Lake City squeakers

Coeur d'Alene City Council incumbents all won and say they're ready to get back to work.

Unlike neighboring cities, Coeur d'Alene voters re-elected their city council members — but none won by a landslide. 

According to the Kootenai County Elections Office, the final ballot count showed:

Seat 2

Amy Evans* — 5,459

Roger Garlock — 5,178

Morgan Dixon — 458

Seat 4

Woody McEvers* — 5,677

JD Claridge — 4,743

Grayson Cross — 607

Seat 6

Kiki Miller* — 5,570

Elaine Price — 5,521

All the incumbents have held their seats for at least seven years. At one time, each ran unopposed for the council, but this year was different.

The tight races reminded them that issues still need to be addressed in the Lake City, and they hope to control them.

"This election, the people I spoke with expressed their desire to have respectful conversations about affordable housing options, the increased traffic and maintaining a high quality of life," Evans told The Press on Thursday. 

The Seat 2 councilwoman said she's "honored to serve our wonderful community for another four years." During that time, she plans to keep her campaign promises by working on:

• Affordable housing

• Supporting public safety

• Maintaining community well-being 

While Evans' opponent, Roger Garlock, did not win the election, he told The Press Thursday that his commitment to the community will not waver. 

"You can do more good outside of politics for our community, so I will not disappear," he said. "I will continue to fight for Coeur d'Alene and fight for at-risk populations as I've done for 20 years. I'm not going to stop just because I lost an election."

Garlock said he was "naturally" disappointed to see the results. However, he was happy to see that 13 of the 25 precincts had voted in his favor.

"I put up pretty big numbers and was the second-place person, meaning more people wanted a change," he said. "I think that's pretty telling of the community, and I feel good about that." 

It's only been a few days since Election Day, so plans for another campaign are not underway. But, if the opportunity arises for Garlock or another individual he supports, he said he would step in and help. 

"I'm nobody special, so it was amazing to meet the people willing to support me and believe in me," he said. "It's a blessing to know that people were behind me to do some good." 

With nearly two decades of council experience under his belt, McEvers is no newcomer to city government. Still, he said he's not afraid to switch gears and focus more attention on items residents need. 

"I want to try and pick the low-hanging fruit that will make people feel good about what we're doing, which seems to have been lacking this year," McEvers said. "This year, I'll try to dig into some things that are bigger and harder to get our hands wrapped around." 

The most significant issues McEvers heard from residents while on the campaign trail were affordable housing and traffic. While he's "not wild about the government stepping in and taking care of everything," the councilman said his next term will revolve around working with the community to make the city "flow better."

For Seat 4 challenger JD Claridge, the campaign trail was "an exciting sprint." 

"I met so many wonderful people and did my best to understand their concerns," he said Thursday. "This is a beautiful town, and I can't wait to contribute in any way I can to Coeur d'Alene's future success." 

Another bid for office is "certainly on the table," Claridge said, but he doesn't have immediate plans to run again. 

"I'm going to take some time to rest and reflect with my family," he said. "I'm so thankful for the many volunteers who gave their time, energy and money to our cause. A huge thank you to all of them." 

With only a 49 vote split between them, Elaine Price lost to incumbent Kiki Miller for Seat 6.

"It just shows how divided our community is," Price said. "I think the community is divided on the direction that the city's going in dealing with density."

While she hasn't decided if she'll run again, Price said she would remain active and see what two years bring.

"This one was a tough one because it was so close, and it's disappointing to lose by such a small margin, but I also have 5,520 people that voted for me," Price said. "They deserve to have a voice, so I need to be their voice."

Miller was "happy and honored" to win. Reflecting on her last opposed election in 2012, Miller felt there was "not the incivility that exists here now."

"This campaign was fraught with untruths and party politics that didn't occur here in the past," she said.

Miller said she'll continue pushing to find solutions for the housing crisis and growth impacts. 

"My goals are to continue working with the Regional Housing and Growth (Issues) Partnership because providing real solutions to housing issues is a must," she said.