Boise Mayoral 2019 Runoff Election

Lauren McLean led the first Foothills open space levy, which set aside $10 million to preserve places like Table Rock, Hull’s Gulch, and the Military Reserve. The open space levy has protected over 11,000 acres of undeveloped foothills property in Boise as public open space through acquisition, donation, conservation easement, or land exchange. And, Lauren wants to do even more to work towards protecting open space and setting aside more parks and greenspaces for all Boise residents:

• Invest now in open spaces, parks, and gathering places, especially for our neighborhoods who need them the most, with the levy funds that have already been set aside.

• Seek collaborative ways to preserve lands from our Farmlands to our Foothills, connecting open spaces at the edges of Boise – via ribbons of pathways and greenspaces – to the center of the city and beyond.

• Push for low-stress Pathways For People that connect pedestrians and bicyclists to the places they work, live, and play.

• Target tree canopy plantings in underserved, least-shaded neighborhoods to reduce urban heat gain, encourage walking and cycling, and passively cool homes.

• Push for a Levy for People, one that supports equitable access to clean water, clean air, clean energy, and city-wide pathways in addition to open spaces.

• Explore building Participatory Budgeting into the budgeting process, engaging our residents in neighborhood-level environmental planning and the development of creative solutions to local concerns.

Learn more by visiting Lauren McLean’s website here.

Lauren McLean has a detailed plan on how she will approach not only protecting the Boise River but ensuring we conserve our water supply and work towards improving residents’ water quality:

• Empower City of Boise staff to continue leading an innovative systems approach to water quantity, reuse, and quality.

• Implement water conservation methods in all city buildings, and propose water conservation and clean water policies for the City to adopt.

• Ensure that we retain our water for our residents.

• Incentivize the use of permeable pavement and bioswales (or “rain gardens”) in both new developments and existing infrastructure, channelling runoff water so that it can be filtered and absorbed back into the soil.

• Continue the work of protecting and keeping the water of our treasured Boise River clean, from its headwaters through the heart of our city and beyond.

• Build partnerships with organizations dedicated to improving stream banks, habitat and access along the river throughout our river system, and use existing levy funds to secure that access.

• Address the fact that hundreds of Boiseans turn on their taps every day to find their water brown and rusty. As Mayor, she would immediately set about ensuring that all our residents’ water is clear, no matter their zip code.

Learn more by visiting Lauren McLean’s website here.

The transportation sector has become the largest contributor of greenhouse gas emissions in the United States, responsible for nearly 30 percent of total emissions across the country. The Treasure Valley is 20 years behind on a transportation system. We need a new form of leadership that can ensure we expand options for public transportation – making it more accessible and affordable for all Boise residents. Here are Lauren McLean’s plans to expand regional transit and help improve Boise’s air quality.

• Double the goal for reducing single person car trips: 20% by 2029. We know that the largest adverse impact on our air quality (currently 8th worst in the nation) is single person car trips, and most of those are between home and work. Urgent need requires bolder benchmarks.

• Rebuild regional relationships to create consensus, build a regional vision and bargaining power.

• Collaborate with Boise business leaders to be good partners in moving their workers and enhancing those workers’ quality of life.

• Pledge to deliver an actionable plan for regional transit at the end of her first term, which will include two priority spines: reexploring connectivity by existing rail (or rail-adjacent alternatives) to Caldwell and trackless, electric trams on the State Street Corridor.

• Keep Boise neighborhoods people-scaled and walkable, knowing that strong neighborhoods need housing at every price point and connectivity to amenities and transit.

Learn more by visiting Lauren McLean’s website here.