Idaho--Politics and Government

Abstract Nathan Griffin conducted this interview on November 9th, 2013, with Al Larson in the Foothills Learning Center in Boise, Idaho as part of the 20th Anniversary of Hulls Gulch Preservation project. Al Larson, the founder of the Golden Eagle Audubon society, offered his memories of the development of Hulls Gulch. The Hulls Gulch Preservation project is a conservation initiative aimed at protecting and restoring the natural ecosystem of Hulls Gulch, while also providing recreational...

Abstract In an interview with Brandi Burns on August 4, 2010, Anne Hausrath discusses her experience on Boise City Council from 1992-2000 and the development of Boise throughout those years. She was a founder of the Wetland Coalition, a group of individuals and organizations dedicated to protecting and preserving the wetland ecosystem in Hulls Gulch; they would later become the Save Hulls Gulch movement. According to Hausrath, her experience in the effort to save Hulls Gulch from development inspired...

Scope and Contents

This collection documents the activities of Anne Hausrath during two successful campaigns for Boise City Council in 1991 and 1995. Also included in the collection are a few newspaper clippings and a flyer from her political activism outside the city council. Materials are largely textual, comprising incoming correspondence, campaign plans, campaign ephemera, election results, and newspaper clippings. A small number of photographs are also included in the collection.

Abstract Barbara Miller Johncox is the daughter of Donald B. Miller and Janet Jenkins Miller. Her family moved to the Central Bench neighborhood in 1966 from San Diego, California. Barbara discusses her memories of Boise growing up, the development of the Central Bench neighborhood, and her family. She recounts her mother’s work in politics as the national committee woman for the State of Idaho Republican Party, a position she held for fifteen years, and her successful 2002 campaign for seat 17-B in...

Abstract Mike Wetherell served seventeen years on the Boise City Council. Throughout that time Boise experienced many pivotal changes, notably, urban renewal. He started on the council at the end of years of development stagnation and served through the successful redevelopment of downtown, construction of the Towne Square Mall, and prosperity of the 1990s. His last years on the Council witnessed the controversy with Brent Coles, and the changing of the leadership in 2003.In an interview...

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...

Abstract Robert Stockton conducted this interview on November 9th, 2013, with Richard Twight in the Foothills Learning Center in Boise, Idaho as part of the 20th anniversary of the Hulls Gulch preservation project. Twight, who served as the director of finance for the Wetlands Coalition, offers his memories of the Hulls Gulch preservation efforts of the Wetland Coalition. The Hulls Gulch Preservation project is a conservation initiative aimed at protecting and restoring the natural ecosystem of Hulls...

Abstract In three interviews with Brandi Burns on September 15, 2010, August 31 and September 9, 2011 Vernon Bisterfeldt discusses his family and personal history, his career in the Boise Police Department, and his decade of service as a member of the Boise City Council. In Vernon Bisterfeldt’s interview on August 31, 2011, Bisterfeldt shared his experiences as a Boise City Police Officer. Bisterfeldt worked for the Boise Police Department from May 1959 to January 1987, retiring after 28...