It's election season in Ketchum, and although the city is grappling with ever-changing issues there is a distinct thread binding the last quarter-century.
That thread is the high profile and heated nature of politics in the historic-mining-town-turned-resort-city and some of the personalities that go with it.
Seven candidates have filed to run for two open City Council seats in the Nov. 6 election. It's the largest field since at least 1990 and possibly ever, said Ketchum City Clerk Sandy Cady.
"This is the most I ever remember," she said. "I'm just thinking people are taking more of an interest."
Single-term council members Terry Tracy and Steve Shafran will vacate the two open seats.
Ketchum City Administrator Ron LeBlanc speculated that any time there are two open seats it is likely that more candidates will file.
"People are more reluctant to run against an incumbent," he said. "Also, from what I understand a lot of the candidates filed on the last day or close to the last day, so I don't think they realized what the others were doing."
Ketchum Mayor Randy Hall could not be reached for comment, but he, too, is a man forged by Ketchum's political fires. Appointed to the Ketchum Planning and Zoning Commission in 1994, he went on to serve on the City Council, and then to win the mayor's office in 2002.
Things came to a head with some of the personalities in the fall 2001 Ketchum election when five mayoral candidates and four City Council candidates sparred over Ketchum's future. The result of the mayoral race was that Ketchum attorney Ed Simon was elected mayor, edging out incumbent David Hutchinson, who had served on the P&Z and City Council for a decade before being appointed to the city's chief office.
Four years later, then Councilman Hall won the mayor's office from Simon, and he did so with support from Hutchinson, among others.
Although Ketchum is facing a myriad of issues ranging from the impacts of second home ownership to a re-centering of the city's business core, there is a distinct thread of personalities that ebb and flow in the city's political stew.
Much of it goes back 15 years, to a November 1992 recall election in which Simon was one of three Ketchum City Council members who were recalled following a bitter dispute between the City Council and former Police Chief Cal Nevland.
On Nov. 3, 1992, Ketchum voters removed Simon, Pam Ritzau and Larry Young from office only 10 months into their four-year terms. The recall culminated a drawn-out drama between the City Council, Nevland and police department officers.
On July 30, 1992, the council unanimously voted to fire Nevland, alleging he had given "career-threatening evaluations" to two officers who talked to the council about internal police department matters.
"There has been seven months of this nightmare," then Mayor Dan Hamilton, who supported Nevland, told the Idaho Mountain Express. "I think the council realizes that this can't go on, and I certainly realize this situation can't go on."
The dispute between the council and Nevland covered an array of disagreements centered on what the council perceived as lack of communication between the police department and city leaders.
On Nov. 3, 1992, Ritzau, Simon and Young were recalled in an election that witnessed a more than 50 percent voter turnout. Simon, who served as liaison between the council and the Police Department, was reported to be the most vocal of Nevland's opponents. He received 747 recall votes, the most of any of those removed from office.
Then-Councilman Guy Coles, who was later appointed mayor to fill Hamilton's shoes when he resigned in July 1993, was not targeted by the recall despite his vote for Nevland's removal. Coles was elected mayor twice following the recall, but died in August of 2001, four months before his term expired.
That's when longtime Councilman Hutchinson, then council president, was appointed to fill the role of mayor. That kicked off the bitterly contested race between Simon, Hutchinson and three other candidates, among them perennial candidate Mickey Garcia who is running for the City Council this fall.
Personnel disputes and a distinct personality clash with Hall marred Simon's term. Four years later Hall decisively won the mayor's office from his long-time political adversary.
The Randy Hall administration, however, has made waves in Ketchum. The City Council, under his direction, has made drastic changes including implementation of a community development corporation, urban renewal agency, downtown master plan, Fourth Street design changes and implementation of a Warm Springs master planning process and transferable development rights.
"I'm sure" those things may have piqued people's interest and have had an effect on candidates' decisions to run, LeBlanc said.
Among the candidates running for City Council this fall are former P&Z Commissioner Greg Strong and current Commissioner Curtis Kemp. Kemp, a local architect, was one of two men appointed to the P&Z when Strong and Commission Chairman Jack Rutherford were suddenly dismissed earlier this summer.
Candidates Deborah Burns and Rich Fabiano are also on the P&Z. Burns owns a local boutique clothing store, and Fabiano owns Fabiano Construction.
Candidate Larry Helzel manages an investment partnership and has lived in Ketchum since 2001. Jay Emmer owns Ketchum Dry Goods on Sun Valley Road. Garcia is a circulation employee with the Idaho Mountain Express.
Neither Jeff Inman nor Strong has yet been reached to discuss the pending election or their candidacies.
The winners of the two open seats will work with Councilmen Ron Parsons and Baird Gourlay, as well as Hall.
Political forum
The Idaho Mountain Express will host a political forum for Ketchum City Council candidates on Thursday, Oct. 18, at 6:30 p.m. in Ketchum City Hall. Pizza will be provided by the Express.
