NorthwestNovember 3, 2015

Newcomers will be joining the mix in the two cities in Idaho County with contested races.

Voters in White Bird "made a pretty good statement" Tuesday by electing newcomer Rod Pilant as the new mayor of the town.

Pilant, who campaigned on a promise to try to develop a more family-friendly atmosphere in the town, gathered 32, or 69 percent of the votes, to incumbent Mayor Rick Alley's 18 votes.

"The people were behind me and made a pretty good statement," Pilant said Tuesday night.

Pilant said he'd heard from a number of people around the community upset that most civic activities centered around the Silver Dollar Bar, which Alley owns.

"People are kind of fed up with the way things have been going around here and obviously the numbers show," Pilant said.

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Alley was not available for comment.

In the White Bird City Council race, newcomer Homer Brown was elected to one of two seats with 26 votes, and incumbent Janis Ann Owen-Comrie retained her seat with 27 votes. Incumbent Darlene Wadsworth received 24 votes, coming in third for the two seats.

In the Grangeville City Council election, newcomer Amy Farris was elected to the third of three seats up for grabs with 185 votes. Incumbents Pete Lane with 289 and Michael Peterson with 261 votes retained their seats on the council. Daniel Gautney came in fourth with 160 votes.

Farris said she was not prepared for comment Tuesday night.

"I just want to go and do the best I can," she said.

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Hedberg may be contacted at kathyhedberg@gmail.com or (208) 983-2326.

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