Jason Pierce for Eagle Mayor
He has a deep understanding of how to manage growth
Jason Pierce gets it. He has a deep understanding not only of conservative principles, but of how to maintain those principles in the face of record growth. He understands why cities turn blue, and is working hard to keep that from happening in Eagle. I wrote a long piece about Pierce’s principles and how he cracked that code here, which is now unlocked for free subscribers.
You see, the left doesn’t like to lose. Many leftists see power as their birthright —notice how they frame any opposition to their agenda as being against democracy itself, even if it has popular support. So it was no surprise that the leftists who controlled Eagle until 2019 did not take defeat lying down.
It was in that year that Jason Pierce, Brad Pike, and Charlie Baun defeated the incumbent mayor and council members with solid majorities. Municipal elections are technically nonpartisan, so when Stan Ridgeway originally ran for mayor in 2015 he was not affiliated with either party. His website touted his experience and conservative principles, but local activists soon discovered his Democratic Party history. I wrote in more detail about the evolution of city leadership and how conservatives took it back in January 2022:
By 2018, then, the leadership of the City of Eagle consisted of a Democratic mayor and four council members ranging from a moderate Republican to a far-left socialist. The direction of the city began turning away from conservative values and down the same path that so many big cities have followed, at the end of which are the social graveyards known as Seattle, Portland, and San Francisco. High density housing was increased. Fiscal transparency, so important during the campaigns, was pushed aside in favor of backroom dealing and poor investments. The city even passed a resolution attempting to severely restrict fracking - a technology that has never been used in the state of Idaho, much less Eagle.
How did such a red city elect such a blue council?
The short answer is turnout. In 2017, the socialist Miranda Gold was the top vote-getter in the council election, with a mere 1,311 residents casting their ballots for her. The fourth-place finisher, Robert Koellisch, was just a shade over two hundred votes behind.
The future belongs to those who show up. If nobody bothers to vote then it only takes a handful of people to control the destiny of a city of more than 30,000.
By increasing turnout among the conservative residents of Eagle, conservative governance was restored. Mayor Pierce has used his time since then to implement policies that promote a conservative vision.
A lot of elected officials try to avoid bold action, especially during their first terms. Bold action means doing things that create opposition, as armchair quarterbacks and keyboard warriors criticize your every move. Jason Pierce has not been afraid of bold action. During his first term, he worked with a conservative city council to:
Revitalize downtown Eagle while maintaining the small town feel that so many came here for
Negotiate a great deal for Eagle Water Company customers during the sale to Suez (now Veolia) rather than put a multi-million dollar bond on the shoulders of Eagle residents
Build a great civic center by expanding city hall and moving the old church to beside the library
Save senior citizens from a dangerously mismanaged nonprofit by bringing the Senior Center under the aegis of city staff
Ensured that art in Eagle matched our community values rather than use tax dollars to pay for left-wing agitprop
Ensure that density in the foothills, which were always going to grow no matter what, remains low for the next century
Nevertheless, a small group of outspoken figures have attacked the mayor and council at every turn, and the apparent ringleader of this group has been none other than former mayor Stan Ridgeway.
Stan Ridgeway no longer hides his true loyalty. He ran for Ada County Commissioner in 2022 as a Democrat, losing to incumbent Republican Rod Beck by nearly 10%. In this summer’s Eagle Fun Days parade, Ridgeway proudly marched with the District 14 Democrats.
Ridgeway and some fellow Democrats created SOS Eagle, a political nonprofit that sent out mailers and created biased surveys to attack the mayor and council. The same crew created a petition to recall Mayor Pierce and all five council members last year that went nowhere. A small group of detractors dominates the conversation on social media, filling Facebook and Nextdoor with half truths and outright lies. Ridgeway himself is now running for mayor, even as SOS Eagle continues to attack Pierce and the council.
The constant attacks from the social media crowd have convinced two other candidates that Pierce is vulnerable:
Current Council President Brad Pike is challenging Mayor Pierce, claiming that the incumbent has failed to provide for public safety. He allegedly leaked a letter from Eagle Policy Chief Ryan Wilkie to Pierce and the council, using that to claim that public safety was in jeopardy. However, with the new police contract approved, that issue is moot. Nevertheless, Pike continues to campaign on adding more police, which earned him the endorsement of several police organizations.
A few weeks ago I published a series of essays by retiring council member Charlie Baun responding to claims that Pike has made during his campaign. Click here to read them all.
Why is a self-described conservative campaigning against a conservative incumbent? While I believe that Pike is a good man and a true conservative, it seems likely that he is listening to the same crowd of detractors that have been attacking the mayor and council for the past four years. It’s ironic, really, because many of the things Pike has criticized Pierce for were actually the responsibility of the city council — the same council on which Pike has served the past four years.
