LOGAN – At their first regular meeting of 2026, members of the Cache County Council quickly settled the issue of their leadership in the coming year and made preparations to accept a new member joining the panel.
Without opposition, Council Chair Sandi Goodlander was nominated and unanimously confirmed to retain her leadership role, as was Vice Chair Kathryn Beus.
The council also slated a special meeting for Tuesday, Jan. 20 to appoint a replacement for former council member Barbara Tidwell, who announced her resignation from the panel in December.
Tidwell’s departure was effective as of Dec. 31, setting off special election procedures by the Cache County Republicans to replace her.
Policy analyst Andrew Erickson explained that the special election to select a new council member to represent Logan Seat 2 has been set by the local Republican Party on Jan. 17. State law requires that the new council member be appointed within seven days their election.
Since being elected to the Cache County Council in November of 2016, Tidwell served on that panel for nine years. She has held the posts of either chair or vice chair during much of recent years, guiding that body through often turbulent periods of growth, transition and significant county initiatives.
Republicans JoAnn Bennett and Jeffrey Wallentine have filed their candidacy to replace Tidwell and will face off in the special election being held by the Cache County Republican Party on Saturday, Jan. 17.
Tidwell represented portions of the Adams and Bridger neighborhoods, as well as a corridor stretching north to the Logan-Cache Airport. Logan 2 precinct leaders and delegates only will participate in the special election to replace her.
That special election will select a candidate to fill out the reminder of Tidwell’s current term of office through December 2026, according to Cache County Clerk Bryson Behm.
The Republican special election will be held at 10 a.m. on Jan. 17 at Ridgeline High School in Millville.
The special meeting of the Cache County Council to accept the new council member is set at 5 p.m. in the Historic County Courthouse at 199 North Main Street in Logan.
In other business, council members reviewed a plan for integrated behavioral health care presented by Jordan Mathis of the Bear River Health Department and scheduled public hearing for Jan. 27 for various rezone ordinances.