Huetter’s young council

HUETTER – When Brad Keene told folks in town he was running for mayor, the response was laughter.

It wasn’t a surprise that at first, Huetter residents didn’t take him seriously, Keene admits. After all, he is only 25.

Two of his friends, Luke Gibler, 25, and Jeni Brown, 23, met similar reactions when they announced their candidacy for City Council of the tiny town of 100 between Post Falls and Coeur d’Alene.

But once the mock ballot came out – with the trio’s names on it – for the November election, voters started paying attention. On Nov. 4, the twentysomethings swept out from the City Council three incumbents, Mayor Jackie Meeks, her husband Dave Meeks Sr., and Michelle Sumner.

Come January, Huetter will be coursing with young blood.

“I just decided it was my time to step up, because it’s a great opportunity,” said Keene, a salesman at Findlay Hyundai.

Justin Ruen, a policy analyst for the Association of Idaho Cities, said Keene likely is the second-youngest mayor in the state’s recent history. In 2005, a 22-year-old was elected as mayor of Stanley.

“It isn’t common, but it’s not unprecedented,” he said. “It does certainly, I think, contradict the perception that young people may be disengaged with politics generally.”

Thirty-two of the 59 registered voters in Huetter cast a ballot in the November election. Huetter is governed by a four-seat council and mayor.

The three young, soon-to-be city officials said they were motivated by a desire to see change in the town, which hasn’t experienced the surge in new business and residential growth that neighboring cities are undergoing.

The trio knocked on doors and handed out fliers during their campaign. Their message was one of change.

They don’t want the city to be swallowed up by Post Falls and Coeur d’Alene, they said.

“This is the only one getting smaller, and there’s something wrong going on here. Nothing gets done,” said Keene, who grew up playing Little League baseball with Gibler in Kellogg. The two now are roommates.

The city maintains one street, Reeves Road, but it hasn’t kept up on repairs nor installed sidewalks or street lights, Keene said. The town needs city water and better sewer treatment. Residents say they don’t feel safe to send their kids trick-or-treating in the neighborhood, the trio said.

“I got tired of it because I like the area, and I want to stay here,” said Gibler, who is a truck driver. “(I) might as well do something about it. … There’s a lot we can do for a small community.”

They’d like to spiff up the appearance of the town and create a city identity. Their wish list includes establishing a post office, landing Huetter its own ZIP code and attracting new businesses.

“We have lower (property) taxes than Coeur d’Alene does,” said Brown, a computer technician and political science and sociology student at North Idaho College. “They would save money by moving back here.”

Brown said she has aspirations for future involvement in government, even running for the U.S. Senate someday. The City Council is a way to prove she means business, she said.

“I’ve always had an interest in politics,” Brown said. “It’s a great place to start.”

Some don’t expect young people to be so involved in their community, Keene said.

“Our generation has been pegged as lazy, unmotivated. And I want to prove people wrong,” Keene said. “We do have a lot to offer.”