Reformed inmate vying for seat on Idaho Falls City Council
By Rett Nelson, EastIdahoNews.com
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IDAHO FALLS, Idaho (eastidahonews.com) — EDITOR’S NOTE: The following is part of a series of profiles of the 2025 Idaho Falls City Council candidates.
Stephanie Taylor-Thompson, a former inmate who now ministers in prisons nationwide, is vying for a seat on the Idaho Falls City Council.
The 42-year-old woman is one of seven candidates seeking Seat 2, currently occupied by Lisa Burternshaw. Burtenshaw is running for mayor. Other candidates running for this seat include Jordan Bardsley, Teresa Dominick, Mosy Moran, Brandon Lee, Christopher Joseph Brunt and Brad Whipple.
Part 1: Meet three of the seven candidates running for Seat 2 on the Idaho Falls City Council
Part 2: Meet four of the seven candidates running for Seat 2 on the Idaho Falls City Council
In a conversation with EastIdahoNews.com, Taylor-Thompson says she’s been “immensely blessed” with opportunities to succeed and serve others and she wants to continue serving the community in this capacity.
If elected, she said she promises to be a leader who “intentionally listens” to the concerns of residents.
“What I plan to do as a city council member is to take the concerns of residents and really listen, not just be a person who listens and waits to respond but someone who intentionally listens and works towards a resolve on the concerns or challenges we are facing in our community,” Taylor-Thompson says.
Taylor-Thompsons says she was once a victim of human trafficking and has helped 100 survivors. It’s an issue she’d like to see the city pay more attention to.
“It’s happening all the time. We have a hotel here that is plagued with human trafficking,” she says, but she did not specify which one.
Taylor-Thompson, who was once arrested by Idaho Falls Police on drug charges and currently serves on the city’s strategic planning committee for the new police department — the same agency connected to her arrest in 2002 — says there’s also a huge problem with fentanyl.
At an overdose awareness event last month, she says more than 100 people were recognized who recently died from fentanyl overdoses.
“It just broke my heart. These are our brothers and sisters in Christ who are dying. Some of them are so young, like 15 or 16 years old,” says Taylor-Thompson. “I really believe in our law enforcement and want to make sure that they have the resources they need to continue to protect and serve our community.”
Although this is Taylor-Thompson’s first time running for public office, she has an extensive background working with government and elected officials.
Taylor-Thompson’s background Over the last 14 years, she’s served on the boards for the Behavioral Health Crisis Center, the Center for Hope and the Greater Idaho Falls Police Foundation.
She worked alongside former Lt. Gov. Janice McGeachin and state lawmakers on the Clean Slate Act, a 2023 law that allows those who have completed sentences for non-violent crimes to petition the courts to shield their criminal record from public disclosure. She’s currently involved in developing criminal justice reform policies for youth and adults.
Taylor-Thompson also serves on the Governor’s Commission on Service and Volunteerism. She was recently appointed to the Idaho State Rehabilitation Council and is an elected member of the Region 7 Behavioral Health Board.
In her youth, she battled a drug addiction and had a contentious relationship with law enforcement. She was arrested in Montana in 2010 and spent more than a year in prison.
During her incarceration at the Pocatello Women’s Correctional Center, a prison ministry volunteer mentored and helped her. Taylor-Thompson read the Bible cover-to-cover nine times.
She says her parole officer spent a lot of time helping her get on her feet after her release.
“She believed in me and believed in the power of restoration and rehabilitation and literally did everything she could to help me succeed,” says Taylor-Thompson.
Taylor-Thompson credits her parole officer for helping her enroll in higher education and obtain gainful employment. One of her first jobs as an ex-con was a job with the Idaho Department of Corrections.
“I was the first person with a (criminal) background to be hired by them. They actually created a position for me (as a re-entry specialist). I worked in that position overhauling the state’s re-entry system,” she says.
Today, Taylor-Thompson has degrees in criminology, sociology and social work. She is a national level director in prison ministry and was just accepted to law school.
She’s won numerous awards and is a nationally recognized keynote speaker. She recently spoke to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and has been featured in national magazines.
She said her faith in Jesus Christ motivated her to give back and that led her to pursue prison ministry.
“My faith drives me in all that I do. I am committed to serving with excellence,” Taylor-Thompson says.
She feels her experience makes her uniquely qualified to serve on the city council and hopes voters will give her that opportunity on Nov. 4.
“The Lord put it in my heart to serve,” she says. “I’m doing it because I’ve been asked to and I take that very seriously. I want to serve. I’ve served for years and that’s what I want to continue to do.”
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