Boise voters to have first-ever runoff for mayor

BOISE, Idaho (AP) - For the first time ever Boise voters will have to select their next mayor in a runoff election.

In Tuesday’s six-way race, City Council President Lauren McLean took the lead against incumbent Mayor Dave Bieter. Nearly 46% of the votes went to McLean and just over 30% went to Bieter.

But under Boise city code, a candidate must win a majority - and that’s at least 50% plus one vote.

A runoff election between McLean and Bieter will be held Dec. 3.

The other four candidates for mayor all trailed far behind Bieter and McLean, with Ada County Highway District Commission President Rebecca Arnold getting about 13% of votes, former Boise Mayor Brent Coles getting 7%, Wayne Richey and Adriel Martinez each getting about 1% and Cortney Nielsen coming in with just over a half a percent of votes.