2 Canyon County commissioners denounced another. Why that may have cost them reelection

A weighty letter condemning one of three Canyon County commissioners was a sign of open conflict that, coupled with opposition from a citizens’ group, may have cost the other two commissioners their seats in the Republican primary election.

Two incumbent commissioners, one with thousands of dollars in campaign money and the other with years of experience in city and county government, were ousted by two newcomers in the May 17 primary. Those who watched the race closely say a letter that called on one commissioner to resign played a role in the results.

Commissioner Keri Smith, who raised over $10,000 more than her competitors, has over 19 years of experience as a county and city of Caldwell employee. Commissioner Pam White spent over nine years on the Nampa City Council and six years on the county commission.

But the experience and money were not enough for the two incumbents to overcome the frustration GOP voters had in part about the letter that accused Commissioner Leslie Van Beek of wrongdoing and called on her to resign. Van Beek is not on the ballot this year.

Questions about the letter swarm during campaigns

“The elected officials letter was a great angst,” said Brad Holton, the mayor of Greenleaf and the candidate who beat Smith to represent District 2, which covers most of Caldwell and south Nampa as well as Greenleaf, Notus and Parma. “I was never in a debate with Pam White, but I was with Keri. She didn’t feel at liberty to voice specifics, so her answers (about the letter) left the questioners more frustrated than before they asked the question.”

Tom Dale, former Nampa mayor and former Canyon County commission chairman, said he believed the letter and an ongoing lawsuit against the county by a former human resources director indicated to the public that “there is a lot of conflict going on.”

Holton defeated Smith with 56% of the vote, compared with Smith’s 32%. White lost to Zach Brooks, a member of the Canyon County Republican Central Committee and businessman, to represent District 3, which includes most of Nampa. Brooks garnered 49% of the vote and White 35%.

In February, eight elected officials signed a letter that called on Van Beek to resign. Their letter said she had defamed officials and county employees. In an interview with the Idaho Statesman, the elected officials also said Van Beek tried to “dig up dirt” on them, accused some of them of illegal behavior and deceit, and violated confidential executive-session information about personnel.

Some elected officials told the Statesman in April that signing and sending the letter could cost them reelection, but they were willing to sign it anyway.

“From a political standpoint, there is nothing but grief in it for for us that are on the ballot,” said Clerk Chris Yamamoto, who was renominated. “For the five of us that are, it is a political liability. Why did we do that? Because we reached the end of the rope, and we felt like it was time that something had to be done about this.”

White and Smith did not return requests for comment.

Even after the explanation from the elected officials to the Statesman, county voters still wanted more information about the call for Van Beek to resign, Holton and Dale said.

Holton said questions about the letter plagued his debates and meet-and-greets with Smith.

“It was disheartening for that to be going on,” Holton said. “I know enough to know that I don’t know what is going on there.”

Concerned citizens’ group opinions hold weight in election

The Concerned Citizens of Canyon County, a nonprofit led by longtime property-tax hawk Ron Harriman, endorsed Holton and Brooks and staunchly opposed the reelection of White and Smith.

The group’s website said Smith and White opposed establishing impact fees on new development to help pay for a new county jail and lessen the cost to taxpayers. It also said the two have not created a capital improvement plan that would allow the county to prioritize different projects for spending.

“They fail to solicit or consider citizen input on a variety of critical issues, and the system they used for salary determination was highly expensive and flawed,” the website also said. “Their failure to act as an executive body has allowed other county officials to exert too much influence.”

The concerned citizens donated $500 to Holton and Brooks, according to campaign-contribution reports filed with the Idaho Secretary of State’s Office.

How much influence does the group, which calls itself 5C, have? Holton said it shouldn’t be underestimated.

“When they get involved in a subject, they dig and get facts,” Holton said by phone. “I think when people interact with that, they are won over. They run deep and in whatever interaction they did have with people, they would be fairly persuasive.”

In just over seven months, Holton and Brooks will almost certainly take their commission seats. They are unopposed on the November general-election ballot.

“There is going to be a commission board that is going to be doing their best to run this county as efficiently and transparently as we can,” Holton said.

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