It's local election day in Boise

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Boise. Photo: Igor Lansorena

Polls opened at daybreak on Tuesday across Boise as people began voting in one of the most highly contested races in the Treasure Valley between Boise mayoral candidates Dave Bieter and Jim Tibbs.

Current mayor Dave Bieter is seeking a second term. Known in the Basque Country for being Boise’s first Basque-American mayor, he says his top priority is to keep Boise the most livable city in the country.

In an interview for the Idaho Statesman, he also pays special attention to neighborhood libraries and protecting Boise’s wonderful natural amenities like the Foothills and the Boise river.

For Jim Tibbs, public safety is the main priority. “I am the only candidate with a comprehensive initiative for more police on the streets and a strategy to fight meth in our neighborhoods,” he tells the Idaho Statesman.

“I would like Dave Bieter to win because he has been doing a really good job for the last few years. Also, the fact that he is Basque is really important to both my husband and me because we know that as long as Dave is Boise¿s mayor, Basque issues will always be on the forefront,” Henar Chico, a Basque residing in Boise, tells eitb24 journalist Igor Lansorena on the day of the election.