Pocatello Mayoral Runoff to Take Place on November 30 Between Brian Blad and David Worley

By Greg Pruett • November 12, 2021

Pocatello will hold a mayoral runoff race on November 30.

The two candidates in the Pocatello runoff are current Mayor Brian Blad and the second-place challenger, David Worley. The runoff is taking place because no candidate received 50% of the vote.

Blad received 46.18% of the vote in the original election, while Worley received 33.15% of the vote. There were three other candidates in the race, but only the top two candidates went to the runoff.

Blad has been the mayor of Pocatello since 2010.

Blad is the owner of Merlin Insulation. He and his wife Laura have five children.

This is the first time Blad, according to his Facebook page, has faced a runoff election. Here is what Blad posted on his Facebook page on election day:

Congratulations to Linda Leeuwrik, Rick Chetum and Josh Mansfield for winning your prospective seats on the Pocatello City Council.
Thank you to all my fellow community members for voting for me. This will be my first run-off election, and with your support, I’m up for the challenge. We’ll post more run-off details soon.

The city of Pocatello posted answers from candidates about their run for mayor. However, Blad’s name is not hyperlinked, and it appears that is how the city of Pocatello shows citizens the answers to their submitted questions.

Worley is a Pocatello native and graduated from Pocatello High School. He and his wife Barbara have five children.

Worley served two tours of duty in Iraq with the 1-148th Field Artillery Battalion. Worley says he currently holds the rank of “Major” in the Army National Guard.

On the city of Pocatello website, Worley wrote about why he was running for mayor as a response to one of the candidate questions:

Pocatello needs new leadership that is committed to protecting the freedom of the people. Every dollar the city spends is a dollar it had to take from the people. Every dollar taken reduces the freedom that citizens have to determine for themselves how to spend their wages. The people of Pocatello deserve a city government that spends their money wisely and efficiently, and takes as little as possible.

The people also deserve a government that is more concerned with protecting their rights than imposing arbitrary rules and laws in the name of public safety. As mayor of Pocatello, I will return the focus of government to serving the citizens, not dictating to them. No more lockdowns, every business and job is essential. I will never use city resources to enforce an unconstitutional or immoral law or mandate, nor will I allow them to be enforced in the city of Pocatello.

Early voting for the Pocatello mayoral runoff began yesterday and runs through November 26.

Who do you want to win the Pocatello mayoral runoff? Let us know in the comments below.