Public Service Participation

One of the struggles that Democrats, especially in the Magic Valley, have had in the past few years is finding candidates to run for office. Declaring yourself as a candidate for any public office takes fortitude. Having experience behind you that will help show that you are the best qualified candidate is very helpful. If you’re looking for a way to dip your toe into public service, consider applying for a non-elected position.

The non-elected positions provide an excellent starting point for someone who may be thinking of running for an elected office but wants to gain some experience in public service. Having this experience can be very beneficial if you’re interested in running for an elected position. Non-elected positions include serving on advisory boards, library boards, planning and zoning commissions, as well as other city and county boards.

There also are many elected positions including highway districts, fire districts, school district trustees or boards that can be used as starting places for getting involved in public service. These kinds of positions can be leveraged to run for city councils, county commissions, and even state legislative positions.

Public Service non-elected positions in Twin Falls County

Positions for these boards and commissions are advertised, when vacant, on the Twin Falls County website

Fair Board Member, Twin Falls County

Tree Commission, Twin Falls County

Health Initiatives Trust (HIT) Board Member, Twin Falls County

Historic Preservation Advisory Board Member, Twin Falls County

Planning and Zoning Board Member, Twin Falls County

Parks & Waterways Board Member, Twin Falls County

Citizen’s Committee, Twin Falls County

Twin Falls Weed Control Advisory Board, Twin Falls County

Twin Falls Pest Abatement District Advisory Board, Twin Falls County

Middle Snake Regional Water Resource Commission, Twin Falls County

Agriculture Protection Area, Twin Falls County

Public Service non-elected positions in City of Twin Falls

Public Library Advisory Board, Twin Falls, trustee position opens this fall, term begins January 2026

Planning and Zoning Commission, Twin Falls

Parks and Recreation Commission, Twin Falls, terms expire in March of each year

Public Art Commission, Twin Falls, terms expire in July of each year.

Urban Renewal Agency, Twin Falls

Building Inspections Advisory Committee, Twin Falls

Development Impact Fee & Improvement Reimbursement Committee, Twin Falls

Golf Advisory Commission, Twin Falls

Historic Preservation Commission, Twin Falls

Traffic Safety Commission, Twin Falls

Airport Advisory Commission, Twin Falls September 2026 (within city limits), September 2027 (outside city limits)

Impact Fee Commission, Twin Falls, currently has a vacancy

Public Service non-elected positions in Buhl

Planning and Zoning Commission, Buhl

Buhl Rural Fire Protection District, Buhl

Public Service non-elected positions in Kimberly

Library Board, Kimberly

Library Foundation Board, Kimberly

Elected positions in Twin Falls County

County Commissioner 1st Dist.

County Commissioner 2nd Dist.

County Commissioner 3rd Dist.

Sheriff (4 yr)

Prosecuting attorney (4 yr)

Clerk of the District Court (4 yr.)

County Treasurer (4 yr.)

County Assessor (4 yr.)

County Coroner (4 yr.)

Cemetery District Commissioners- November odd years

Filer Cemetery District

West End Cemetery District

City Council and Mayor — November odd years

City of Buhl

City of Castleford

City of Filer

City of Hansen

City of Hollister

City of Kimberly

City of Murtaugh

City of Twin Falls (does not have an elected mayor)

College of Southern Idaho Trustee — November even years

Fire District Commissioners — November odd years

Buhl Rural Fire Protection District

Castleford Rural Fire District

Filer Rural Fire District

Rock Creek Rural Fire Protection District

Salmon Tract Rural Fire Protection District Twin Falls Fire District

Highway District Commissioners — May odd years

Buhl Highway District

Filer Highway District

Murtaugh Highway District

Twin Falls Highway District

Library District Trustees — May odd years

Hansen Free Library District

Recreation District Directors — November odd years

Castleford Park and Recreation District

Filer Community Recreation District

School District Trustees — November odd years Buhl Joint School District

Castleford Joint School District

Filer School District

Hansen School District

Kimberly School District Murtaugh Joint School District

Twin Falls School District Bliss Joint School District

Cassia Joint School District

Hagerman Joint School District

Three Creek Joint School District

From the Town Hall Mar 22, 2025

An informative and well-attended town hall meeting with Luke Mayville, co-founder of Reclaim Idaho, and former state Representatives Sally Toone (D) and Leon Smith (R) was held at the Magic Valley Arts Council Sligar Auditorium. Among the topics discussed were the school voucher bill, the Medicaid Expansion restriction bill, as well as a number of other questions about various topics related to activites of the Trump administration and how they are affecting everyday Americans.

Of the 37,457 phone calls the Governor's office received regarding the school voucher bill, 32,366 of those calls wanted him to veto the bill. The Governor signed it anyway.

Luke Mayville encouraged people not to be too discouraged by the passing of this bill because we can fight against efforts to expand the appropriated $50 million that was in the bill.

Former Representatives Toone and Smith talked about how the legislature has changed over the years and stressed the importance of everyone getting more involved in voting and communicating with one another.

The bottom line is that we all need to become more involved and better informed (from reliable sources) with all of the crazy things happening in our state legislature and in the Trump administration.