Incumbent Brent Nichols faces challenger for Pocatello City Council seat

EDITOR’S NOTE: This article is the first of three stories on candidates running for Pocatello City Council in November 2023. Read the second article here.

POCATELLO — A city council member faces a challenger in the upcoming election.

Stephen “Craig” Yadon is running against incumbent Brent Nichols for the Pocatello City Council Seat 2.

EastIdahoNews.com sent the same eight questions to each candidate. Their responses, listed below, were required to be 250 words or less. EastIdahoNews.com is publishing the answers in their entirety, and without any grammatical or style editing.

The general election is on Nov. 7.

Tell us about yourself — include information about your family, career, education, volunteer work and any prior experience in public office.

Nichols:Currently, I’m serving on the Pocatello City Council, Seat #2. This is the first public office I’ve held, and it has been a rewarding experience.

I have lived and worked in Pocatello for 40 years. I own and operate real estate development and commercial construction companies, and with my business partner, we have completed several large economic development projects that retained or attracted hundreds of jobs to Pocatello. Prior to that, I owned and managed over 80 apartment units in Historic Downtown.

I am a founding member of the Sagebrush Steppe Land Trust, which provides perpetual protection of open space and habitat for our region. As a developer and contractor, I recognize that once these areas are developed they are gone forever, and it was important to me to help protect open space. I have also served as a member of the City’s Historic Preservation and Planning & Zoning Commissions, am an original incorporator of NeighborWorks Pocatello, and am a former member of the Gate City Rotary Club.

My wife, Anne, and I choose to live in Pocatello because of the great quality of life. We enjoy the business friendly climate, recreational opportunities, clean water, and safe community.

Yadon: I was raised in Pocatello, graduating from both Highland High School and Idaho State University. After serving one term in the US Military, I returned home and started working for a local industrial contracting firm. I was given the opportunity to buy the company and ran it successfully for 20-years, enduring challenging times like we experienced on 9/11/2001, the financial crisis in 2008 and most recently the COVID era.

I’ve been married for 29 years. My wife and I have four children and one grandson with more on the way. I’ve volunteered in my local church for many years as well as at our local juvenile detention center. My family and I had the opportunity to volunteer overseas in Southeast Asia for several years. We learned the local language, taught English and helped establish an agriculture training center focusing on growing wholesome crops.

What is your proudest accomplishment?

Nichols: My proudest accomplishment is convincing my wife to marry me 30 years ago. We are celebrating our anniversary in November, and I still feel incredibly lucky she said yes.

I am also grateful for the many opportunities I’ve had to be involved in the Pocatello community. In 1995, my company renovated an iconic downtown building into a US Post Office as part of the effort to keep a post office on the westside. In 2005, we worked closely with the Pocatello Community Charter School founders to design, build, and secure funding opportunities for their building. And, in 2006, we helped start the Triangle Development that included dedicating space for the Lasting Legacy Monument.

Yadon: With the help of my family and local contractors, we are proud to have renovated one of the true gems in our city. The historic Petersen Furniture Building graced our community’s early beginnings and then Scott’s Ski & Sports was a favorite of many. After sitting vacant for several years, we were happy to introduce the now Purpose Center to the community, where we host weddings and other special gatherings.

Why are you seeking political office within your community? Briefly explain your political platform.

Nichols: I am seeking reelection because local government is the one area where government service has a direct impact on a community. I want to continue using my experience and skills to keep Pocatello business and family friendly.

Every decision I make as a City Council Member affects our citizens, and I am guided by my belief that a safe city with a functioning government is essential to our community’s well-being. I am fair and reasonable in my approach to all the issues coming before the Council. I work to understand the issue, ask questions, and arrive at the decision that is best for Pocatello.

Serving on the City Council is about building and maintaining relationships. It is pulling together a cohesive council and administration, plus engaging citizens, so that everyone sets aside their personal agendas to do what’s best for the community.

Yadon: I am seeking a seat on the Pocatello City Council to personally invest in our great community. I am the beneficiary of many gracious mentors, educators, employers and friends and want to give back to our residents.

One thought that guides my political platform is the belief that our government institutions were established to protect our God-given rights. Another guiding fact is that our government can only spend money that it has obtained from its citizen through taxation and fees. Recognizing government funds were realized as a result of hard-working men and women should bring immense humility to a public servant when establishing and executing well planned budgets and policies.

What are the greatest challenges facing people in your community? What is your plan to meet those challenges?

Nichols:Economic development is an important issue for Pocatello. Attracting, cultivating and retaining businesses would expand our tax base. We also need to target businesses that 1) provide good wages and benefits across the employment spectrum and 2) share the same values as our community.

My plan to meet this challenge is to continue doing what I’ve done my whole adult life – vigorously promote Pocatello. If reelected, I have a two-pronged plan – economic development and preservation/enhancement of our quality of life. First, I will work with the Mayor and City Council to establish a full-time economic development position. The position will more than pay for itself as the individual works to expand our tax base. The second part is to protect and enhance our quality of life. We need to continue our work to preserve our aquifer, improve the water quality of the Portneuf River, maintain open space, and improve recreational opportunities. In my experience, what attracts business to Pocatello is a safe community, a cohesive government, and a variety of recreation activities.

