BOISE, Idaho — After the Nov. 7 election, many Idaho races ended with a winner. However, the Mountain Home Mayoral election is going into a runoff on Tuesday, Dec. 5, because none of the candidates received at least 50% of the vote.
On Tuesday, a week before the Dec. 5 election, KTVB sat down with both candidates, incumbent Mayor Rich Sykes and challenger Misty Pierce.
One of the topics they addressed was government transparency.
"A lot of people are asking questions. Where's this money [is] coming from? What kind of grants… are obtained by the city?" Pierce said. "When you get the budget, it does not explain that it just says, grant and the dollar amount."
During his time in office, Mayor Sykes said the city has been very transparent.
“Every year, we have a budget book, and it tells what every single department [has] asked for,” Mayor Sykes said. “The cool thing about it is, it tells you everything you would ever want of transparency.”
Another topic that was brought up was being responsible when making decisions about the city budget.
"We have water projects, a sewer project and a well that was drilled, but it hasn't been completed,” Pierce said. “Those funds could have gone to faster and quicker finish lines of those projects, and I just don't feel that some of the money is being spent appropriately when it comes to the health and safety of the citizens."
"Municipalities our size don't have a lot of capital, so we have to get creative,” said Mayor Sykes. "I've been able to capitalize, going out for all those grants and taking that money, cash matching it with the funding that the city has, and we've been able to double, triple, or quadruple the money to allow us to do more projects.”
Both candidates also emphasized the importance of making the voices of the citizens of Mountain Home heard, which both said helps run the city better.
“My platform has been residents first, I've been preaching about wanting to bring back town halls that we had previously,” Pierce said. "I want to bring that back, I want to open the doors and let people's voices be heard in an uncontrolled environment.”
Mayor Sykes said he has made sure to be accessible for the city with what he calls "Mondays with the mayor." He said he has an open-door policy and wants Mountain Home residents to ask him questions.
Early voting is open this coming Friday, Dec. 1. Voters in Mountain Home who want to vote early can do so at the Elmore County courthouse from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
There will only be one polling location, and it will be at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints gymnasium located at 1150 North 8th East.
Make sure to take an ID and proof of residency because only voters who live within the city limits are eligible to vote.
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