COEUR D'ALENE, Idaho — Monday afternoon, Coeur d’Alene City Council started interviewing candidates to fill its vacant council seat.
Position Four opened up when Councilmember Woody McEvers became the city’s interim mayor. That's because Mayor Jim Hammond retired in August.
Coeur d’Alene City Council is collectively impressed by all three candidates. This will be a tough decision.
The next steps include a candidate nomination from Coeur d’Alene’s interim mayor.
These three candidates stepped forward hoping to be the city's newest council member.
Kenneth Gabriel is Coeur d’Alene’s recently retired fire chief.
"I think what I bring that a lot of people don't, is a true, lovely community, and I've tried to prove that for my entire adult life," Gabriel said.
John Austin is a Semi-retired former Finance Director and City Administrator. He served as Kootenai County’s finance director from 1987-1991. Then, he served as the city of Coeur d’Alene’s finance director from 1991-2000.
“It was always my intention to try to try to join the council and get back a little bit to the community,” Austin said.
Jeff Connaway owns a local sign business and previously served on the city’s arts commission.
“I own my own company and have dealt with all manner of people and situations," Connaway said. "I think I've done well because I'm fair-minded and I'm able to kind of analyze situations and get to the bottom of whatever the issue is and come up with a good idea.”
In their public interviews with city council, each candidate shared their experience and what skills they would bring to council.
“I have a pretty keen knowledge of what this council has done," Gabriel said. "Over the years, I've been to literally hundreds of council meetings. I've been to probably more budget hearings than almost everybody in this room, and I think I have a pretty good knowledge of what it would take to be a council member.”
“I know it was a couple of decades ago, but I did serve as your finance director and city treasurer,” Austin said.
When asked how Austin would improve the city’s budget process, he said he would ask the mayor to appoint him to lead those conversations with city staff.
Connaway leaned on his experience running a business.
“I think I'm a reasonable, intelligent person that is articulate enough to read material and understand it, to hear people express their points of view,” Connaway said.
The next step is McEvers will nominate his pick for council seat four. That nomination will happen at the next council meeting on Tuesday, October 15. Then, a majority vote from the council will confirm that nomination. That candidate will serve on the council until the elections in November 2025.
Council members agree all three would do a good job on council, adding they each have the time and interest to devote to the position.
We’ll find out who will fill the seat next week.