BOISE, Idaho — Since winning the run-off election on December 3rd, Boise Mayor-elect Lauren McLean has been preparing to take over for long-time Mayor Dave Bieter whom she defeated.
McLean sat down with Doug Petcash for an interview for this Sunday's episode of Viewpoint.
The day after the election she went to the Kennedy School for a bootcamp of sorts with 24 other newly-elected mayors.
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She's also been working with city staff on the transition.
Boise is in the middle of a period of rapid growth and faces many challenges that come with it.
McLean says her priorities are traffic and transit, creating a clean energy city, and first and foremost, providing affordable housing.
“The thousands of people I talked with face to face in this community are really concerned about whether they can stay in the homes they have, if they're going to be able to find a home or if they're going to be able to meet next month's rent," McLean said. "So, a city can be creative in coming up with ways to encourage more builders of homes to include affordable homes in what they're building. That's apartments, condos, houses, etc. So, I want to look at a couple different policies, a couple different incentives."
McLean also feels collaboration among city and county governments throughout the valley is crucial for dealing with and taking advantage of the growth the region is experiencing.
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