Shoshone County Commission

Thu., Oct. 29, 1998

By Julie Titone juliet@spokesman.com

A Wallace carpenter is hammering away at County Commissioner Jack King, hoping to keep him from being re-elected.

Jon Ruggles, running as an independent, wants to replace Democrat King. Commissioner Sherry Krulitz will get her seat again by default; no one is running against her.

Ruggles says the Shoshone County Commission isn’t doing enough to diversify the Silver Valley’s economy.

“I’m running on my vision,” Ruggles says. “Jack King is running on his record, and I don’t see anything outstanding about his record.”

Ruggles, 44, is a carpenter and building contractor who lost a bid for Wallace City Council last year.

King, 64, sold his contracting business last year and wants another two-year term before retiring to his riverside home in Prichard. He’s served on the commission for six years.

King wants a chance to finish some pet projects, including what he says is proof of the commission’s economic progressiveness: the planned industrial park at Smelterville. The county has been working with the Silver Valley Economic Development Committee to build the facility, and lure businesses that could diversify the longtime mining economy.

Ruggles criticizes the commission for not contributing more money to the economic development committee. He’s adamant that more could be done.

Campaigning against more tax increases, Ruggles noted that average wages in the county rose 12 percent from 1990 to 1997. He believes the county could save money by merging services with other local governments and taxing districts. And he’d like to see the county take the lead in establishing an after-school child care program.

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