CHUBBUCK — Chubbuck Mayor Kevin England clinched reelection to a third consecutive term on Tuesday, thwarting a challenge from sitting Chubbuck City Council member Dan Heiner.
The vote tally was 1,315 in favor of England and 1,088 for Heiner in the city of just over 15,000 people.
England said in an interview Tuesday prior to the vote count being finalized that he was nervous for Election Day this year but optimistic that the election would go in his favor based on the community’s familiarity with him.
“I’ve been the mayor for eight years. People know who I am and what I do,” he said. “Anytime you’re a candidate, it’s a little bit of a nervous day but it’s a good day. It’s a day we all look forward to when people get to go to the polls and have their voices heard.”
No stranger to political campaigns having run six of them, England said this one has been unique just in the amount of vocal supporters of his he’s encountered. He’s seen “far and away” more support for his mayoral candidacy this go-around than in past elections, he said.
“It’s been to the point that it’s actually overwhelming and humbling,” England said of the support for his campaign. “The expressed support has just been immense.”
England’s reelection not only means Chubbuck retains its mayor, it also means he will be able to serve as president of the Association of Idaho Cities, a position to which AIC members elected him in June for the 2021-22 term.
If England’s bid had not been successful on Tuesday, the AIC presidency would have had to be filled by someone else, most likely a Boise-area mayor.
Now that he’s won reelection, England said he’d celebrate the same way he always has — by putting his mayoral hat on and getting back to work.
“We’re talking about the public’s trust and when people give that to you, there’s a great responsibility that comes from that,” he said. “The minute I get the word that I won, I start that journey again of working hard to serve the folks for the next term.”
Tuesday was also a good day for another incumbent Chubbuck politician — Chubbuck City Council member Roger Hernandez, who will hang onto his post for another four years after beating his opponent Dave Hall by 200 votes.
Hernandez, who holds seat No. 2 on the council, will serve his second term.
“Obviously I’m elated about it,” Hernandez said when asked how he’d celebrate his win on Tuesday. “But I’m just going to continue my job. We have a City Council meeting Wednesday and we’ll just keep going from there, prepping for City Council and making sure we’re doing the right things.”
Chubbuck City Council member Ryan Lewis, seat No. 4, ran unopposed.