BOISE, Idaho — Boiseans will decide on Nov. 7 who will lead the City of Trees come January. Current Mayor Lauren McLean faced off against retired police chief Mike Masterson Tuesday night during KTVB's hour-long debate.
The hour-long debate featured lengthy back-and-forth discussion about public safety. Masterson was critical of McLean hiring former police chief Ryan Lee. He was even more critical of how McLean handled the situation involving internal complaints against Lee, the subsequent fallout with the Office of Police Accountability and its former director, and multiple related lawsuits the city now faces.
Masterson said the city needs fewer "crises, controversies and lawsuits."
"We didn't have an [Office of Police Accountability] director for nine months," he said. "We didn't have anyone except an interim sitting in that office and doing the work. It wasn't fair."
McLean pushed back on the idea that she solely decided to hire Lee. While she had the final say, McLean said the process of picking the chief took time and effort.
"The process to hire a police chief included the last administration that opened the position, a search firm that collected their positions," she said. "A lot of people volunteered their time, so really dismissing their time by saying it was just me, to provide feedback and presented to me the options."
Political science professor Stephanie Witt called some of the discussion around McLean's handling of the hiring and subsequent investigations into Lee "insider baseball," adding that only people really following along closely would have appreciated that part.
"I'm not sure how much the day-to-day citizen and voter is following ... on this kind of detail about what day did something happen and who was at a meeting in the previous administration versus this administration," Witt said.
McLean and Masterson also debated one of the biggest issues plaguing the city — affordable housing. Additionally, they talked about Boise's new zoning code rewrite and homelessness.
"We've looked at a modern zoning code," McLean said, "a market-based approach to deliver on housing, especially along busy streets, transit corridors, so that our kids, our people, everyone that lives and works in the city has a place to live they can afford."
Masterson said he agrees with some of the new code, including building up and not out. However, he raised questions about how the code became a reality.
"My problem is the process," he said. "We have heard from hundreds, if not thousands of people, that they don't believe the process was fair. They believe it was expedited; they don't believe their voices were heard."
The two finished the debate discussing social issues, including how city leaders should navigate Idaho's strict abortion laws. Overall, Witt said she thinks McLean and Masterson share similar visions for the future of the City of Trees.
"Frankly, they share a lot of common ground on their approaches to things with a few minor exceptions," she said. "So, he's working hard to try to distinguish himself as different ... a different choice from Mayor McLean."
For more information about what is on the ballot, click here.
Watch the entire debate:
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