Three newcomers beat out incumbents in Rigby City Council race
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RIGBY — Three new faces will be serving on the Rigby City Council.
Timothy Howe, Tonya Hillman and Reed Stone emerged victorious in Tuesday’s election. Hillman was the leading candidate with 24% of the vote (253 total votes). Howe came in second with 17% of the vote (194 total votes) and Stone earned 12% of the vote (132 total votes).
The three winners were among five candidates facing three incumbents. The incumbent candidates were Douglas and Roarke Burke, who are father and son. Aliza King was the third incumbent candidate.
Douglas had 10% of the vote (105 total votes) and Roarke had 5% of the vote (58 total votes). King walked away with 11% of the vote (120 total votes).
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The other candidates were Roger Stone, who is Reed’s brother, and Theron Andrus. Reed had 12% of the vote (132 total votes). Andrus had 8% of the vote (86 total votes).
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Howe tells EastIdahoNews.com he’s excited to serve the people of Rigby and is grateful to those who supported him. He’s looking forward to collaborating with other members of the city council.
As Howe looks forward, keeping up with growth is his main priority.
“I would like to make sure the growth we see is sustainable and smart,” Howe says. “It’s important that schools especially have what they need to keep our kids taken care of.”
Hillman could not be reached for comment Tuesday night, but Reed says he’s “very pleased” with the victory and praises his fellow winners.
“Hillman and Howe are going to do an excellent job on city council and I’m really excited to work with them,” he says. “I’m excited for the future.”
He’s planning to “take a close look at fiscal responsibility” on the council and make sure it stays within its bounds.
Making sure freedom is “maximized and preserved” is another priority for the newly-elected councilman.
“As people get packed close together like we do in a small town, there’s potential for conflict to increase. We need to look at what people’s rights are, what the limits are and how you do it right. It takes everybody’s involvement and I hope to hear from everyone in the community about what they would like to see and how we can serve the people.”
The winners will be sworn in in January. Each of them will serve a four-year term.