Lifelong Idaho Falls resident with a desire to serve vying for a seat on the city council
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EDITOR’S NOTE: The following is part of a series of profiles of the 2025 Idaho Falls City Council candidates.
IDAHO FALLS – Christopher Joseph Brunt, a lifelong Idaho Falls resident, is one of seven candidates vying for a seat on the city council.
The 46-year-old man is running for Seat 2, which Lisa Burtenshaw currently occupies. Burtenshaw is running for mayor. Others competing for this seat include Jordan Bardsley, Teresa Dominick, Brandon Lee, Mosy Moran, Stephanie Taylor-Thompson and Brad Whipple.
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In a conversation with EastIdahoNews.com, Brunt says he doesn’t have any particular agenda motivating him to run. He’s always been interested in politics and he saw it as an opportunity to invest in his community.
“It’s an open seat. There’s no incumbent. I’m not interested in going up against anybody or having a contest. This is all about wanting to serve the community I’ve lived in my whole life,” Brunt says.
Representation is the focus of Brunt’s campaign. He notes it’s an issue America fought a war over before its founding and Brunt feels many have lost sight of that in today’s political climate.
“My focus, now and always, has been representation first,” he says. “There’s a lot of people out there who feel like they aren’t heard. A lot of people running for this particular seat have the same complaint. Making sure the city council represents the full demographic of the city, which is getting more and more diverse all the time, is a priority.”
Although Brunt has never held public office before, this is not his first foray into politics. In 2013, he ran as a state representative on a third party ticket.
Interest in politics runs deep in his family. His great-great-grandmother, Fanny Gudmandsen Brunt, once ran for city mayor. Christopher says she was a poet and her books are in the Idaho Falls Public Library.
Christopher has worked in the food industry for the last six years. He’s currently employed at Bacon & Bleu Family Restaurant on North Holmes Avenue.
Despite having no particular agenda, Brunt says his lifelong interest in politics means he’s interested in doing the job. That’s why he says people should vote for him.
“I’m someone who’s invested in this community,” he says. “I don’t have a grudge or a score to settle. I just have a desire to serve. I’m ready to listen, I’m ready to learn and I’m ready to work. I think that’s what makes me qualified for this position.”
Election day is November 4.
WATCH OUR INTERVIEW WITH BRUNT IN THE VIDEO ABOVE.
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