Eardley, Richard (December 23, 1928-June 30, 2012)

Person

Staff Only

Dates

Existence: December 23, 1928 - June 30, 2012

Biography

Richard Eardley was born December 23, 1928 in Denver, Colorado. He moved to Baker City, Oregon with his family at eight years old and graduated from Baker High School in 1947. While in high school Eardley played sports and wrote for the school newspaper. He spent a year at Eastern Oregon College of Education before leaving to move to California for a construction job for a short time. Upon returning to Baker City, he worked as a journalist at the Baker Democrat-Herald, a weekly publication, and as the news director for the KBKR radio station. In 1950 he married his wife Patricia, they had three sons, Rick, Randy, and Ron. In 1955 the family moved to Boise, Idaho where Eardley worked as a reporter for the Idaho Daily Statesman from 1955-1958, and then as the news and sports director for KBOI from 1958-1974.

In 1969 Eardley was elected to the Boise City Council and served four years until 1973 when he was elected mayor. He served three terms as Boise Mayor from 1974-1986, one of only two mayors to have served for three terms. During his tenure as mayor he oversaw the construction of the current Boise City Hall, worked to revitalize the North End Neighborhood, and helped create the Boise Arts Commission, World Center for Birds of Prey, Morrison Center, and Boise Greenbelt.

Richard Eardley passed away June 30, 2012 in Boise, Idaho.

Topics

City council members

Found in 2 Collections and/or Records:

Richard Eardley, September 16, 2009, September 23, 2009, and September 19, 2011

File

Abstract Richard Eardley served on the Boise City Council for one term from 1970-1974, and as mayor for three terms from 1974-1986. In an interview with Brandi Burns on September 16, 2009, Richard Eardley discusses his childhood in Baker, Oregon, his career in journalism and radio, what led to his interest in city government, and the issues he worked on as a councilmember and mayor. He describes how the nonpartisanship of local government changed after the Kempthorne administration, what...

Dates: September 16, 2009, September 23, 2009, and September 19, 2011

Found in: Collections / MS 075, Oral History Program collection / Series 2: Boise City Departments / Mayor's Office

Richard Eardley papers

Collection

Identifier: MS 018

Scope and Contents The collection consists of newspaper clippings, speeches, correspondence, reports, studies, court documents, and ephemera documenting Richard Eardley's tenure as a member of the Boise City Council from 1969-1973 and as Boise Mayor from 1974-1986. Notable issues documented in the collection includes policing, development of downtown, urban renewal, and affordable housing. Also included in the collection are original works of Darwin H. “Dar” Dodds documenting his imprisonment on Wake Island...

Dates: 1941-1986; Majority of material found within 1974-1986

Found in: Collections / Richard Eardley papers