Mayor Lauren McLean Talks 2022

PHOTO STOCK.ADOBE.COM

BY APRIL NEALE

Boise is no ordinary capital city. Instead, the dynamic City of Trees is where many people want to live, work, and recreate. And because a river runs through it, the residential communities in town are right alongside glorious hiking trails and open spaces, playgrounds, and parks. This visionary preservation of open urban adjacent spaces owes a great deal of debt to the current mayor, Lauren McLean.

In 2001 and at age 27, McLean spearheaded the historic Boise Foothills Open Space Campaign to protect the Boise Foothills for future generations. In 2011, she entered local politics and was appointed to Boise’s City Council, was twice re-elected, and then was selected to become Council President in 2017. In 2019, she routed the deeply entrenched mayor, David Bieter, with 65.5% to his 34.5% in a historic race to become the city’s first female and youngest mayor.

Boiseans seem to share a deep sense of local pride. Mayor McLean, born in Boston, has proudly called Boise home since graduating from college. “I was told once by the director of a foundation that he’d never heard anyone talk about the city where they lived in the same way that I talked about the city that I love so much, and that’s when I was on [city] council,” says McLean, adding, “I talk about our people first and how committed we are to each other and how the Boise way of life includes opening your arms to friends, neighbors, and new arrivals. Then, I talk about open spaces, and of course, I talk about the energy that we bring to this place and how that impacts the endless sense of opportunity and possibility that we as Boiseans have because we’re so intentional in loving and protecting this place that we call home.”

PHOTO COURTESY CITY OF BOISE

A city infused with tremendous energy demands that the mayor be in constant motion. McLean is seen at ceremonies, inductions, awards, memorials, and celebrations of the unique cultures that make Boise a hot destination. Yet it’s clear that maintaining the quality of life is at the forefront of the Mayor’s daily docket.

“I moved here when I was 24. What struck me about Boise and the reason we wanted to make this our home was the beautiful open spaces with ready access to trails and an incredibly vibrant downtown and strong neighborhoods where you could live and then work easily downtown,” says McLean. “It’s what made us decide that this is where we wanted to build our life. And while the city has changed, that energy, optimism, and vibrancy still exist, as does the deep connection that folks have here to this place. And that makes it special.”

Not every day in Boise is perfect, and the city has gone through some rough patches. For example, in late 2020 the Anne Frank Human Rights Memorial was defaced by Nazi graffiti. It was done again recently on the nearby greenbelt walls near the Memorial, the only Anne Frank Memorial in the United States.

None of this undercurrent of hate is lost on McLean, who is Jewish and grew up in Houston’s Meyerland, a predominantly Jewish community. She says, “It’s an affront to our entire community. And we have said clearly that this is not okay. We will not tolerate it. And it’s up to residents of all faiths to stand with our Jewish neighbors, to stand with and for our city in not only denouncing this, but also in determining how we can make it clear that this is not welcome here.”

Contentious issues also include access to affordable housing. Boise is a national example of supply and demand red-hot capitalism when it comes to real estate. And McLean is working overtime to include a percentage of development that will be earmarked for lower-income folks who work in the city. “To have a city that is as livable as ours, we have to ensure that everyone has the opportunity to find a home at a Boise budget. It’s a priority of ours,” notes McLean, who shares her beginnings in town. “I think back to the fact that my husband was 23 and I was 24 when we bought our first house here on one income, only a year out of college. And because we were able to do that, we were able to build a solid foundation and to create a life and build a family here while paying student debt and everything else all on our own.”

Mayor McLean pedaling to power live music at First Thursday.

PHOTO COURTESY CITY OF BOISE

McLean notes that housing prices matched Boise budgets when she arrived. “I hear from so many residents that their kids, like my own kids, wouldn’t be able to do the same, so this is real for me. And it’s personal,” she adds.

Boise was recently named the most financially unlivable city by CBS media research, with the mean price of a single family home at $533,000, which is TEN times the mean Treasure Valley annual income of $53,000. McLean has a plan for increasing affordable units. As she explains, “We look at housing from several different fronts. First, we have to help keep those already housed in their homes. So [we are] working with Jesse Tree and other organizations to prevent eviction because the most strategic and easiest step to making sure people are housed is keeping them housed. You might have seen that with Boise City Housing Authority, we had access to emergency rental assistance funds, and we have dispersed 100% of those funds. We’ve asked the federal government to send some of the Idaho funds directly to Boise because the state has not dispersed nearly as many funds. They’ve probably dispersed less than 10%. So I’m proud of the partnership with Boise City Housing Authority to make that happen and look forward in January to having more funds to assist residents.”

Developers, too, clearly hear the mayor’s priorities when they present plans to the City Council. As McLean says, “We’re also working to ensure that houses are being built for Boise budgets. And right now, I’m using our city land trust, where we’ve looked at the plot of land that we have in our coffers as a city that is better utilized for housing. We have 370 affordable housing units that are in the pipeline. And then we’ve also got to make sure that there’s enough housing being built. In the last nine months, we have approved about 1,600 units at different price points here in the city. And in 2022, we’ll be looking at some pilot projects related to accessory dwelling units and tiny homes.”

McLean also has concerns for the growing homeless population in Boise, compounded by Ada County Commissioners withdrawing more funds for the housing-first program. She says, “There is the importance of supporting those who are unhoused, and permanent supportive housing is a data-proven, time-tested best practice. New Path [housing] has made a huge difference in the lives of those residents and nonprofit healthcare, and frankly, city leaders are committed to that model, and we look forward to doing more together. But, unfortunately, the county chose to pull away from a proven model that has been helping keep people off the streets here in our city.”

PHOTO COURTESY CITY OF BOISE

One potential windfall can be the state’s initiatives for investing in green energy sources, providing incentive for jobs and projects that will make Boise a sustainable city of the future. The potential hinges on the Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill, which McLean was invited to Washington, D.C., to witness. She was thrilled to be there. “This is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to reinvest in our infrastructure in the state,” she says. “I’m excited about the opportunity it creates for regional transit and public transportation and grateful that the airport will receive funds for further infrastructure build-out.”

The “clean” part of this deal truly excites McLean. “There are funds for electrification fleets and electric vehicles, which aligns with our priorities as well as clean water and of course, roads and bridges. When I think about and listen to Boise residents, they talk about the value they place on clean water and have said loud and clear with the bond passage that they want to see the city invest in these areas,” she explains. “We are also working to create economic opportunity through our transition to clean energy in the long run. This infrastructure bill will help us do that if we seek every opportunity to apply for grants possible. And of course, work closely with the state because they’ll be receiving the bulk of the fund.”

Idaho’s population is demographically in flux, but state politics remain predominantly conservative-ruled. Regardless of partisan divisions, McLean agrees that the majority of residents share a concern to protect our scenic state. “I want to thank [Idaho] senators James Rische and Mike Crapo for voting for the Bipartisan Infrastructure deal. They saw this as a good investment in our state and the nation. Climate, quality of life, love of the outdoors, and understanding that clean water and clean air is important for our health and well-being unites all people in this state,” she says.

The future is always hard to predict. Still, with intelligent planning, data, and a deep sense of loyalty to the people and promises that got her elected, McLean keeps her intentions transparent and focused on policies that equally support every constituent and our beautiful, fragile environment. As she states, “These are issues that get to the core of what it means to live healthy and vibrant lives and to create opportunity for our grandkids, regardless of political party or where we live in the state. Idahoans agree on those concepts.”