Caldwell to Hold Runoff for Mayor; Three City Council Incumbents Defeated
By Greg Pruett • November 3, 2021Election night is over, and the results have been tallied across the state of Idaho.
One of the races included a Caldwell mayoral race after Garret Nancolas announced he would not run for re-election. Three city council members in Caldwell were also up for re-election.
Jarom Wagoner and John McGee, two mayoral candidates in the race to replace Nancolas, will face off on November 30.
When the votes were finalized from the Caldwell mayoral race, Wagoner had 47% of the vote. McGee and Chris Trakel had 22% of the vote. However, McGee ended up with 14 more votes than Trakel, putting McGee in the second spot for the runoff.
McGee has the endorsement of former Governor Butch Otter, State Senator Patti Anne Lodge (R-Huston), Rep. Greg Chaney (R-Caldwell), and Canyon County Sheriff Kieren Donahue.
However, one group has been targeting McGee in recent weeks with a digital billboard targeting McGee’s past actions while he was in the Idaho State Senate. Republicans Against Unethical Politicians put up the billboard and a website that contained a police report detailing allegations against McGee.
McGee was charged with sexual assault but was ultimately convicted of disturbing the peace and sentenced to 88 days in jail. The website also discusses McGee’s DUI while he was in the State Senate and a Grand Theft Auto charge which was ultimately dropped.
Some citizens in Caldwell also targeted McGee for allegedly violating campaign finance laws by not having proper disclosure on campaigns signs disclosing who was responsible for the signs.
Another group that was involved in the Caldwell race targeted Wagoner for his political stances, including one mailer that had the Soviet sickle on it along with Wagoner’s face. The political mailer targeted Wagoner for his time as a state legislator and used his Idaho Freedom Foundation score of 53.9% to go after his record.
A separate mailer also targeted Wagoner and claimed he falsified a timecard while he was a city employee. The mailer also said that Wagoner resigned from his position as a city employee shortly after the issue became public.
Idaho Dispatch offered to interview both candidates before the election took place yesterday, but Wagoner said he did not have time on the days we were available, and McGee never responded.
In addition to the mayoral race, three Caldwell City Council members tried to maintain their seats but all three lost their re-election bids.
For Caldwell Seat 1, Mike Pollard will have served nine years in the city council and took third place, with Brad Doty winning 32% of the vote. Brett Slaughter got 25% of the vote, and Pollard received 23% of the vote. Another candidate, Joe Martinez, got 20% of the vote.
In Caldwell’s Seat 2, Chuck Stadick defeated long-time incumbent Dennis Callsen who had been on the city council since 2001. Stadick received 32% of the vote, while Callsen received 27% of the vote.
Finally, in Caldwell’s Seat 3, Rob Hopper lost his bid for re-election to Diana Register by just 72 votes. There are no runoffs for city council positions.
With Wagoner and McGee facing off, another city council position will also open up once a victor is announced on November 30.
What did you think of the election results in Caldwell?
Let us know in the comments below!
Tags: Brett Slaughter, Caldwell, Chuck Stadick, Dennis Callsen, Diana Register, Jarom Wagoner, Joe Martinez, John McGee, Mayor, Mike Pollard, Rob Hopper
Some times it is time for new faces! McGee has to go
Home and get out of politics do you want to say look what our mayor was arrested for. Who can you trust him with. Do. You want your daughter around this clown?
I believe Caldwell had that chance for change. It was between Myself and Trakel who were the real options for change. But change is uncomfortable and forced change is even worse. The mayor’s retirement is forced change.
With that being said, Caldwell got change in our city council. We flipped three incumbents with GREAT new people. They will keep the new mayor in check for awhile. We now need to flip the other 3 seats in 2023. Out with the old, in with the new!
Hold on, Caldwell! Things are about to get interesting.
You didn’t include John Carter in the report, as he also ran for Caldwell City Council, even though he didn’t win.
Shame on ya, Idaho Dispatch.
I am not related to John Carter.
The question to me is ” Why did McGee get any votes”?
Conspicuously absent in this article is a Political Label for any of the candidates. How are your readers to know which Political Party holds sway ? Is it possible that the author doesn’t want the readers to realize that the ‘Tide is Turning’ against Liberal Politics ?
City elections have historically been non-partisan in Idaho. Candidates for County, State and Federal positions run partisan campaigns.
Not a Canyon County or Caldwell Resident but this is an interesting race to me. I do find very unfortunate and telling that neither one of these Candidates responded to an invitation for a debate and to share there ideas, knowledge level and plans for Caldwell. Laziness? Arrogance? Chicken? What is the reason they are not willing to stand before their people?
Jarom Wagoner participated in the Caldwell Chamber of Commerce forum. McGee did not. Wagoner participated in the Idaho Statesman survey of candidates. McGee did not.
To me, it’s about freedom and no government overreach.
Now we have a new mayor who is pro vaccine mandates for school children.
And Trish Robertson who is all PRO mask mandates and vaccine mandates for school children. Parents have no say over their children’s wellbeing, that is now a “government” decision.
Well, well, well… Do people do some research before they cast their votes?
The Caldwell Chamber of Commerce hosted an on-line forum for Mayoral candidates. There was a problem with the audio during the live-feed, so we couldn’t hear the candidate’s opening remarks. However, that has been corrected, so you can hear them at the link below.
If you live in Caldwell, I encourage you to listen, especially in light of the lies being spread by Matt Durham, a McGee supporter who not only chairs, but is Treasurer of the so-called Concerned Citizens of Caldwell.
Speaking days ahead of a scathing postcard by Durham calling him “thief,” Wagoner talked about the need to address “antiquated systems” that are in use by the city, and he used employee time sheets as an example. Specifically, he talked about a single incident, a mistake, that he’d made during his six years of employment with the city. He admits his mistake that had not been caught during the time sheet review by his supervisor. However, City Policy is very strict – mistake or not. He was suspended for a couple days, a “punishment” he accepted without reservation.
It was clearly an error on his part. It happened one time — not continually over a period of months or years as Durham claims.
Wagoner resigned his position as Senior Planner a couple years AFTER the time sheet incident because he had been elected to serve on the City Council so as to avoid a conflict of interest.
Apparently, McGee and his supporters will do anything — including spreading bald-faced lies to get him elected.
Caldwell, we can do better. I urge you to cast your vote for Jarom Wagoner for Mayor.
https://youtu.be/7946Z2Rpwp8
Well what did I suspect.. I figured McGee and Wagoner were cooking this up..
Now that McGee has dropped out of the run off and Chaney has commanded the clerk to declare Wagoner the Mayor by the 16th.
McGee gets to keep his seat? Hah wow. Same ol’ stuff different day..
Trakel lost 2nd place by 14 votes.
Still haven’t seen Jorge once… Who paid Jorge to run? The world may never know.