LOGAN – As usual in cases when members of the Logan City Council get to fill a panel vacancy via a “beauty contest” selection process, numerous candidates have tossed their hats into the ring to replace Mayor-Elect Mark Anderson.
Back in October of 2020, council member Ernesto Lopez was selected to replace former council member Jess Bradfield from a field of 15 hopefuls after multiple rounds of voting by fellow council members.
In the current race to serve out Anderson’s unexpired term until Jan. 1, 2028 are nine candidates. Some of them are familiar names and faces, others are not.
Leading the pack is Melissa Dahle, who came within a hair’s breathe of winning a council seat in the November municipal election. Dahle’s vote total in that contest was separated from that of rival candidate Katie Lee-Koven by less than one percent of the mail-in ballots cast.
Alanna Nafziger ran unsuccessfully against Anderson for the post of mayor in the recent municipal election.
Longtime council watcher and critic, Joshua Molitor, has also filed with the City Recorder to replace Anderson, as has Gail Bonnie Yost who also frequently addresses the members of the city council about local concerns.
Other candidates in the running include Paula Allen, Craig Maughan, Scott Mershon, Paul Rogers and Brieanne Sparks.
The filing period of candidates seeking to fill the council vacancy closed on Dec. 5, according to City Recorder Teresa Harris.
The members of the Logan Municipal Council will meet Tuesday, Dec. 16 to publicly interview those applicants and select Anderson’s replacement.
The agenda for that meeting will include three-minute statements by each of the candidates, followed by discussion.
If necessary, the council members will vote to winnow the number of candidates. The council members will then interview the remaining applicants and make their selection.