Affordable housing is another challenge for Pocatello. Again, I believe I can use my experience to work with City administration and local builders and developers to find positive solutions. In addition to being a former apartment owner, my company also designed and built the Single Room Occupancy Housing Development on South 2nd Avenue for Southeast Idaho Community Action Agency and designed and built the Aspen Place Affordable Housing Project on East Cedar Street for NeighborWorks.

Yadon: It is my view excessive property taxes and poor decisions of the past are limiting our community’s future. I will focus on sustainable budgets and ensuring our city provides essential services to the current residents.

How will you best represent the views of your constituents – even those with differing political views? How will you communicate directly with constituents?

Nichols:I believe you can always learn something from everyone, even if we disagree. I pride myself on being fair and reasonable and willing to listen. I want to understand an issue and work to find a solution that’s best for our community. We don’t have to agree, but we should be respectful of and open to differing views.

I disagree with Mayor Blad on removing the “items from the audience” agenda topic. This agenda topic should be reinstated, but I also respect that setting meeting agendas is the Mayor’s responsibility. Until the topic is back on the agenda, I have been and will continue to stay after every Council Meeting to visit with anyone who wants to be heard.

I value input and opinions, because I work for the citizens. They can contact me by email or phone, we can set an appointment to meet, or if they see me in the community, I’m happy to stop and visit. I am willing to talk with anyone at any time. The more information I have, the better decisions I can make as a City Council Member.

Yadon: I believe I can best represent the residents of Pocatello by actively engaging in a variety of community activities and interfacing with the people across the spectrum in our area. Re-establishing public comment in our city meetings and responding directly to our citizens’ emails & phone calls about their concerns will be my method of communicating with my fellow citizens.

What areas in your community need immediate improvement? What actions will you take to address those needs?

Nichols: Pocatello needs to work on maintaining its current assets for our residents and as a commitment to economic development. The City received a little over $10 million in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds, and in June, the City Council narrowed down a list of one-time projects that included many maintenance items. We will be finalizing ARPA projects in October, and I support the list of projects that includes:

• $100,000 for water improvement at Zoo Idaho
• $1 million for a new Ross Park Aquatic Complex slide
• $275,000 for Brooklyn’s Playground improvements
• $500,000 for new pickleball courts
• $1 million for cemetery road improvements

Using the ARPA funds for one-time projects is a good way to improve our quality of life while keeping property taxes low. The departments responsible for the projects I listed above are funded with property taxes, which makes large purchases difficult.

I am also pleased to say that Pocatello’s fiscal year 2024 budget includes funds specifically for maintenance. I agree with the public and City staff that we need to maintain what we already have.

Yadon: I have observed that city ordinances are not regularly enforced, which detracts from the attractiveness of our city. The resulting blight reduces the quality of life for our residents and is a negative in the eyes of potential investors in our community. Abandoned vehicles, people living in RVs in public parking lots, and vacant lots allowed to be overrun with weeds and trash all put our community in a bad light. Addressing the aesthetics in our community will help generate pride in our city and make it more attractive for new businesses to open. If elected to the Pocatello City Council I will work hard to ensure that Pocatello reaches its full potential.

What parts of the city budget could use more funding? Where are places in the budget that cuts could be made?

Nichols: I’m learning that the answers to these two questions are based on each person’s perspective. We all have different priorities, and I am very interested to learn what specific things citizens want and don’t want from local government. Finding the balance to these priorities is what makes setting a city budget so difficult, because we don’t always agree on priorities.

I am proud that the Pocatello fiscal year 2024 budget I voted for increased by less than 3 percent. With the rampant inflation our country has been facing, some of the City’s supply and material purchases increased 20 percent or more. Working with staff and the Mayor, the City Council was able to keep our existing services and set aside funding for maintenance needs with a less than 3 percent increase to the budget.

I want to note, however, that I do not believe austerity budgets are positive for communities. If the City does not invest in activities that maintain infrastructure, create a safe community, protect natural resources, and provide low-cost recreational opportunities, it will dramatically reduce our ability to attract, cultivate, and retain businesses that expand our tax base.

Yadon: In the current local political climate, it is difficult to ascertain what is going on with our city budget because so many details are withheld from the public view.

What is the role of local media in your community? How can city officials work to have a better relationship with the media?

Nichols: The role of media is to help educate citizens by providing timely, accurate information.

I believe the City of Pocatello has a great working relationship with our local media. Our Public Information Officer is always available to reporters, helps reporters get the information they need, and connects them with Pocatello’s elected officials and staff members. The City Council Members and the Mayor are happy to talk with our local media representatives. If reelected, I will continue to advocate for our transparent and open approach.

Yadon: I believe the local media should report the facts concerning our area for the good or the bad. City officials should make themselves available to answer media questions and respond quickly to their requests.