Background
Bieter was born in Boise and graduated from Bishop Kelly High School in 1978.
Bieter was born in Boise and graduated from Bishop Kelly High School in 1978.
University of Saint Thomas. University of Idaho.
He is a Democrat though the office of mayor is officially nonpartisan. Bieter earned a bachelor"s degree in international studies from Thomas in Minnesota and a law degree from the University of Idaho. He was admitted to the Idaho State Bar in 1986.
In addition to his native English, Bieter is fluent in Spanish and Basque.
Bieter was elected to a full term in 2000 and reelected in 2002. In 2003 Bieter was elected Boise mayor in a nonpartisan contest, defeating Republican Party activist Chuck Winder and Ada County Sheriff Vaughn Killeen.
He was reelected in 2007 with 64 percent of the vote, defeating city councilman Jim Tibbs. Bieter was an early supporter of Barack Obama in the 2008 United States. presidential election.
lieutenant had been speculated Bieter might emerge as a Democratic candidate for Governor of Idaho in 2010, however he declined to file as a candidate.
Rumors of a possible 2014 Bieter candidacy for governor or another higher office circulated as well. Bieter was a candidate for a fourth term in 2015, defeating Judy Peavey-Derr and Seth Holden with 69 percent of the vote. According to the New York Times, "Bieter spent part of his youth in the Basque Country and is, perhaps unsurprisingly, the only Basque-speaking mayor in the United States." Boise is home to the largest Basque population outside of Europe, with 15,000 Basques.
The couple has one daughter.