Pocatello mayor narrows city council candidates to nine

Pocatello Mayor Brian Blad has identified nine people he will be interviewing to fill a vacant City Council seat.

Councilman Craig Cooper resigned his council seat to accept a position on the Bannock County Commission.

Blad identified his short list candidates as Heidi Adamson, David Bowen, Chris Cole, M. Jeremy Field, Ruby Walsh, Matthew Bloxham, Richard Cheatum, William Downs, and Mark Villano. A total of 27 applications were submitted.

After interviewing the nine candidates, Blad will submit his final selection to the full City Council for confirmation. The Mayor said he expected to have the position filled later this summer.

“It was a very strong pool of applicants to draw from and there were some fantastic ideas on how to tackle the issues facing the city,” said Blad. “They made this part of the selection process extremely difficult and because of that I’m excited for where our city is headed.”