Jim Boland’s hands sit in his lap, worn and dirty from the day’s work.
His smile, however, remains as pristine as ever and his eyes glint from underneath his heavy stocking cap.
At first glance, it would be hard to peg Boland as a politician, which is just the way he likes it.
“I’m the world’s most reluctant politician,” Boland said, a Moscow City Council member. “I would not ever have sought that out on my own volition.”
A University of Idaho graduate from the 70s, Boland said participation in local government had never crossed his mind until Moscow Mayor Bill Lambert walked in his meat packing facility in 2015 and asked him to consider filling a recently vacated seat on the council.
“He’s been involved in the community for years and years and years. I thought he would make an excellent councilman,” Lambert said. “I had interviewed others before, but I thought Jim was the best prospect.”
Boland begrudgingly agreed to fill in for Tom Lamar, who had vacated his seat after becoming Latah County Commissioner. Boland said his 40-year friendship with Lambert played a large factor in his decision to enter the realm of politics. The two met in 1977 when they both worked at Safeway in Moscow.
Gavriel Neilsen | Argonaut City Council member Jim Boland prepares bratwursts Wednesday afternoon for his local business Hog Heaven Sausage Works.
Boland eventually agreed to interview for the position, and Lambert promptly appointed him to the seat. Boland said he originally planned to stay on the council for the remainder of Lamar’s original term. However, it didn’t take long for him to realize just how much he could impact the community in his position, leading him to run for a second term.
“It turned out that it was pretty rewarding,” he said. “You can actually have some influence and change things for the better.”
Boland, who became a stock broker out of college, said the office life never suited him. An experienced meat packer, he went back to school to earn a master’s degree in business and administration with the goal to start his own business.
He eventually purchased C&L Locker Co., a local meat packing facility. Boland spent 25 years at the helm before turning over the company to one of his colleagues and starting his own business: Hog Heaven Sausage Works.
Boland said his cut-and-dry approach to managing directly relates to his short political career, with a simple platform that he can easily convey to his constituents. Boland said since joining the council, the legalization of marijuana and pedestrian safety have been at the forefront of his mind.
The issue regarding marijuana, Boland said, has especially been blown out of proportion.
“This is ridiculous. We spend all this money and energy on arresting and incarcerating and prosecuting people for something that’s not harmful to society,” he said. “Why are we doing that?”
As for pedestrians, Boland said he wants to see Moscow become a more pedestrian-friendly town, with footbridges and underpasses keeping students walking and biking to class out of the way of traffic.
Boland, an avid biker since 2000, said his own experiences riding the Tour Divide, a 32-day bike trek along the Canadian border, inspired him to promote self-powered transportation across the Palouse.
“I’ve been pretty close to bears and cougars on the Tour Divide. I came over a hill and there’s a cougar from here to the door, laying in the trail,” he said. “There’ll be a pair of bear cubs across the trail in front of you, and you know mom’s right there somewhere, so you get the hell out of there.”
Boland said he plans to continue biking well into his old age, with a journey from Oregon to Virginia planned for later this year.
Lambert said he appreciates Boland’s role as the voice of reason on the council. He said Boland often looks at the big picture before making a decision, and always put the betterment of Moscow first.
“He is solid on anything he does,” Lambert said. “That’s why I consider him a friend.”
Boland, who said he remains undecided on if he will run again for his seat in 2019, encouraged others who are considering a career in local government to explore as many different avenues as possible.
“It’s about representative democracy,” he said. “If you’re interested in doing it, jump on it. We need as much engagement as possible.”
Brandon Hill can be reached at [email protected]