The MountainGoat Report

Nampa Council Results

Despite an energized, hard-fought campaign, the results in the tough, three-way race for Seat 2 on the Nampa City Council are disappointing.  Stephen Kren manages to hold on to his seat with 39% of the vote.

Congratulations to Pam White who will retain the seat she was appointed earlier this year and Curtis Homer whose win ensures one newcomer on the council.

A very light turnout today with just 15.81% of registered voters making it to the polls in Nampa.

No doubt this won't be the last we see of Lance McGrath.

Info from KTVB.com.

Desperate Update

You heard it here first folks.  Scott McDonald put his campaign for Nampa City Council in desperation mode this past week resorting to stealing Lance McGrath's campaign slogan and trying to re-create his youth with a campaign mailing that included two other council candidates and a sitting councilman, whose seat was not up for election this year, apparently endorsing the slate of three.  There were also hints that there was more to this story including some rumblings from the other candidates, Pam White and Curtis Homer, who were featured on the mailing.

In an Idaho Press-Tribune report today, they confirm that neither Pam White nor Curtis Homer agreed to being included in this mailing.  In fact they were specifically asked to participate, including monetarily, and both declined.  McDonald printed and mailed the fliers, including their photos and info anyway without their consent. 

Of course neither candidate is happy about that, to put it mildly.  But to really get a feel for the sleaziness of McDonald, you've got to read his comments to the IPT which include coincidences, patents and some "I can do whatever I want" thrown in as well.

The other twist in this story, did Councilman Martin Thorne actually endorse all three candidates, was not confirmed by the IPT as he is apparently still vacationing.

Desperate Scott McDonald

In the elections for Nampa City Council, Seat 2 is a three-way race.  Both Lance McGrath and Scott McDonald are challenging incumbent Stephen Kren who has held the seat for twelve years.  Word is that Scott McDonald has lots of experience, and he does as former chair and lobbyist for the Idaho Association of Cities.  But he also has some experience in sleaziness as evidenced by the flier his desperate campaign mailed on Friday.

Lance McGrath, Northwest Nazarene University librarian and founder of the Old Nampa Neighborhood Association, has been running a smart campaign based on urban renewal and neighborhood improvement using the slogan Nampa Forward!  He's got t-shirts, signs and other campaign accouterments with that slogan all over town.

McGrath has also picked up endorsements from the Idaho Statesman and the Idaho Press-Tribune with the IPT calling him an "impressive newcomer."  Both papers saw a need for a change on the council and chose McGrath over McDonald as the person best able to lead that change.

This has apparently turned McDonald into a desperate campaigner, even co-opting McGrath's very successful campaign slogan.  On Friday he sent out fliers to about 7,000 Nampa residents with McGrath's Nampa Forward! slogan prominently displayed. 

They say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery but trying to confuse voters by using your opponent's language is the oldest political trick in the book.  It's just a touch sleazy and desperate. 

It's also interesting to note that in the flier McDonald is using a photo that is decades old for whatever reason.  Now don't we all wish we were just a bit younger-looking than we are?  This is just another old political trick designed to make a candidate look more appealing to voters but it is a little unusual to see a candidate who is running on his years of experience use the tactic.  On the left is a more recent photo taken from the IPT website.

On the flier's reverse side, current Nampa City Councilman Martin Thorne, whose seat is not up for election this year, is shown apparently endorsing the slate of three candidates, including two candidates challenging his fellow council members.  Would he really endorse the challengers over the incumbents?  Attempts to reach Councilman Thorne for comment were unsuccessful (a source says he's on vacation).

Scott McDonald, who we knew had past history with Stephen Kren, is now in desperation mode to take his seat.  And he's willing to use desperate and sleazy campaign tactics to do it.

Update:  Just a heads up that there may be more to this story.  It is interesting to note that the other two candidates featured on this mailing, Pam White and Curtis Homer have apparently had some of their volunteers handing out McGrath material.  Stay tuned.

Update 11.04.07 08:26:  A couple of interesting developments: 

1)  We now know that despite the mailing having the appearance of being an endorsement from Councilman Martin Thorne and despite having used their services for a mailing on Oct. 8th, McDonald did not use the Thorne family printing business to print or mail this flier, instead using the services of Copies Plus [pdf].  That's not unheard of but is a little unusual as is a sitting councilman making endorsements.  Thorne is due back from vacation today.

2)  Apparently Pam White and Curtis Homer did not agree to linking their campaigns with this mailing.

