Candidates for Ada County Commissioner District 1 talk about experience and growth

BOISE, Idaho – Voters will see two candidates on the ballot for Ada County Commissioner District 1.

I’m your neighborhood reporter Jessica Davis talking to Republican incumbent Ryan Davidson and Democratic challenger Jonathan Lashley.

(Below is the transcript of the broadcast story)

Ryan Davidsonhas been Ada County Commissioner for District 1 for almost four years.

He has been involved in a number of projects, including improving youth services and plans to renew the land surrounding Expo Idaho. He feels his experience has prepared him for another term.

Davidson says, “When I first got re-elected, I realized what a steep learning curve it was. There are so many different facets of county government that you don’t really know anything about until you get into the office, so it definitely takes a while to to stay informed, and I believe my experience in service will prepare me for the next term.”

Davidson is challenged by Democrat Jonathan Lashley.

Lashley is a father with nearly two decades of experience in public higher education and says he has very strong opinions about the character he would like to see in elected officials.

“Being able to not only represent younger people and working people in the state, but also have empathy and, above all, believe in nonpartisan support of public programs and services and the use of taxpayer dollars – I’ve just witnessed firsthand of the insidiousness or perhaps the ugliness of Idaho politics that has emerged as part of this national push to make every issue a partisan issue,” Lashley said.

The growth of the province also goes hand in hand with commissioners.

Davidson says that while it is difficult to build in unincorporated areas, with more development in those areas, housing costs could drop as supply increases.

“To pay for the growth we’re trying to implement impact fees, so all over the county when you build a new property you pay a small impact fee and that’s going to help pay for Ems, the coroner’s facility office, the sheriff, and in the Ada County Jail, the very core Ada County services on which we all depend must receive growth compensation,” Davidson said.

Lashley wants to build trust with city leaders to address their specific needs, whether it’s housing, growth, roads or traffic.

Lashley says, “The county is the glue that holds everything together and just because we have the opportunity to develop in unincorporated parts of the county doesn’t mean it’s always wise for us to do so. first and foremost, unnecessary pressure on first responders, and there is still a lot of creative growth and development possible in the city, but we need to show up and talk to them.

How taxpayer money is spent is a large part of a commissioner’s role in overseeing county budgets.

Lashley is confident in his experience of developing and managing budgets over two decades and says the most vulnerable people in the community are often hit hardest by cuts.

“Every year in my career, whether it’s been in Idaho or wherever, I’ve had to do more with less and what that means is diversifying our revenue streams and so it can’t just be about relying on funding the taxpayer allocated to us, but also thinking about where can we work with the private sector to build private-public partnerships, where can we recognize that we may have some redundant services that could be better provided by the public sector completed.

Davidson wants to focus on keeping the budget low and says commissioners cut the budget by $12 million during his term.

“After that we were able to keep it under control. Last year we did not increase it by more than 1.3 percent. We are very proud of that. We have undertaken an extensive process to review all provincial spending and limit what could be cut, and I want to continue to focus on keeping the budget low in my next term,” said Davidson.