Sandpoint Councilman Runs For Mayor
City councilman David Sawyer said Wednesday that he wants to be Sandpoint’s next mayor.
With the election still four months away, Sawyer, 37, is the first to announce his candidacy for the post.
“The bottom line is I want government to get back to the basics of serving the public and that is not happening here,” he said.
“In so many issues - annexation, the Festival at Sandpoint, the budget process - there has been a tremendous lack of respect for the public.”
Sawyer, a four-year councilman, has been an outspoken critic of the city administration and current Mayor Ron Chaney.
He was the only councilman who objected to the city’s annexation plans, and pushed successfully to save the citywide recycling program when it was ready to fold more than a year ago.
Chaney said he remains undecided on whether he will seek another term.
The mayor’s seat pays $800 a month, but Sawyer said he will quit his current job as manager of a solar electric company to be a full-time mayor.
As top priorities, Sawyer wants to re-establish trust in city government, provide long-range planning for growth and get the public involved in making decisions.
One way to do that, he said, is to set up a phone system so residents can call in and record comments on city issues before council deliberations.
Sawyer has a bachelor’s degree from Wesleyan University in Middletown, Conn., and worked for the U.S. Navy programming submarine missile-firing systems.
He also served on the Human Rights Task Force and Clean Air Coalition.
“I want to be as informed about the community as I can be,” he said.
To help meet that goal, Sawyer will be at the Coffee House every Saturday from 9 a.m.-noon until the election to meet with residents. He also has declined to take any campaign contributions of more than $100 to guard against “unfair political influence.”
Sawyer’s council seat now will be up for grabs in November. Sawyer will not be able to retain his post if he loses his mayoral bid. Three other council members, Dan Staglund, Josephine Hanson and Susan Johnson, also are up for election.
, DataTimes