On election night 2025, instead of celebrating, soon-to-be-Mayor Rick Hogaboam reflected on the work that won him Nampa’s mayoral election.

“I tried not to make it a campaign of personalities, tried not to make it gimmicks, tried not to make it tearing down my opponents,” Hogaboam said at the time. “I’m just proud that citizens of Nampa responded favorably to a positive campaign that was focused on the issues.”

After years of public service and a brief stint in the mayor’s office, Hogaboam passed away Wednesday evening at an Eagle town hall.

As previously reported, Hogaboam was mid-speech at Eagle City Hall when he began to slur his words and collapsed. He was later pronounced dead by the Ada County Coroner’s Office. The cause of death was identified Thursday afternoon as cardiac tamponade.

Hogaboam, 47, was sworn in to his first term as mayor in January. He is survived by his wife, Mimi, five children and a grandchild.

On Thursday, friends remembered Hogaboam as a man of faith, family and community service.

Mitch Minnette, president of the Nampa Chamber of Commerce, has known Hogaboam for over two decades, long before his mayoral campaign. He said he knew Hogaboam would be a great mayor, describing him as equally compassionate as he was intelligent.

“The way in which he lived his life was a walking example that he cared about his family and then, ultimately, Nampa,” Minnette said. “It was clear to anybody that knew him that he loved his family dearly. His wife, Mimi, and his kids were, at the end of the day, the most important thing.”

Minnette saw Hogaboam take on multiple roles throughout their friendship.

A longtime Nampa resident, Hogaboam’s resume reads more like a laundry list of the topics he was passionate about. Hogaboam’s previous positions include his time as a pastor, a member of the Idaho Press Editorial Board, a coach for youth sports and a founder of The Nesting Place, a home for expecting mothers.

His detour into politics was driven by a desire to serve. He was elected onto Nampa City Council and served from 2017 to 2020 before becoming chief of staff for then-Mayor Debbie Kling.

“I am deeply grieved and saddened to hear of the passing of Nampa Mayor Rick Hogaboam. Please keep his wife and family in your prayers,” Kling wrote on Facebook on Wednesday night. “Rick was such a talented, smart leader who served with integrity and a servant’s heart. Rick will be greatly missed in our community.”

Former Council Member Sandi Levi knew Hogaboam for over a decade before they served on city council together in 2017. Their kids played sports together and they ran in similar circles. They also shared similar views on filtering their politics through faith.

“I have such admiration for Mayor Hogaboam,” she said. “And I just cannot extend my sympathies to his family enough.”

Levi said they would often deep dive into topics that only they found interesting.

“We had a lot of very in-depth conversations that would probably bore people to tears,” Levi said.

Hogaboam went on to become what Levi believes was “the best mayor ever.”

While it will be a difficult time, Levi said Hogaboam’s family will get through this with his wife being a strong, capable woman.

“The loneliness that I know that Mimi’s going through and the bewilderment of the kids — it just breaks my heart,” Levi said.

Hogaboam later made a career move to work for Canyon County in 2023 where he served as the county clerk for two years. Thursday, Canyon County released a statement on Hogaboam’s passing.

“Thoughtful in his approach, sharp in his insight, and always guided by a genuine desire to serve others, Rick exemplified the very best of what a public servant should be,” the statement reads.

“We are better for having known him, and our community is stronger because of his life’s work,” the statement continues. “Rick, we honor you, we thank you, and we will carry your example forward. Until we meet again in eternity. Well done good and faithful servant.”

Canyon County Clerk Jess Urresti stepped into his role after serving as deputy clerk under Hogaboam.

“Rick consistently put others first, often spending a significant part of his day speaking with colleagues and constituents alike,” Urresti wrote in a Thursday statement. “He truly loved to serve, and that was evident in everything he did.”

When he got the chance to run for Nampa mayor, Hogaboam came to the decision after much prayer, and said the position appealed to him as he would be able to work in the place he considered home — Nampa.

“I love the city,” Hogaboam said in June when he announced his mayoral campaign. “The city has been a great place to raise our family, and our kids have grown up here.”

Despite facing three challengers, Hogaboam won the mayoral office with a majority vote of 62.9%. Even his opponents had good things to say.

“He’s going to make a fine mayor,” 2025 mayoral candidate Suzi Robinson said.

Another candidate, Justin Buchholz, said, “I’m so glad I lost to him, because he earned it.”

Northwest Nazarene University communications director Rob O’Donahue said that Hogaboam loved to attend NNU basketball games with his eldest son, Cody.

“It was great that I was able to pass along those things to Rick and have him enjoy time with his son,” O’Donahue said.

Hogaboam was only in office for two months, but made the most of it, according to friends.

O’Donahue recalled Hogaboam recently eating lunch in the NNU cafeteria with a student athlete he met at the annual Mayors’ Cup game, and said that Hogaboam was beginning to build a partnership with NNU President Mark DeMichael, also in his first year in the role.

In between social media posts highlighting local businesses, analytically minded Hogaboam had taken to posting his insightful thoughts on Facebook, connecting with the Nampa community online.

In a recent St. Patrick’s Day post he talked about the story of Saint Patrick who was kidnapped from Britain by Irish pirates and enslaved for several years. After escaping, the saint went on to embrace Ireland and its culture in spite of the people who wronged him.

“Communities thrive when ordinary people choose forgiveness over grudges, service over cynicism, and neighborliness over noise,” Hogaboam wrote. “Patrick didn’t set out to be a legend; he simply answered the call in front of him.”