As cities throughout the Wood River Valley gear up for November's public office elections, Hailey mayoral and City Council candidates will get the opportunity to present their platforms and answer questions from voters in the first of a series of Pizza and Politics forums taking place this month.
For the 26th consecutive year, the Idaho Mountain Express is organizing the forums, starting off in Hailey on Wednesday, Oct. 17, at the meeting room of the Old County Courthouse at 6:30 p.m.
The public is invited to the event, which will be moderated by Express Publisher Pam Morris. It will feature Erin Dunn and Rick Davis, the candidates for mayor, and Fritz Haemmerle, Geoffrey Moore, and Stefanie Marvel, the candidates for City Council.
Although both were born and raised in Hailey, the candidates vying for the seat soon to be vacated by the current mayor, Susan McBryant, have significantly different backgrounds.
Whereas Davis, 58, is a 16-year veteran and current president of the City Council, the 28-year-old Dunn, an Edge Wireless account executive, is making his first foray into politics.
When Davis announced his candidacy in August, he said that his main focus if elected to the city's top post would be to encourage further business development. This includes increasing the products and services offered, thus giving consumers less of a reason to shop outside of the valley, as well as providing greater employment opportunities, Davis said.
Dunn agreed that the economic vibrancy of Hailey's downtown core is of major importance, and that affordable housing, one of the hot button issues of this year's election, is necessary to provide employers with a consistent workforce.
Another major challenge Hailey's new mayor will face is filling a number of staff positions that were vacated during the summer, including city administrator, chief of police, and public works supervisor.
With Davis in the running for mayor, his seat on the council is up for grabs, and three candidates have stepped forward to contest it.
Stefanie Marvel, current chairwoman of the Planning and Zoning Commission, on which she has served since 2004, said during her announcement for candidacy that the city's growth is one of her chief concerns, not surprising with the potential annexation of Quigley Canyon looming on the horizon.
The growth issue is also at the forefront for Geoffrey Moore, who was a part of the workshops for the design review guidelines and the Old Hailey Townsite district. He is a regular in the audience at both P&Z and council meetings.
The third contender is Fritz Haemmerle, who served as the county's prosecuting attorney from 1991 to 1995, and included protection of the historical identity of Hailey as one of his priorities when he announced his candidacy in September.
The public is invited to meet the candidates, ask questions and partake of a variety of pizzas donated by Smoky Mountain Pizza. Each of the four events will run between one and two hours.
Ketchum City Council candidates will present their platforms at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 18, at Ketchum City Hall. The Bellevue Pizza and Politics will be held at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 24, in the library of the Bellevue Elementary School. And, lastly, the Sun Valley candidates will face off at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 25, at Carol's Dollar Mountain Lodge.
Stefanie Marvel
Rick Davis
Erin Dunn
Fritz Haemmerle
Geoffrey Moore
