List of mayors of Boise, Idaho facts for kids

This article tells you about the people who have been the mayor of Boise, Idaho. A mayor is like the leader of a city's government. They help make important decisions and guide the city.

Boise's mayors used to be elected for just one year at a time. Later, in 1881, their terms were changed to two years. Then, in 1965, the term became four years. This means mayors now serve for four years before the next election.

The current mayor of Boise is Lauren McLean. She was elected in 2019. The most recent election for mayor happened in November 2023.

What Does a Mayor Do?

A mayor is the top leader of a city. They work to make the city a better place for everyone. This includes managing city services like parks, roads, and public safety. Mayors also work with the city council to create laws and budgets. They represent the city when meeting with other leaders.

How Boise's Mayors Are Chosen

In Boise, people vote to choose their mayor. This is called an election. The mayor serves a specific amount of time, which is called a "term." As mentioned, Boise's mayors now serve four-year terms. Sometimes, if a mayor leaves office early, another person might be appointed to finish their term.

A Look at Boise's Past Mayors

Here is a list of the people who have served as mayor of Boise. You can see when they started and ended their time in office. Some mayors served more than one time.

#	Portrait	Name	Term start	Term end	Party	Note
1		Ephraim Smith	1866	1867
2		Henry E. Prickett	November 19, 1867	January 1868	Republican	Appointed
3		Thomas B. Hart	January 1868	January 1869		Elected
4		Charles Himrod (1st)	January 1869	July 1872	Democratic	Appointed
5		George H. Twitchell	July 8, 1872	July 1873
6		Thomas E. Logan (1st)	July 1873	July 1875
7		John Lemp	July 1875	July 1876	Republican
8		Thomas E. Logan (2nd)	July 1876	July 1878
9		Charles Himrod (2nd)	July 1878	July 1879	Democratic
10		Cyrus Y. Jacobs	July 1879	July 1880
11		Charles P. Bilderback	July 1880	July 1881
12		James A. Pinney (1st)	July 1881	July 1885	Republican
13		Sol Hasbrouck	July 1885	November 5, 1885	Republican	Resigned
14		James W. Huston	December 28, 1885	July 1887	Republican	Appointed
15		Peter J. Pefley	July 1887	July 1889	Democratic
16		James A. Pinney (2nd)	July 1889	July 1893	Republican
17		Peter Sonna	July 1893	July 1895
18		Walter E. Pierce	July 1895	July 1897	Democratic
19		Moses Alexander (1st)	July 1897	July 1899	Democratic
20		James H. Richards	July 1899	July 1901
21		Moses Alexander (2nd)	July 1901	July 1903	Democratic
22		James H. Hawley	July 1903	July 1905	Democratic
23		James A. Pinney (3rd)	July 1905	April 1907	Republican
24		John M. Haines	April 1907	April 1909	Republican
25		Joseph T. Pence	April 1909	April 1911	Democratic
26		Harry Fritchman	April 1911	May 25, 1912	Republican	Resigned
27		Arthur Hodges	May 25, 1912	April 1915	Republican	Appointed, Elected
28		J. W. Robinson	April 1915	June 1, 1916		Recalled
29		S. H. Hays	June 6, 1916	April 1919	Democratic	Appointed, Elected
30		Ernest G. Eagleson (1st)	April 1919	April 1921	Republican
31		Eugene B. Sherman	April 1921	May 1925
32		Ernest G. Eagleson (2nd)	May 1925	May 1927	Republican
33		Herbert F. Lemp	May 1927	May 6, 1927		Died in office
34		Walter F. Hansen	May 6, 1927	April 1929
35		James P. Pope	April 1929	February 13, 1933	Democratic
36		Ross Cady	February 13, 1933	May 1933		Appointed
37		J. J. McCue	May 1933	May 1935
38		Byron E. Hyatt	May 1935	November 11, 1936		Died in office
39		J. L. Edlefsen	November 1936	April 1939
40		James L. Straight	April 1939	April 1941
41		H. W. Whillock (1st)	April 1941	May 11, 1942		Resigned
42		Austin Walker	May 1942	October 31, 1945		Died in office
43		Sam S. Griffin	October 1945	February 25, 1946		Resigned
44		H. W. Whillock (2nd)	February 25, 1946	May 1947
45		Potter P. Howard	May 1947	May 1951
46		R. E. Edlefsen	May 1951	May 1959
47		Robert L. Day	May 1959	May 1961
48		Eugene W. Shellworth	May 1961	December 1965
49		Jay S. Amyx	January 1966	January 1974	Republican
50		Dick Eardley	January 1974	January 1986
51		Dirk Kempthorne	January 1986	January 5, 1993	Republican	Resigned to become U.S. Senator
52		H. Brent Coles	January 5, 1993	February 15, 2003	Republican	Resigned
53		Jerome Mapp	February 15, 2003	February 18, 2003		(acting until appointment)
54		Carolyn Terteling-Payne	February 18, 2003	January 2004	Republican	Appointed, did not run
55		Dave Bieter	January 2004	January 2020	Democratic
56		Lauren McLean	January 2020	(Incumbent)	Democratic

Images for kids

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  Henry E. Prickett

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  Charles Himrod

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  Thomas E. Logan

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  John Lemp

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  Cyrus Y. Jacobs

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  Charles P. Bilderback

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  James A. Pinney

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  Sol Hasbrouck

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  James W. Huston

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  Peter J. Pefley

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  Peter Sonna

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  Walter E. Pierce

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  Moses Alexander

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  James H. Richards

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  James H. Hawley

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  John M. Haines

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  Joseph T. Pence

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  Harry K. Fritchman

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  Arthur Hodges

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  J. W. Robinson

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  S. H. Hays

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  James P. Pope

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  Dirk Kempthorne

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  Dave Bieter

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  Lauren McLean