What if you held an election and nobody came? River Heights cancels election
October 7th, 2015 Posted in OpinionRIVER HEIGHTS — For the first time in more than two decades, River Heights will hold no November municipal elections, city officials say.
The reason? No candidates filed to challenge the three City Council incumbents, city recorder Sheila Lind said.
Because the election is uncontested, the Council voted unanimously at its Sept. 22 meeting to cancel balloting. The lack of challenges came as no surprise to Mayor James Brackner.
“It’s a quiet community,” Brackner said. “We’ve had no major issues of concern that people aren’t happy about, so they just didn’t think there was a need to change the ones who were already there, I believe.”
City Council member Robert Scott, who has served only since June, filed for reelection, as did the two other incumbents. He says he was impressed with the city’s leadership even before he took office.
“I always felt the city was doing a phenomenal job,” he said. “We’re fiscally responsible, and I think everyone is comfortable with the way things are now.”
Brackner, however, hopes citizens will continue to take an interest in the community even if they have no interest in running for office. Citizens are always invited to comment at meetings, Brackner said. He encourages residents to come to the council’s next meeting on Oct. 13 to discuss the city’s wastewater treatment deal with Logan, an issue the council has debated for months.
• See previous story: River Heights seeks citizen input on wastewater deal (Sept. 29).
The three incumbents who will continue in office are Robert Scott, Dixie Wilson and Blake Wright.
Scott, the newest council member, was named to replace Richard Okelberry in June. Wilson has been in office since 2012. Wright, the longest serving city council member, has been in office since 2008.
TP
Tags: 2015 elections, James Brackner, River Heights, Robert Scott, Sheila Lind
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