Candidates jump into race for Weiser mayor

It appears the city of Weiser will have a contested, if not spirited, mayoral race in the November election. 

 In fairly quick succession, three city residents have recently said they plan to run for the office. 

 Of course, nothing is official until a candidate files the paperwork in August to run for office. Merely announcing a purported candidacy doesn’t get anyone on the ballot, and a lot can happen between now and August.

 As a long-time political pundit, my opinion is that anyone who has ever thought about running for mayor should do it now. Why?

 Mayor Diana Thomas has publicly said she will not seek another term. That leaves the office open without an incumbent to beat in November.

 Anyone familiar with political contests knows that the power of the incumbency is real. Voters tend to go with the status quo, the establishment, unless there is a major reason to replace someone. Political scientists would agree that it is tough to dislodge an incumbent.

 There really is no perceptible downside to making an early announcement about running for political office. And with only three in the race for mayor so far, there is room for more. 

 Waiting to the last minute to jump into a race is usually a bad idea. There is less time to build name recognition with voters and get out and campaign for the office.

 The mayor’s contest is a winner take all proposition at the polls. It’s a little different for city council races, and three seats are up for election in Weiser, along with city council seats in Midvale and Cambridge.

 With the Weiser City Council and at-large voting for candidates on the ballot, the top three vote-getters will win offices. Unlike a big city, where voters choose officials to represent a specific ward or district, council members in Weiser represent the entire city.

 A candidate could finish in second place in the overall vote total and still win a seat on the city council, assuming there are more than three candidates to make it a contested election. Even third-place in the vote total wins a seat on the city council.

 It remains to be seen what pressing issues the city candidates run on this fall. Growth, or lack of it in Weiser, is a likely talking point. 

 It’s always an issue, and every candidate is for it, by golly, although how much influence city government realistically has on development is debatable.

 In the absence of hot-button topics, candidates need to find ideas to run on that distinguish themselves from the others seeking office.

 In small towns, I have observed that provincialism becomes a defacto political position, as in who has been here the longest. That can be both good and bad, depending on how voters feel about the current state of city affairs.

 Readers can let us know what issues you would like raised with candidates for city offices.

 Steve Lyon is the editor of the Weiser Signal American. Contact him at scoop@signalamerican.com.