This Moment Calls for Leaders to Lead

Today, city leaders face a critical moment—one that demands the very values Rick embodied: continuity, compassion, and commitment to community. The loss of a mayor is both operationally and emotionally destabilizing. To introduce additional upheaval now would place undue strain on employees already navigating significant grief.

For this reason, we urge the Nampa City Council to consider asking former Mayor Debbie Kling to return and provide stability during this transition. For eight years she guided this team with experience, steadiness, and care. She is a known and trusted leader—someone capable of wrapping supportive arms around a city workforce that now needs reassurance as much as direction.

Debbie Kling is the logical choice. She handily won two elections. When she stepped aside, she endorsed Rick Hogaboam as her successor. She and Mayor Hogaboam worked closely together before and after the change in administration. It was seamless and can be that way again for Nampa’s citizens and employees.

This is not a political moment. It is a human one.

Nampa deserves leadership that prioritizes people over position, service over self, steadiness over chaos. Mayor Hogaboam lived these values every day. Honoring him requires city leaders to do the same.

As community members, business leaders, and residents who care deeply about Nampa’s future, we ask the Council to act as principled stewards—those who place employee well‑being and community continuity at the forefront.

Choosing our next Mayor is a decision that will shape Nampa’s future. Because of its importance, we urge the City Council to deliberate openly and transparently so residents can have confidence in the process and its outcome.

The magnitude of this moment is undeniable. But so, too, is the opportunity to rise to it with integrity, compassion, and courage. This is what leadership demands. And this is how we honor Rick.

Respectfully,
2C Values