About the Mayor

David H. Bieter was elected Mayor of Boise in 2003 on the promise of making it the most livable city in the country. With his re-election in 2007, Bieter is delivering on that pledge with new neighborhood libraries, new and expanded community and regional parks, a strong economic development program and an emphasis on environmental protection and sustainability.

Born and raised in Boise, Bieter is a graduate of Bishop Kelly High School and earned a bachelor’s degree in International Studies at The College of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minn., before completing his Juris Doctorate at University of Idaho College of Law. He gained expertise in municipal issues as civil counsel to Bonner County in Sandpoint, as civil prosecutor and land-use specialist in the Ada County Prosecutor’s Office, and later as a private attorney. He was chosen to assume his father’s seat in the Idaho House of Representatives after both of his parents, Pat and Eloise Bieter, were killed in an automobile accident in 1999. Voters elected him to full terms in the House in 2000 and again in 2002.

As mayor, Bieter created the first municipal ethics commission in Idaho. He succeeded in funding four new neighborhood libraries with no tax increase and oversaw the addition of more than 100 acres of new or developed parklands in 2006 alone. Bieter leads the countywide Blueprint for Good Growth and was the first mayor in Idaho to sign the U.S. Mayors Climate Protection Agreement, committing Boise to reduce greenhouse emissions.

Bieter is fluent in Basque and Spanish, and has been involved extensively in Boise’s Basque community. In 2005, Basque President Juan Jose Ibarretxe presented Bieter with the Sabino Arana “Basques Throughout the World” Award for his work on behalf of Basque peace and self-determination.

Bieter has been married to his wife, Julia, since 1998. They have a daughter, Josie, born in 2005.