that’s what we seek in the next director. Better to make the right decision than to make a quick decision.”

Looking back on what happened with Police Chief Ryan Lee, do you have any regrets about how that situation played out?

“Hindsight is always 2020, and I learn from so much. With the information that I had at the time, the multiple issues that were being juggled around that, I feel like I made the best decision I could. And I made the right decision when it was time to ask him to leave.”

Boise often operates in contrast to Idaho as a red state, but more conservatives are moving in. As a Democrat, how do you feel about the direction that Boise is heading?

“We are a city that throughout our history has had moments of rapid growth. And we’ve always come together to protect what we love about Boise. And I’ve always believed that that’s the people, the way we care about this place, and the way we live together with a vision for what this community can be. We’re doing it now as we’ve always done it. What I hear from Boiseans is that they love Boise deeply, want to keep seeing parks. They want to live in a safe city where their kids can walk out the door and play, and we want to do that as we grow. And that’s what we’re all working together to do right now.”