Three candidates are running in the Nov. 2 election for City of Boise’s newly created District 1, which encompasses the westernmost portion of Boise.
This new city elections model that utilizes districts comes after the passage of Idaho House Bill 413 in 2020, which requires any city — including Boise — with more than 100,000 residents to conduct their elections through a district model instead of an at-large one.
Based on this requirement, the City of Boise drew a district map based on 2020 census data. Those who are elected to the city council this year will only be serving two-year terms, instead of the usual four, to allow for staggered elections.
TJ Thompson, the city council member who currently lives in what is now District 1, won’t be seeking re-election. Those running for the city council seat for this election are Luci Willits, Laura Metzler and David Jones.
Photo by Claire Keener
Luci Willits
Willits is an Idaho native who has lived in western Boise for the last 20 years. She has worked in both the private and public sectors, primarily in education. Her public sector work includes operating as the chief of staff at the Idaho State Department of Education, the communications director at the Idaho Board of Education, and serving as the press secretary for Idaho congressman Mike Simpson.
In the private sector, she is currently leading “a team of educators at a research company headquartered in Durham, North Carolina” and is the president of Go Lead Idaho, a non-profit organization that “motivates women to lead and demonstrates why it matters.”
“I love this city, I lived here for two decades, and I want to keep Boise, Boise,” Willits said in a forum hosted by the City Club of Boise and the League of Women Voters. She also talked about the historic opportunity to represent west Boise.
Willits’s website outlines three values along with four points to her platform.
Willits describes her values as being fiscally conservative, solutions driven, common sense decision-making and conversation. Her platform includes keeping Boise clean and safe, creating a valley-wide transportation solution, bringing an end to family homelessness and to “embrace our differences and celebrate our pride and patriotism by establishing a community-based Fourth of July Parade.”
To learn more about Luci Willits’s platform, visit her campaign website at https://www.luciwillits.com/
Laura Metzler
Metzler has lived in Boise for 50 years, 30 of which were spent in western Boise. She worked for the United States Postal Service for 30 years as a customer service analyst and a facilities database administrator. She has also participated in several community service activities around the Boise community.
Her political experience includes running for the Idaho State Senate as a senator for District 15 during the 2016 election. She lost the race to Fred S. Martin, who is currently serving in the Idaho State Senate.
According to a statement on the City of Boise website, Metzler wants to “represent West Boise residents in addressing [their] concerns with fair and common sense planning for our future and the future of Boise.”
Metzler’s platform seeks to address wells drying up, Boise’s rapid growth and community protection.
Visit https://metzlerforboise.com/ for more details on what Metzler has planned for the Boise City Council.
David Jones
Jones is a military veteran who has lived in Boise for more than 18 years.
In a statement on the Boise City Council website, Jones explains that “[a]nger caused me to get off the couch and enter as a candidate for Boise City Council Seat 1.” He goes on to explain that he was “tired of being angry about property tax increases, the never-ending litany of bonds, levies, lack of transparency from the city government and not being heard as a taxpayer in Boise, Idaho.”
Jones has chosen to not accept any monetary contributions for his campaign. There is currently no website for his campaign and he has not participated in any interviews for this election cycle.
Election day this year is Nov. 2. Find your election day poll location at https://elections.sos.idaho.gov/ElectionLink/ElectionLink/ViewPollingLocation.aspx
