The Sun Valley City Council election Tuesday, Nov. 8, the first "open" election since the city voting system changed earlier this year, sparked more genuine debate than past elections, some city officials said this week.
"Each candidate articulated and had to articulate more than they had to in the past, when there was assigned-seat voting. I think it was a plus for the citizens," Sun Valley Mayor Jon Thorson said.
Citizens overwhelmingly elected incumbent Councilwoman Ann Agnew and Planning and Zoning Chairman Nils Ribi, both of whom support implementing "action items" in the city's 2005 Comprehensive Plan Update.
Ribi, seeking his first term on the council, garnered 355 votes. Agnew won a second council term with 315 votes.
Seeking a fifth term on the council, incumbent candidate Kevin Laird earned 146 votes. Milt Adam gained 82 votes in his third bid for a council seat. Former Sun Valley city administrator Dan Pincetich garnered 36 votes.
Candidates ran under the open-seat election system. The system allowed all council candidates to run against each other, competing for the two open seats.
"This year (the election) was particularly motivated by people being interested in and participating in the comprehensive plan," Thorson said.
Both Agnew and Ribi won council seats with platforms centered on the comprehensive plan. The city approved the guiding land-use document in September.
"I think (voters) are looking for the continuation of the change that began two years ago," Ribi said. "They see Sun Valley's future is precious and that it needs to be taken care of on an active basis with attention to detail and a concern for the long-range sustainability for the community."
Sun Valley recorded the highest voter turnout in Blaine County, with 56 percent of registered voters casting ballots. Of the votes, the city recorded 177 absentee ballots.
"This is an election people were really interested in," said Beverly Reeves, a Sun Valley election judge.
So-called "bullet voting," the practice of voters selecting only one candidate when more than one seat is up for election, appeared to play a minimal role. Opponents of abandoning the city's designated-seat election system had expressed concern about bullet voting.
Of the city's 905 registered voters, the city reported 506 cast ballots in the election.
Votes distributed among the candidates indicated that 39 voters, or 8 percent, selected only one candidate.
"If those were bullet votes, it would be a very small percentage, so that fear of bullet voting being a factor was spurious," Thorson said.
Ribi's election to the council leaves a vacancy on the Planning and Zoning Commission. Thorson said he would make a recommendation to fill the vacancy this month. The recommendation must be ratified by the City Council.