Update 11.06.07 10:07:  See this post for the latest.

Changes in Nampa City Council

Hot on the heels of the revelation that former Old Nampa Neighborhood Association president Lance McGrath is eying a Nampa City Council run, comes news that longtime Nampa Council Member Lynda Clark will retire next month to take a grant writer/manager position with the city.

From the Idaho Statesman:

"I see it as a change in roles," said Clark, who has served on the council since 1994. "I think I can still benefit the community. It's a position that does fit my skills. I can stay active in the community and do things I care most about."

The Statesman also chronicles an impressive list of some of Clark's major achievements during her time on the council.

Clark helped update the city's comprehensive plan to encourage commercial areas at key intersections.

As a result, residential subdivision requests coming before the City Council frequently have a section designated for commercial development.

She consistently focused on how annexation and zoning requests impact police, fire and other city services. For many years, she pushed for curbside recycling, which began in Nampa this past April.

Clark supported the GO Bond for widening Garrity Boulevard and building the King's Corner overpass, and voted to let the North Nampa Urban Renewal District expire.

Clark also advocated the new urban renewal district designed to help fund the proposed library, police station and other downtown revitalization.

Her voice on the council will be missed but Nampa will continue to benefit from her skills in this new role. 

Mayor Tom Dale will recommend a replacement for Clark but has not yet revealed names of those he may be considering.

Update 05.17.07 07:50:  Idaho Press-Tribune has more today.

McGrath Eyes Nampa City Council

As well as hosting a very successful block party on Saturday, the Old Nampa Neighborhood Association honored the service of former president Lance McGrath.  McGrath then shared news that he has plans to challenge Bob Schmidt for his for a seat on the Nampa City Council this fall.

McGrath has proven to be very successful in organizing and advocating for ONNA issues which include land use, transportation concerns and neighborhood identity.  Some evidence of that is the recognition of Old Nampa Historic District which has been a goal of ONNA since its inception.  He has also made a name for himself successfully advocating for these neighborhood quality of life issues at city hall.

This is exciting news for Democrats in Canyon County.  A successful McGrath campaign will no doubt be a foot in the door of this Republican bastion.

Read more on ONNA in this post:  Nampa's "North End"   

Update 05.14.07 14:43:  McGrath has not officially declared which seat on the council he will challenge. 

IPT Endorses Fair Bid Process

Should a local Nampa development company receive special treatment from the Nampa City Council?  Of course not and the editorial board at the Idaho Press-Tribune agrees.  Nampa Development headed by Jeff Needs is seeking to present their plans for downtown redevelopment at a special hearing of the City Council — prior to the August date set for submission of bids from other developers.  [See Cronyism in Nampa Project?]

[N]o one should receive preferential or different treatment. When citizens’ money is at stake, caution and frugality are vital. The best way to ensure selection of the most efficient developer at the best price is to employ competition uniformly.

City attorneys are deciding whether the council can accept the developer’s request to bypass the previously announced bid process. But it shouldn’t come to that. Regardless of whether it’s legal, it’s not the most prudent way to handle the situation. If they tell this developer to follow the rules everyone else must follow, Nampa’s leaders will be fostering fairness and staving off any appearance of impropriety.

Well said.  The Nampa City Council should respect the fair bid process that has been developed throughout the four year planning process of this vital downtown project.

Read more at the Idaho Statesman.

Cronyism in Nampa Project?

Earlier this month, the City of Nampa unveiled plans for an extensive downtown redevelopment project that includes a block-sized park, library, entertainment district and an eight story mixed-use building.  It's a very ambitious public and private project estimated to cost $232 million that is designed to attract economic development and community interest to Nampa's downtown core and has been in the planning stages since 2003.  However, the project may be derailed by a group of local developers that have their own master plan for the redevelopment project. 

The city hired Stainback Public-Private Real Estate to help develop the project and in conjunction with Carter Burgess, a national urban design and planning firm, developed specific siting recommendations based on existing retail and historical structures, also addressing traffic patterns, access points, pedestrian and automobile corridors and other issues.  They also conducted a market analysis that determined the project had a potential for attracting $325 million in private development over the next 10 years. 

A local group of developers, Nampa Development headed by Jeff Needs, think they have a better alternative and want a chance to present their plans to the City Council in an unusual, special meeting — prior to the city's plan to request bid proposals from other developers in August.  As part of the four year planning process and in conjunction with four different groups of consultants, the city has developed a specific process and guidelines as to how bids would be entertained.  This group is trying to circumnavigate that process by requesting this special hearing giving them an unfair advantage over other interested developers.

