English elected new Coeur d'Alene council president

COEUR d’ALENE — Dan English was elected president of the Coeur d’Alene City Council on Tuesday, but it wasn’t a slam dunk. 

English was nominated and confirmed for the post by a 4-1 vote to replace longtime Councilman Woody McEvers, who was sworn in as mayor at the same meeting. McEvers took the place of Jim Hammond, who previously resigned to move near family in Colorado. 

While councilmembers Dan Gookin, Christie Wood, Amy Evans and English voted for English, Kiki Miller voted no. 

She said that in the past, the councilmember with the most seniority would be nominated for the vacated president position.

“We kind of went by that process,” Miller said. 

If that method was followed, Gookin had the longest tenure, serving since 2012, followed by Evans, serving since 2014. English has been on the council since 2016, though he was also elected in 1992 and served two years. 

Miller asked Gookin to explain why he nominated English. 

“I know we had some discussions,” she said. “Maybe you could enlighten me a bit.” 

Gookin said there was no rule about seniority when considering a council president and said he didn’t want it. 

The council president basically fills in at meetings when the mayor can’t be there. 

“You have to sign things and run meetings,” Gookin said. 

He said English indicated he wanted the role, and they had chatted about it, and he believed English would do well.

Miller pointed out there was a lot of talk last month about transparency in the process of nominating a new councilmember to replace McEvers, which "caused me to pause,” when Gookin nominated English.

“Why are we doing what we’re doing?” she asked, then adding, “I just want to lean toward consistency here.” 

Councilwoman Christie Wood said each councilmember was qualified to be council president. 

“You all do a wonderful job,” she said. 

Wood suggested the city might need a policy for such situations, but for now, agreed English was a good choice.

“Today, I’m happy to support Dan,” she said. 

Miller said she appreciated the conversation and explanation. 

“That's always been an important trait of this body,” she said. 

English agreed each councilmember would be a fine president, and said he felt “some kinship” with McEvers. 

He said it was awkward to vote for himself. 

“I will do my very best to fulfill those duties,” he said. 

McEvers congratulated him. 

“You get to wear the big hat,” he said. 

A council seat remains vacant. Retired Coeur d'Alene fire chief Kenny Gabriel was nominated by Hammond to the post last month, but it failed when the council tied 3-3 on the vote, and Hammond declined to break it. 

Gookin, Wood and English voted no, calling for a more open process to involve the public. 

    English