It’s Friday night. Candidate filing for the November elections is done. The Canyon County website has 78 candidates listed as running for 43 positions. Ada County has 76 candidates listed for 45 positions.
Who would have guessed that the numbers would be so similar?
Someone knowing little about the two counties might think they are similar in size. Canyon has seven cities and 8 school districts while Ada has six cities and only three school districts. (That’s because Boise and West Ada annexed many smaller districts. In Canyon County 13 small districts didn’t join existing districts but formed their own, Vallivue, in 1963.)
Ada County has over a half million inhabitants; Canyon County is almost half that size
Ada County’s website states that the candidate list was updated after closing on Friday. There’s a good chance that it is a final list. Unfortunately, Canyon County’s site makes no similar claim. Or perhaps it’s fortunate–two friends who filed Friday aren’t listed.
So the Canyon County numbers are tentative.
Still we can be thankful that over 150 citizens have filed for positions–most of which pay nothing. These people have chosen a civic role as their way of making a contribution.
Ada County’s list includes positions for which no one filed, including a mayor for Kuna and fire district commissioners for Kuna and Melba. Canyon County’s site doesn’t list positions no one filed for, but Notus and Nampa seem short on school district candidates and there are no listings for the Roswell, Pleasant Ridge or Kuna cemetery districts.
Citizens may file as write-in candidates until Friday, Sept.15.
Right now 26 candidates in Ada County are running unopposed. Those seats may not be on anyone’s November ballot.
Surprisingly, the uncontested seats include two Boise city council members: Lucy Willis and Jimmy Hallyburton in districts 1 and 6. Other council members without opponents include John Overton of Meridian, Matt Biggs and Greg McPherson of Kuna, and Kevin Nielsen and Jennifer Salmonsen of Star.
All three Melba School District Trustees–Ryan Seger, Joelene Gould and Travis Christensen–have no opponents listed. The six races in West Ada and Kuna have contests. (Boise Schools elect their board members in even-numbered years.)
Canyon County has not yet listed all candidates, but the current list includes 11 contested city races and 10 uncontested ones. For school board trustees, the numbers are seven and seven.
Four cities in Canyon County have candidates run at large. Middleton, Notus and Wilder will each elect two council members. The Friday night list showed Notus and Wilder with two candidates running for two positions. Middleton, however, has four running for the two positions. The top two vote getters will win.
Parma has three candidates running for three positions.
Nampa now has city council candidates running in districts instead of for seats, as Caldwell does. Nampa voters may only vote for the candidates living in their district. Only half the council districts are voted on each election, so only half the voters will have a council position on their ballots. Caldwell voters, however, will continue to vote for all three seats up each city election.
Four or more candidates have filed for six positions in the valley. Three are in Boise–the mayor and council members for districts two and three.
Eagle has a four-way race for mayor. Five candidates are vying for the district 6 city council seat vacated by the resignation of Jacob Bower. This district borders Caldwell and extends along Cleveland Blvd. between Ustick and Karcher roads.
And Caldwell has four candidates running for the seat being vacated by John McGee.
The election is eight weeks away.