Library Board Chairman Barry Myers among others, thinks the Nampa Development proposal is an attempt to bypass the open bid process, according to the Idaho Press-Tribune.  However two Nampa City Council Members, Stephen Kren, Sr. and Bob Schmidt, seem willing to give Needs' group this preferential treatment, in fact some have suggested these Council Members' willingness to vote against the whole project if this local group's plan isn't considered.  City attorneys are determining whether this special meeting should be allowed to take place.

Nampa Development should get in line with other potential developers and the Nampa City Council should not allow these local developers to toss four years and countless hours of planning out the window potentially derailing this exciting redevelopment project.

Read more:

• Nampa re-imagines downtown
• Nampa adds millions for downtown, Brandt Park
• Nampa library calls for fair bid process
• Group presents Nampa proposal

Celebrate Your Healthy, Legal Marriage in Nampa

Nampa Mayor, and bachelor, Tom Dale is set to declare February 11-17 as "Celebration of Marriage Week," according to the Idaho Press-Tribune [story in print edition 1/30.]  If you've got a healthy, legal marriage you might want to head over to Nampa for the festivities.  These festivities include a ceremony at Nampa City Hall on Feb. 13 where Dale will recognize the 2007 "Marriage Ambassadors" and a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the new Healthy Families - Nampa (HFN) office.

Healthy Families is...well, let's let them describe it.

Healthy Families - Nampa is a coalition of faith-based and other community partners operating an initiative to promote healthy marriage and responsible fatherhood. It was one of the first to receive, in 2003, a federal waiver to run such a demonstration program. Healthy Families - Nampa received a five-year $550,000 grant from the Administration for Children and Families to get started.

That's the Federal Government to you and me and yes, that means taxpayer money. Read the U.S. Health Department report here.  One of their key initiatives is partnering with the local Catholic hospital, Mercy Medical Center, to promote marriage through "education" targeted toward unmarried women delivering newborns in the OB department there. 

There was a 33% out-of-wedlock birth rate, and when there's a divorce in a family, these children -- close to 70% of their moms will become TANF (Temporary Assistance for Needy Family) participants. Then those children end up in poverty, and as a result, then they've got these other indicators -- the emotional and social indicators that reflect that they won't have as good a chance as kids that come from a two-parent household. 

We here have a large Hispanic population. I think the last census put this area at about 20%. But in the (state) Department of Health and Welfare, better than 30% of our participants are (Hispanic). We know we've got about a 38% out-of-wedlock birth rate in our local hospital with our Hispanic community. And so the hospital was also a partner at the table, because they are a Catholic hospital.

... And so they understood the need to be able to reach these young couples having kids out of wedlock and introduce the concept of having a healthy relationship -- entertaining the idea of a marriage. And before you get married or while you're getting married, engaging them in relationship and marriage education for the benefit of not just their marriage, but for the wellbeing of their child.

HFN also offers family education counseling which includes topics such as "Love and Logic" and "Growing Couples and Families," the purpose of the latter from the HFN website

is to build, enhance and restore healthy relationships through family and couple therapy. This program serves couples and families dealing with issues such as life transitions, family/couple conflicts, family loss, troubled children, and marital enrichment.

Who is HFN's target population?  Tammy Payne, who oversaw HFN's implementation and is currently the HFN state representative says 

At first we started referring people from the child support program within the Department of Health and Welfare, and then from the welfare benefits programs and then the foster care programs. ... And so about 60% of our referrals come from the social service system and about 40% come from the broader community.

So, it's mostly those on welfare and in the social services system and apparently the point is to get married and stay married.  Just don't tell that to the families of Colleen Hubbard or Theresa Time, two prominent cases of domestications gone horribly wrong in Nampa.  Read about Colleen Hubbard here and here and Theresa Time here and here.  Perhaps in HFN's eyes they and their husbands just didn't get enough conflict counseling.  While educating and counseling couples in conflict management and marriage preservation may be helpful in some cases, in others it can be deadly.

So how effective is the program?  According to Payne, we don't know yet.

I think it's pretty early for that. We started in January of '04. It's only been two years under the bridge. ... But as far as long-term data and long-term outcomes, it's still going to be a few years down the road that we take a look at the real emotional and social impacts.

Well, I'm not going to begrudge Healthy Families - Nampa or Mayor Tom Dale celebrating marriage — it just seems very ironic that a bachelor would be promoting marriage as the cure for all societal ills.