The Twin Falls City Council has appointed its mayor for the next two years.
Twin Falls council members choose a fellow member to become the mayor among themselves. In a five to seven vote on Tuesday, Mayor Ruth Pierce was appointed for a second term.
Unlike most cities where mayoral candidates are elected by residents, Twin Falls follows a council-manager style of government where a non-partisan manager -not the mayor- has executive power and handles administrative tasks. The current manager, Travis Rothweiler was awarded the position in 2011. McCall and Lewiston are the only other two cities in the state with similar governance.
Before the vote, incumbent Pierce said the role of mayor in Twin Falls wasn’t just to run the city council meetings and sign documents.
“The mayor also represents the city and the city council at community and other events,” she said. “The mayor acts as an advocate for the citizens of the city of Twin Falls, and is the connection between the citizens, city staff and our various community and regional partners.”
In her bid before the vote, Pierce mentioned the city’s rapid growth. In the last two years, it has seen a ten percent increase in population, according to the census.
“I also understand our resources are strained with the influx of people coming to Twin Falls every day to work, shop or use our services,” she said speaking at the council meeting on Tuesday.
Twin Falls is an employment and commerce center for the surrounding region.
“We all know the financial and staffing challenges and the issues we face as our population doubles on a daily basis,” she said.
After her appointment, Pierce chose fellow council member Jason Brown as new vice mayor.
Craig Hawkins was also sworn in as council member and was joined by newcomers Grayson Stone and Cherie Vollmer.
