This November, Moscow will hold its mayoral elections, as well as elections for three of the six city council positions. Many students are not from Moscow, and as such, don’t know anything about Moscow elections and do not want to talk about them. Many adults in general don’t know much about local elections, but they are not as mystifying as they appear.
Voting begins with early voting on Oct. 18 and closes on Oct. 29. Election day is Nov. 2 and election results will be counted and certified by the Latah County Commissioners by Nov. 12. But before this, there is a lot more that goes into running for office.
The local election officially started in late August, when the window opened for candidate filing. In Idaho, this window is two weeks long. Moscow’s window closed on Sept. 3. However, campaigns for elections can crop up months before this, even in the days following the previous election.
During this two-week window, candidates must provide verification that they are an eligible voter within Moscow and either pay a $40 filing fee or produce a petition with the signature of five or more eligible voters. At this point they are officially a candidate.
Candidates must also file an Appointment of Political Treasurer. A political treasurer is a member of the candidate’s campaign whose explicit job is to manage any purchases or contributions to the campaign. They are also required to report all spending and contributions to the County Clerk’s office, who then makes that information available to all potential voters.
Once a treasurer has been appointed, the candidate can officially begin campaigning. Campaigns can take many forms. Many include social media and online ad production, and some campaigns also go old school with letter writing campaigns and yard signs. It is also the campaign’s responsibility to take care of those after the election is over.
This election’s four mayoral candidates are Art Bettge, Olivia Moses, Jim Gray and Barb Rathburn. Bettge is a current councilman who is now running for mayor.
The eight candidates for city council are Julia Parker, Steve Harmon, Gina Taruscio , Jason Stooks, Kyrk Taylor, Hailey Lewis, Shaun Dareshi and Melissa Cline. Taruscio is the only incumbent running for reelection.
This year is a tight election, but according to Markie McBrayer, an associate professor of political science at the University of Idaho, that is a good thing.
“It’s good that this election is competitive,” McBrayer said. “Competitive elections help hold officials accountable for their policies. Non-competitive elections lead to worse policy decisions.”
When elections are not competitive, officials become complacent and have little reason to effect change. When elections are competitive, citizens are better assured that those elected are what the community is asking for.
Contact information is available for each candidate from the Latah County Auditor’s Office.
Correction: This story has been updated to correct the spelling of Gina Taruscio’s name.
Abigail Spencer can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @ABairdSpencer