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Whitney to run for WECRD board
Mountain Home city treasurer Leanna Whitney will challenge incumbent Mollie Marsh for a seat on the Western Elmore Country Recreation District board in November.
The two will challenge to represent subdistrict three for four years in the district's first contested election.
Whitney was appointed the chair of the Blue Ribbon Committee in 1998 by former mayor Don Etter. The group laid the foundation for the WECRD.
She was a member of the Idaho House of Representatives from 1986 to 1992.
She said she wants to see the district succeed without dissolving, increase the board's accountability and to engage the community to ensure an affordable facility residents can be proud of.
"I've always believed wise use of district dollars could make great things happen in this community," Whitney said. "But if the board stays on the current course, I'm concerned there will be a move to dissolve the district. I'm giving the voters a way to change things without dissolving the district.
She called the board's increased taxes "totally legal, but not totally right," and "a violation of taxpayers trust."
She thinks the community's needs have changed in the last 10 years and so have their recreation needs. She said the board needs to be willing to change.
"To make an omelet you have to crack a few eggs," she said. "We need to crack open the process, engage the community and ensure we build an affordable facility we can be proud of.
"WECRD should collaborate with the school district, the business community and the city to avoid any duplication of services and make taxpayer dollars go as far as possible."
She said she thinks it's time for community conversations about what serves the most people for the money spent and if elected she'd move to hold town hall meetings and conduct a community survey so the district does what citizens want today, not what they wanted ten years ago.
Marsh was also a member of the Blue Ribbon Committee and was appointed to the board in 2001 and has served since. Multiple phone calls to her residence were not returned in regards to this story.
The board will hold its election on Nov. 4.
Vivian Garcia, the Elmore County elections deputy, said the county will share its general election polling sites with the board.
However, the board has yet to determine which locations it will use.
Members of the entire district, not just subdistrict three, are eligible to vote in the election.
Garcia said the board and county will share voter registrars and polls, however, voters interested in voting for the board's election will have to vote on a separate ballet.
Garcia warned county officials will ensure voters pick up their ballots, go straight into a poll and return the ballots immediately. She advised voters interested in voting on both ballots to pick up their WECRD ballot before receiving their county ballot if they wish to make only one trip into the poll.