Round Out Cda’S City Council Mix

Coeur d’Alene City Council President Nancy Sue Wallace is barely five feet tall but she’ll leave behind the proverbial big shoes to fill when she quits the council Wednesday.

During her 9 years with the city, she has elevated the importance of public art and worked tirelessly to upgrade Coeur d’Alene’s downtown and waterfront. Equally important, she provided an independent voice on a council that’s too homogeneous - a collection of owners of small businesses, people who travel in the same circles and tend to think alike.

Mayor Steve Judy has a chance to shake things up as he begins reviewing applications to fill Wallace’s vacancy. Rather than pick a safe choice who’ll go along to get along, Judy should look for an independent candidate who’ll bring a different perspective to the council.

A good place to begin looking is the legal profession. Judy would do well if he were to find someone in the mold of former council members Steve McCrea, Jim Michaud or Sue Servick. The three attorneys brought analytical, fair minds to council discussions and were quick to ferret out legal problems. McCrea and Michaud, who is now a 1st District Court judge in Bonner County, were part of the so-called Gang of Four that grabbed control of the council in the early 1980s. Headed by former Mayor Jim Fromm, the foursome instituted progressive changes that helped lift a building moratorium and preserved the Coeur d’Alene waterfront.

Two solid council members of yore came from financial circles: Al Hassell and Kevin Packard. They brought to the council a passion for the bottom line and lower taxes. It wasn’t a coincidence that both served during the 1990s, when the council consistently produced budgets that didn’t raise taxes. Hassell, a private financial consultant, went on to become mayor - probably the best one over the last 20 years.

Wallace came from another good source for prospective candidates - community activists. Together with Coeur d’Alene School Board Chairman Wanda Quinn, she started the EXCEL Foundation, which has raised almost $1 million in the last 13 years to support creative school projects. Another community activist with a record of success would help the council with his or her passion for getting things done.

Whoever is appointed to replace Wallace will immediately be favored to win the seat outright in the 2001 city elections. That’s why the mayor should assess the council’s strengths and weaknesses, and pick someone to fill the holes.