Victor Appoints Erica Linnell, 2-1

VICTOR — The Victor City Council appointed Erica Linnell to its vacant council seat on a 2-1 vote Tuesday morning, then adjourned without swearing her in.

Mayor Sue Muncaster nominated Linnell at a special meeting that lasted 18 minutes. Councilor Emily Sustick moved to appoint her and Councilor Stacy Hulsing seconded. Councilor Amy Ross voted against.

The seat has been open since July 8, when the council appointed Muncaster interim mayor and she gave up her own seat. Will Frohlich resigned as mayor July 1, ahead of a qualified recall.

The council interviewed all six applicants on August 12 and made no nomination that day.

A field of six, then five

"We had 6 qualified applicants," Muncaster said. "One, Charles [Nussbaum], has withdrawn his application."

Hulsing said she had not known. "I actually hadn't read that Charles withdrew his application," she said. "I appreciate that he even thought about joining."

That left five: Bonnie Chambers, Carol Nowakowski, Cindy Riegel, Bert Schnoebelen and Linnell.

"For the past week, I've struggled over 2 choices: Erica Linnell and Bonnie Chambers," Muncaster said. She described Chambers as bringing architectural and land-use experience and "a steady, collaborative demeanor," and Linnell as bringing business ownership, board service and emergency-response experience.

Reading from a prepared statement, Muncaster said Idaho Code 50-704 gives the mayor the nomination and the council the confirmation. The statute itself says nothing about applications, deadlines or interviews. Victor ran all three by choice, she said, "as a way to invite qualified Victor residents to step forward."

She also listed what she weighed: knowledge of current city issues, preparation, humility, and "the ability to work respectfully with people who disagree."

What she said tipped it was the next 12 to 18 months. She named regional infrastructure and land use decisions, comprehensive planning with other cities and county officials, and staffing changes: "major collaborative work ahead" that "requires someone to jump in and immediately get to work."

Prior disagreement with the city was not disqualifying, she said, though "recent adversarial litigation and other actions which speak louder than words involving the city was a relevant governance consideration."

Before naming her choice, Muncaster turned to the council and the public. "Healthy disagreement is not the problem," she said. "Good decision-making is not possible without it." What she objected to was "tearing each other down and the broader effort of tearing the city down," and she named what she meant by it: "assuming bad faith, attacking motives, and treating every decision you don't agree with as evidence of corruption or conspiracy."

"I challenge everyone to believe it is possible to ask hard questions, disagree strongly, and still uphold the standards of this body and expect accountability without making public service unbearable for everyone who steps forward," she said.

Then she nominated Linnell.

The councilors who spoke

Sustick, who had deferred her assessment at the interviews, gave it Tuesday. She said one of the interview questions was hers, about two reasonable people in conflict, and that she listened for candidates who did not treat decisions as either-or.

She said Linnell had pointed back to the city's own tools, the comprehensive plan and the code, and had argued that a problem surfacing in one application may be a problem in the code itself.

Hulsing said Linnell would "bring a strong, independent voice" and had "a ton of support."

Given the floor, Ross said only: "I have no further comments."

Under the meeting notice, written comment closed at 5 p.m. Monday and no oral comment was taken.

Sworn in next week

Linnell was not at the meeting and did not take the oath of office, which was the third item on the four-item agenda. She was teaching a class at her Pilates studio, Muncaster said, so the oath moves to the council's regular meeting on August 26.

Linnell holds the seat until the November 2027 city election, when Victor voters will fill it for the balance of the term. Muncaster encouraged the applicants who were not chosen to run.

What to watch: The council meets again at 6 p.m. August 26, when Linnell is expected to take the oath. The city has also noticed a public hearing for that meeting on LU2026-04, a code text amendment creating exemptions for water connections.

Victor Appoints Erica Linnell to Its Vacant Council Seat, 2-1

A field of six, then five

The councilors who spoke

Sworn in next week

Sources