Dear reader,
I have some harsh news for you. If you are concerned about the shelter placement, you are losing.
I am not going to sugarcoat it. As it stands right now, Interfaith Sanctuary is going to get their shelter on State Street, and with almost no limitations.
The Shelter Task Force was nothing more than an exercise in political cover for the City. They are stuck in tough position. The fact is, the core of the Mayors and City Councils political power comes from the heavily progressive North End and vicinity. The shelter doesn't effect voters in the North End, and it looks bad to vote against the homeless.
Odds are if you are reading this, you live in Northwest Boise. The odds are you didn’t vote in the local election. Many of you don’t even know that on November 2nd, three city council seats are up for election.
Here is the good news. For the first time, elections are geographical. Thats right. Northwest Boise, finally has a chance to elect someone that represents our interests.
HAS A CHANCE! Thats right, it’s not guaranteed. Due to population density and other factors, Northwest Boise has to share our district with part of the North End, and the Warm Springs area.
This means, that the highly motivated North Enders could still determine who is going to sit on the City Council to determine whether the shelter is in the right location, or has the right restrictions, unless you get off your lazy asses and vote.
And not only that… you don’t just have to vote. You need to get your neighbor to vote. And their neighbor to vote.
I am currently vetting and researching the candidates for District 3 which encompasses Northwest Boise, but right now… not tomorrow… not later…. right fucking now, you need to take action.
Figure out which district you are in! All you have to do is go to the link, find this map, type in your address… and figure it out.
Register to Vote: You need to make sure that you have registered to vote at your proper address. Its easy, you can do it online right here at VoteIdaho.gov … I will wait. Go do it. Now that you have done that… you need to go make sure that your neighbor has registered to vote. If they don’t have internet, you can download and print out this form right here.
Early Voting: Life is tough. We get busy. Hell, I travel for a living. I might not be around on November 2nd. You might not be either. So what you need to do… right now… is go order your absentee ballet. Vote early. Scare the fuck out of our politicians when they see how many Northwest resident ballots come in. All you need is your drivers license, and the last four of your social security card, and you get them to send your ballot to your house. Easy as pie.
Research: Now that you actually followed through with above, we need to research which candidate will best represent Northwest Boise. Here is a list of the our District 3 candidates. Reach out to them. Ask them questions. Let them know, that the shelter and zoning are very very important to your vote. I will be posting more about each candidate soon, but you should do your own research as well.
I’ve done my part. I’ve given you the tools you need. I haven’t sugarcoated the facts. If, I could, I would go door to door and cajole you to vote. But I can’t. Instead, I need to rely on you guys. I need to rely on you not being lazy. I need to rely on you not being shy and engaging with your neighbors.
I have maybe a little over 100 readers. That’s not enough to sway an election. But, I bet each of you can reach 100 more people. Convince them to vote. And they, can reach 100 more people.
In 2017, Lisa Sanchez, our current District 3 city council member won her seat with 10,396 votes out of 23,500. She didn’t even get 1/2 the votes.
In Precinct 1605 which covers the shelter location, only 27.5% of registered voters bothered to show up.
Precinct 1911, in the center of the North End had 38.1% of registered voters show up.
This pattern is reflected all over Boise. Rich and middle class people vote, working class don’t. And Northwest Boise is overwhelmingly working class.
This is why, our elected officials are all from the North End.
Here is the good news. Pissed off people vote.
You will have no say, unless you vote. If this pisses you off… good.
Let’s show the Mayor, and the City Council that your concerns deserve to be heard.
Now get out of here… you have neighbors to contact.
Have a great day.