Boise Mayor Bieter: ‘ACHD is a failed model. I want them all gone.’

Oct. 17--The bitterness between the Ada County Highway District and the city of Boise resurfaced Thursday when ACHD Commissioner Rebecca Arnold asked candidates for the ACHD board whether they had been asked by Mayor Dave Bieter to fire ACHD's top boss and attorney in exchange for the mayor's endorsement.

The issue came up at a Boise Metro Chamber of Commerce ACHD candidate forum Thursday, when Arnold -- whose seat is not up for election -- asked the eight candidates: "Has Mayor Bieter asked you for a commitment that if elected you would fire ACHD Director Bruce Wong and General Counsel Steve Price, and if so, how did you respond to that request?"

"I think that question is primarily directed at me," ACHD District 3 candidate Bob Bruce responded.

"I have known Dave Bieter since we were small children. We went to the same school. My parents and his parents were very good friends. I did go to Mayor Bieter and he did make that request. I said 'no.' I am not anybody's pawn. Nobody owns me. It was a difficult thing. I still consider Mayor Bieter my friend. I know I can work with him. I just couldn't do what he asked if he were to support me."

Bruce said later that he was surprised by Arnold's question and uncomfortable with being put on the spot, but said he didn't want it to look like he had anything to hide. He did not tell Arnold about his conversation with Bieter, he said, but had discussed it with others.

Bruce said the enmity between the city and the ACHD -- over everything from the district's authority over all city roads to issues such as bike lanes and parking meters -- is one of the reasons he's running for commissioner. Bruce is an Eagle engineering consultant and owns, with his wife, the Ye Olde Sweet Shoppe.

"This is indicative of the dysfunctional relationship that exists between Boise and ACHD," he said. "That is precisely what I hope to change if elected."

Bieter said he talked to Bruce and crossed no lines.

"Bob's recollection is not accurate," said Bieter. "I said, 'I am for the candidate that will bring about the most change.' "

Bruce stuck by his account, saying Bieter specified wanting Wong and Price fired several times in their conversation.

THE BOARD'S FUTURE

The majority of the five-member commission most critical of the city could change if candidates sympathetic to Boise's concerns are elected Nov. 4. Two of ACHD's five seats are up for election; a third seat could open if Arnold, an attorney, wins her campaign for 4th Circuit Court judge.

Bieter is endorsing Paul Woods for the open District 3 seat. Woods is a former county commissioner and former city open space and public works manager.

"I told Bob and the other candidates I met with that I wanted change at ACHD. I've made no bones about that," Bieter said. "I do believe part of that change is changing some people. ... But my support is not conditioned on a list of people to get rid of. It is conditioned on change."

Bieter said it's OK to discuss potential personnel changes with candidates for office. "It is a platform," he said. "It is an agenda."

Arnold said she asked the question "because I wanted to know if (Bieter) had asked for that commitment from multiple candidates." She declined further comment.

Candidates John Seidl and Woods also said they met with Bieter, but did not get a request about ACHD staff. Candidates Stephanie Blake, J.J. Howard, Brock Frazier, Kent Goldthorpe and incumbent Commissioner Mitch Jaurena said they had not met with Bieter.

Bieter wouldn't discuss Arnold's question.

"I have no insight into Rebecca Arnold," he said. He said the question she asked at a public forum with 82 people in attendance was "not newsworthy."

Wong and Price declined to comment.

'SWEETHEART CONTRACT'

Bieter also criticized the 31-month contract the ACHD board unanimously approved Oct. 8, securing Wong's job less than a month before the election.

"The news here is the sweetheart deal they gave Bruce Wong," Bieter said. "I hope this is a change election. I have a hunch that it is, and I think that is why they are doing the kind of things they are doing, doing that kind of sweetheart deal."

ACHD Commission Vice President Jaurena said Thursday that the group initiated the contract because "it keeps the staff from being subject to the political whims of the commission."

Former ACHD Director J. Schweitzer had an employment contract, highway district spokesman Craig Quintana said. When Wong replaced the retiring Schweitzer in 2011, he did not ask for a contract.

The commission has the authority to hire and fire the director; the director then has authority to hire and fire other staff.

Under his new contract, if Wong is fired without cause or if he quits because the commission violates the terms of the contract, he gets a 12-month compensation and insurance-benefit severance package. If Wong is fired with cause, he does not receive a severance package.

Wong is paid $146,411 annually.

'WANT THEM ALL GONE'

Bieter talked to the Statesman on Thursday from Kentucky, where he is attending a conference with mayors from around the country. He said he is the only mayor at the conference "who does not have control of his or her streets."

ACHD is the only countywide highway district in the state and, possibly, the nation. It controls all roads and bridges in Ada County and its cities, except state highways. Frustrated Ada County voters created the district in 1972 in an effort to get better roads and maintenance. Before the ACHD, roads were built and maintained by separate city and county street departments.

Bieter has long fought for the city to regain control of its streets, arguing that such oversight is critical to shaping growth and development. The city also would like to control the property tax dollars Boiseans pay for roads.

"ACHD is a failed model," Bieter said. "I want them all gone."

Changing ACHD's structure or authority would require changing state law. Bieter said he is not pursuing any legislation to change ACHD's authority because there is "no traction" in the Legislature.

Jaurena said he wasn't surprised by Bruce's account of his conversation with Bieter.

"Dave Bieter wants control of ACHD with lapdog commissioners," Jaurena said. "Only a strong and independent ACHD ... with commissioners who are not beholden to Dave Bieter will look out for the greater interests of Ada County."

Cynthia Sewell: 377-6428, Twitter: @CynthiaSewell

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