CALDWELL, Idaho — Caldwell Mayor Eric Phillips is mourning the loss of Nampa Mayor Rick Hogaboam, who died Wednesday night. Phillips says Hogaboam was more than a neighboring mayor; he was a regional partner and friend.
Idaho News 6's Nampa Neighborhood Reporter Keith Burrell talked with Phillips at Indian Creek Plaza about their relationship and the loss he says reaches beyond Nampa city limits and into Canyon County.
WATCH Mayor Eric Phillips talk about his and Mayor Rick Hogaboam's work
Phillips says his relationship with Hogaboam grew through long conversations about growth, infrastructure, and how Caldwell and Nampa could work more closely together for the sake of both cities and Canyon County.
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"If we both have a lot of similarities, this would be a good time to land the plane in both cities and be able to consolidate missions and goals and create a better situation for both cities," Phillips said.
The partnership was rooted in shared concerns about development, deferred maintenance, and the strain fast growth can put on older city systems.
"We were fully committed on making our communities better," Phillips said.
When Phillips learned Hogaboam had died Wednesday night, he says the loss quickly became physical.
"I felt like it's almost like if you just ran up and just socked me right in the chest and this shock wave went through me, but it really kind of went down my hand, and I got really dizzy, and I stopped talking," Phillips recalled.
Medics checked Phillips on the scene, and he ended up in an ambulance. In that moment, he says one thought took over.
"This should have been Rick. This should have been Rick in here," Phillips said. "It should've been him on the way to the hospital."
The moment became even harder when he realized Hogaboam was not the one being taken to the hospital. He was ultimately told by paramedics that Hogaboam didn't make it.
For Phillips, the realization carried the weight of losing someone he leaned on as a regional partner in their work. Beyond the personal grief, he feels he lost a friend.
"I feel like I lost that partner, right, so it's, it's gonna be hard to fill Rick's shoes," Phillips said.
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