Governor Otter appoints Craig Cooper to fill county commissioner seat

Governor C.L. “Butch” Otter announced the appointment today of second-term Pocatello City Councilman Craig Cooper to the Bannock County Commission vacancy left by the recent resignation of Commissioner Howard Manwaring.

Cooper, a customer service manager for the J.R. Simplot Co. in Pocatello and a former Bannock County commissioner, will complete Manwaring’s term ending in January 2017. He will step down from the City Council when he is sworn in on Monday, May 9.

“I am honored to be named as the Bannock County Commissioner to replace Howard Manwaring and humbled by the trust that Governor Otter has placed in me,” Cooper said. “I am sure that with my previous experience as a county commissioner and my time as a city council member in Pocatello, I will be able to step right in and be of service to Bannock County.”

Cooper also is a member of the Bannock County Republican Central Committee, which submitted his name and two others for Governor Otter’s consideration after Manwaring’s resignation. He and his wife Cheryl have five children and 17 grandchildren.

Steve Hadley, a county commissioner, said he’s excited to have Cooper on board.

“I’m really thrilled with this decision because he can help us now with the budget and with more of equalization,” Hadley said. “He’s familiar with both because he’s been a commissioner before. So he knows what to do and how to act and where to go from here.”