CACHE COUNTY – In the conclusion of her brief remarks at the Special Election held Jan. 17 by the Cache County Republicans, candidate JoAnn Bennett declared that she regarded the Logan District 2 delegates gathered at Ridgeline High School “as her family.”
That seemingly offhand, emotional remark proved to be a good strategy, however.
Bennett easily captured 21 of 29 delegate votes on the first ballot of the Special election, with that 72 percent majority earning her the right to replace former council member Barbara Tidwell on the Cache County Council.
The special election was strictly a small, low-key event, with only GOP delegates from Logan District 2 participating. Of a total 57 delegates eligible to vote, only 29 were credentialed on Jan. 17 for a turnout of slightly over 50 percent.
In that environment, Bennett’s younger rival Jeff Wallentine could only muster eight votes or 27 percent.
Bennett told the gathered delegates that she felt “compelled” to run for the seat on the county council because members of her family have always been interested in government, going back to a great-grandfather who served in the Idaho Legislature.
With Council Chair Sandi Goodlander and Vice Chair Kathryn Beus in the audience, Bennett didn’t mince words when she said the county residents have spoken to her “loud and clear” about their frustration over the recent 18 property tax increase approved by the Cache County Council in December.
“If our expenses are higher at home than our income will allow, we have to make some tough choices,” she explained. “That’s what the county is now faced with…
“But I’m prepared to help them make those tough choices.”
Bennett will represent Logan District 2 on the County Council, an area that encompasses portions of the Adams and Bridger neighborhoods, as well as a corridor-stretching north to the Logan-Cache Airport, in the northwest portion of the city.
She will hold that seat through a portion of Tidwell’s unexpired term until December 2026.
The Cache County Council has slated a special meeting at 5 p.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 20 during which Bennett will be sworn in as a council member.