BOISE, Idaho — This article originally appeared in the Idaho Press.
A judge on Monday denied former Boise City Councilmember Lisa Sánchez's request for a preliminary injunction.
Wendy Olson, Sánchez’s lawyer, had asked the court to stop Boise’s city council from taking action without Sánchez and to direct the city to reinstate Sánchez. Sánchez lost her seat when she inadvertently moved out of her district at the end of 2022.
The city accepted applications to fill her vacant seat, and Sánchez applied and was a finalist, but ultimately was not reappointed.
“It cannot be said that Plaintiff is clearly entitled to the relief sought or substantially likely to prevail on her claims,” Judge Derrick O’Neill wrote in the memorandum. “For the reasons stated herein, Plaintiff's Motion for a Preliminary Injunction is DENIED.”
The subject at hand was about Idaho code 59-901, which details how vacancies occur. One part, section C, said that if the incumbent is removed by lawful procedure, the office is vacant.
Olson argued that the city of Boise removed Sánchez “based solely on its own legal opinion.” She said the city should have had a court determine that her seat was vacant.
However, Dan Williams, the attorney for the city of Boise, had said that what applied was section E: If an incumbent is no longer a resident of the district in which they are elected, the office is vacant.
“That event happened, your honor, it doesn’t matter if it was a day or 100 days or two years, that event happened. And that caused the vacancy under the statute,” Williams told the judge last week.
The court had to determine that there were no complex issues of law or fact, and that Sánchez was substantially likely to prevail on her claims. However, the court did not draw that conclusion.
“Accordingly, the issue of irreparable harm is moot and will not be addressed,” the court said.
The judge ruled solely on the preliminary injunction and did not make any opinion on the other ongoing aspects of the lawsuit.
Sánchez has suffered harm from the city’s actions, her lawyer said, including not being able to serve her entire term, which was set to end in January 2024, especially after being elected in a specific district.
Since losing her seat, if she elects to run for city council this November, she will have to do so as a challenger rather than an incumbent and does not get to vote on issues such as the hotly debated zoning code rewrite that Boise's planning and zoning commission approved last week.
She also said in a filing that because she lost her council seat, she lost her medical and dental insurance and is no longer accruing retirement benefits. She also lost her council salary of around $27,000, the filings said, which was her only income.
Sánchez did not immediately return a request for comment.
This article originally appeared in the Idaho Press, read more on IdahoPress.com.
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