WALLACE — Transparency, housing, business development and historic preservation were among the topics discussed during a candidate forum Tuesday at the Wallace Inn. 

Candidates for Wallace’s City Council and mayoral elections gathered to share their priorities and answer questions.

Mayoral hopefuls Shauna Hillman and Chase Sandborn attended, along with city council candidates Katie Watterson and Anthony Garcia. Council candidates Dean Cooper, Rick Shaffer and Courtney Frieh were unable to attend. Prior to the discussion, KimBerly Keyton of the Wallace Chamber read prepared statements from Cooper and Frieh. 

Watterson, running against Frieh for Seat 1, emphasized youth engagement and volunteerism as her motivation for seeking office. She also highlighted her experience as a business owner, noting it as a key focus if elected. 

“I think we have a pretty amazing, vibrant business district as everybody knows,” Watterson said. “But we have some impeding things on business. We really need to attract people to come here, bring their families here, start businesses here and hopefully occupy and fix the buildings we have.” 

Garcia, a lawyer and newcomer to Wallace, is challenging incumbent Shaffer for Seat 4. 

“As an attorney, I hear a lot of complaints,” Garcia said. “And one of the things I had heard about a lot is sort of, I wouldn’t say lack of transparency with the city council, but a generalized feeling that things could be probably done more transparently.” 

Sandborn, a former multi-term councilman, brings the most prior experience to the mayoral race, having served under previous mayors Ron Garitone and Dick Vester. 

“Through those processes I learned a lot,” Sandborn said. “Both those mayors, they both had complete (different) styles of how they ran the city.” 

He said he plans to apply lessons learned from both leaders.

“Don’t spend a lot of time having meetings, doing this and that,” he said. “If someone has a pothole, just go fix it. We fixed a lot of stuff.” 

Sandborn also recalled his involvement in major infrastructure upgrades during Vester’s tenure, including improvements to roads and sewer systems. 

“Those were two of the greatest experiences I had as a Wallace city councilman,” Sandborn said. 

Hillman, a longtime Wallace resident with more than four decades in the community, has owned and operated local businesses and remained active in civic groups and events. She emphasized transparency and collaboration as essential to Wallace’s future. 

“I know what we can accomplish when people work together,” Hillman said. “Wallace is growing and the decisions we make in the next few years will shape our community for decades.” 

Affordable housing was a central theme, with all four candidates acknowledging the need for both general and workforce housing in Wallace. They also discussed the challenges of managing growth in a town listed entirely on the National Register of Historic Places. 

“The state of Idaho has given us a lot of pluses for being a historic community,” Hillman said. “Keeping in that character has been a challenge, but they’re working with us.” 

Concerns about Wallace’s Planning and Zoning Commission also surfaced, with residents expressing frustration over perceived obstacles to property improvements. Watterson, who has prior P&Z experience, said she doesn’t believe the commission is intentionally difficult but would like to see it become more solutions oriented. 

Transparency and communication were recurring themes. One person asked whether the city would continue using social media to engage with residents, despite the tendency for comment sections to devolve into arguments. 

“Communication needs to come in different forms for different people,” Watterson said.

In closing, candidates listed their priorities.

Watterson named making Wallace a great place to raise children, supporting local businesses and reducing community divisiveness. 

Sandborn emphasized better communication with city employees, continuing infrastructure improvements and cleaning up Wallace’s section of the South Fork Coeur d’Alene River. 

Hillman focused on improving transparency, public engagement and collaboration, noting that it may take a year to fully implement her ideas. 

Garcia reiterated transparency as his top priority, adding that he plans to listen, explore new ideas and remain open to constructive criticism.