Voters Asked on Combining Chubbuck with Pocatello
There is an unusually rare question on the November ballot in Bannock County that asks if voters are interested in combining the city of Chubbuck with the city of Pocatello, essentially eliminating Chubbuck off the map, sort of.
When voters go to the voting booth or look at their absentee ballots in the east Idaho valley they'll be asked to vote no or yes to this question: "Do you support the consolidation of Pocatello and Chubbuck into one city?" This is only what is called an advisory question, meaning it shows if there is enough interest from the public for elected officials to consider the proposal. If there is a majority yes vote it wouldn't change anything, but only get the city leaders to explore the possibility of a unified city.
Naturally the city leadership of Chubbuck have come out against the question being asked. In a letter sent to the citizens of Chubbuck and shared on socials media, see below, the mayor and city council said they object to the idea of becoming part of Pocatello. The council didn't say anything was wrong with Pocatello in the letter, but they don't want to loose Chubbuck. Mayor Kevin England wrote in the letter that if it was decided to combine the two cities, the smaller would be absorbed into the larger one, thus the city of Chubbuck would be no more, at least on paper. The community would still be there yes, but it would be Pocatello, is essentially what the council and mayor said in the letter.
Everything from Pocatello would become part of Chubbuck, except for any debt the old city might have incurred, that would remain a responsibility of the citizens living in the old foot print of Chubbuck, according to England. The council noted that the question was requested by just a handful of people and asked Chubbuck citizens to vote no on the ballot.
A Letter from the Mayor and City Council! #ChooseChubbuck
Posted by City of Chubbuck on Thursday, October 8, 2020