BOISE, Idaho — When this former Boise Police Chief retired in 2015, he probably never thought he would be thrust back into the spotlight as a challenger to a sitting mayor. But Mike Masterson says the current administration is mired in crisis, waste, and drift, and the police department remains in turmoil. And he wants to fix it.
"I had to give it some thought, retirement has been good but I've invested a lot in this city, I love it."
Mike Masterson says the thought of running started with a couple of editorials he wrote in defense of the Boise Police Department.
"The Mayor shouldn't be casting suspicion on all the departments because of the actions of one. And as you know, you write letters."
Masterson is referring to retired Captain Matt Bryngelson, who was listed as a speaker at a conference hosted by a white nationalist organization. McLean condemned Bryngelson, but said the city should launch an investigation to see if there's a bigger problem. Masterson says the mayor didn't follow the city's policies of identifying the scope of work, the cost, or the timeline.
"We hand-picked an east coast law firm when we had an equally competent company right here that could have helped us in that investigation. And of course, we saw the outcome much like we predicted, that it was the views of one troubled individual who created a lot of stern and controversy in this community."
I asked Masterson if he personally saw racism in the department during his ten years as chief.
"I recall one incident where we had one individual, a police officer from another community, and he was heard referring to a particular segment in the community in a racist way. It was an officer, not the supervisors, who reported it. The [offending] officer was relieved of his duty and the next day he was terminated."
Masterson also made it a point to bring new recruits to the Anne Frank Memorial. He says he did that for one reason.
He wanted new officers to be empowered "To speak out about injustice whenever or where ever they saw it."
As far as his relationship with current Boise Police Chief Ron Winegar. He says Wineger is a decent man, a leader of character and integrity and that he will do well as chief. That decision, he says, should have been made three years ago.
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Masterson is also concerned about a rise in graffiti, and keeping the streets safe, especially at night.
"Some of the perceptions of downtown is that it's not a safe place to be after 9:30 at night and we need to change that."
As far as the homeless issue, Masterson says we need more counseling options, but he's ready to draw a hard line if it's not a two-way street.
"They don't get to come into our community and make the rules, and I think we're seeing that all across the country. We're seeing cities say 'No, you're not coming in here and violating our rules. [Though] you have a right to be here, but live by our rules.'"
I asked Masterson if this is "his" campaign or if it is others who may have plucked him from the political tree, to which he responded, "Nobody can pluck me out of retirement, and spending time with grandkids."
