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EDITORIAL: Experience should count when choosing a city councilor

| January 15, 2025 1:00 AM

Don’t discount experience. 

That's our advice to the Post Falls City Council as it prepares to interview candidates Thursday for the final open City Council seat. 

We offer this unsolicited bit of guidance because the council has seemingly, and surprisingly, decided to eliminate those with experience in government to avoid any excess baggage that might come with them. 

The rules for council consideration, as recently stated by Mayor Ron Jacobson, were that anyone who "had run for and been defeated in an election should not or would not be considered" for the open seat.  

The council also asked to focus on candidates who hadn’t gone through committees or commissions in the city. 

Strange reasons to discount people from joining Post Falls City Council.

With government, as with almost anything, experience counts. A person who has previously served on a commission or committee would be a stronger candidate than someone who has never spent one minute serving the city. 

As well, someone who has had the courage to seek election, to run for office, whether they won or lost, would again seem a stronger candidate than someone who has never bothered.

Now, the current councilors likely have their reasons for not wanting to deal with people experienced in some form of public service or who at least tried. They probably believe they will have already made up their minds on some issues and not have an open mind. But perhaps they should reconsider. 

Let’s use the Coeur d’Alene City Council as an example. It’s an experienced group. Kiki Miller, Christie Wood, Amy Evans, Dan English and Dan Gookin all have served for years and its newest member, Kenny Gabriel, came on board when longtime councilor Woody McEvers was named mayor when Jim Hammond resigned. Gabriel was the city’s fire chief for more than 20 years before he retired a few years ago, so he knows how government operates.

These councilors have their own views and have sometimes strongly disagreed on issues. But having long called Coeur d’Alene home, and having long served the city, they have understanding and insights that are certainly responsible for much of the city's success.  

We would not want a group of relative novices making major decisions for more than 50,000 residents on budgets, property taxes, developments and municipal code changes, especially when they haven't been elected. We want such decisions in the hands of those with experience and working knowledge of the city and the needs of its citizens. 

As the search winds down for the next member of the Post Falls City Council, we hope those making the choice do not discount experience and rule out those who have served. Rather, for the sake of those they represent, we hope they toss aside personal biases and consider the best and strongest candidate. If that means that person has run for office and lost, or has served on a commission, so much the better.