It is always telling to see who candidates surround themselves with. Brad Pike hired a woman named April Wilke to manage his campaign. Campaign finance reports show that Wilke donated to Scott Brock, the moderate Republican who challenged Tammy Nichols in the District 10 Senate primary last year. I’ve been told by friends in Canyon County that Wilke and her husband were outspoken supporters of Democrat Tom Arkoosh in the AG’s race last year against Republican Raúl Labrador. If true, this a questionable hire at least by the Pike campaign.
As I was writing this, I saw a $1,000 donation from an apartment developer called Zion Residential appear on Pike’s Sunshine report. By the time I prepared to publish, the donation was gone. I and several others had posted about it on social media, wondering why a high density developer would support Brad Pike, so perhaps his campaign decided to return the money. I really have no idea. Hopefully the October campaign finance report sheds more light on the issue.
In any case, I believe that Ridgeway and his friends support Pike’s candidacy as a way of splitting the conservative vote. I hope that conservative voters in Eagle don’t fall for it. If you vote for Brad Pike, you might as well vote for Stan Ridgeway. Either choice will likely result in more high density development and higher taxes.
Marc Degl’Innocenti ran for city council two years ago and is running for mayor now. He also claims to be a conservative, but he was a registered Democrat as late as 2021. He also seems to have a very shallow understanding of the issues facing our city. In this case we have solid proof that Ridgeway and friends are pushing his campaign in the hopes of splitting the vote: Stan Ridgeway himself was one of the very first donors to Degl’Innocenti’s campaign when it debuted last April.
Put all these pieces together and you understand how there has been a coordinated campaign by the former Democratic mayor and his allies to attack, delegitimatize, and finally oust Eagle’s conservative leadership. Don’t fall for it. By all means, do your research. Watch the candidate forum. Watch the interviews on the Ranch Podcast with all the candidates. Go meet each one in turn. In the end, I believe that conservatives will agree that Jason Pierce is the man to lead Eagle for another four years.
When evaluating an incumbent running for reelection, the question you must ask is “are you better off now than four years ago?” Is Eagle better now than it was four years ago? My answer is an unqualified YES. Jason Pierce has done a fantastic job so far and has earned a second term. He truly understands conservative principles in a way few political figures do, and I feel confident that Eagle will continue to prosper under his watch. Jason has my unqualified endorsement for mayor of Eagle.
As usual, Brian, you’ve done an excellent analysis of Jason Pierce and the other Eagle Mayor candidates. I believe Eagle voters should BEG Jason Pierce to stay on as mayor. No other candidate has the ability, vision or love for the city that Jason does.
I urge every voter to listen to Jason’s one-hour State of the City 2023 address at https://www.cityofeagle.org/2045/State-of-the-City-2023. Not only will you hear about the incredible list of projects that were done under Pierce’s stewardship — most well UNDER budget and ON TIME or AHEAD OF SCHEDULE — but you also will hear the love and passion in his voice. Love for Eagle. Love for Eagle’s citizens.
Jason Pierce’s management skills and vision are rare in a mayor, or any elected official for that matter. His listening skills — though absurdly bashed by SOS Eagle and the Democrats — are beyond reproach.
We had only been in town and attending Mayor Coffees for a few months when I asked for a meeting and had several phone calls and emails with Mayor Pierce about a proposed technology system that I felt would endanger the online privacy of Eagle and its citizens. Jason and another city council member (Melissa Gindlesberger) listened carefully to the issues and facts that I presented, and then scuttled the plan. Almost two years later, I’m even more convinced that was the best decision.
In another instance, I mentioned after Mayor Coffee that the toilets in City Hall were flushing too soon (OK, embarrassing, but Jason is the kind of person who makes you feel comfortable discussing anything that’s on your mind). He said he’d get that fixed, and he did — perfect working order by the next week (probably sooner). A small gesture perhaps, but it showed Jason’s ability to work on the simple stuff that bugs just one citizen as well as the complex events and infrastructure that affect tens of thousands.
Anyone who sits in Mayor Coffees on a regular basis cannot help but be impressed by Jason’s ability to think many steps ahead in order to achieve the best and most cost-effective long-term outcomes for Eagle.
Eagle, be SMART! No one likes the explosive growth the city has experienced. But this happened because Eagle is the best place to live in Treasure Valley. This growth occurred precisely because so many people were fleeing places like the ones the Democrats want Eagle to become. I sincerely implore the voters not to let that happen.
Jason Pierce — working together with a council that votes after careful deliberation (mayor votes only in case of tie breakers) — knows how to grow the city with the lowest possible density and the highest possible quality. He’s an excellent manager and team member. And unflappable.
Re-Elect Mayor Jason Pierce. And no, I haven’t been paid by anyone to say any of this this. It is heart felt. Jason garners loyalty and appreciation in everyone who takes the time to know him.