The Valley Signal

Government & Accountability

Victor Appoints Sue Muncaster Interim Mayor After Amy Ross Withdraws

The Victor City Council appointed Sue Muncaster interim mayor on July 8 after the only other candidate, Amy Ross, withdrew her nomination, in a 3-0 vote.

By Wade Williams · ·

VICTOR — The Victor City Council appointed Councilmember Sue Muncaster interim mayor Wednesday night, filling the seat Will Frohlich left when he resigned July 1, after the only other candidate, Councilmember Amy Ross, withdrew her nomination.

The council voted 3–0 to appoint Muncaster as the interim mayor. The appointment takes effect on Thursday and runs through the remainder of Frohlich's term, which ends in 2027.

At a July 1 special meeting, the council had planned to appoint the mayor at its July 22 regular meeting, with Council President Stacy Hulsing serving as acting mayor after Frohlich's departure. On Wednesday, two weeks before that planned vote, both candidates addressed the council, and members of the public spoke on both sides. Ross, who had drawn vocal support from the audience throughout the meeting, withdrew before the council voted, saying she could see that the council's three other voting members would choose Muncaster. "I would like to withdraw my nomination and allow Sue to be our next mayor," she said, adding that the city was better off moving on. She turned aside supporters who pressed her to hold out for the July 22 vote, saying she preferred to remain, in her words, "a voting member of the council." An Idaho mayor votes only to break ties on the council. Her withdrawal left Muncaster as the only candidate, and the council appointed her on the spot, with Ross abstaining.

All four members were present for the July 8 vote; of them, only Ross and Muncaster had sought the office, while Hulsing and Councilmember Emily Sustick did not. Both candidates read prepared statements before the vote, though neither had been posted for the public to read in advance, as the council had discussed on July 1. Ross, who objected that July 8 departed from that plan, made hers after saying she had not prepared one to submit in advance.

Frohlich resigned effective July 1, ending a recall the Teton County Clerk had certified, which would otherwise have gone to Victor voters in November. Frohlich said he could have defeated the recall but instead stepped down to spare the city a months-long fight. Its organizers had objected to Victor's $35 million wastewater borrowing and its lawsuit against Driggs, part of the wastewater dispute that has divided the valley. Under Idaho Code, the council fills a mayoral vacancy from its own members or other qualified residents; it chose to appoint from within to maintain continuity with city staff during the transition. Sustick, who missed the July 1 meeting, had written to colleagues that a mayor drawn from the council would bring institutional knowledge and established trust.

Muncaster has served on the Victor council and worked on regional growth and planning issues across Teton Valley. In a prepared statement, she said her work as interim mayor would center on running the city while healing its divisions, supporting city staff, and rebuilding Victor's relationship with Driggs toward a shared wastewater solution. She said criticism of elected officials comes with the job, but harassment of city employees does not, and pledged regular town halls and open forums to explain how the city reaches decisions.

Muncaster's move to the mayor's office vacates her council seat. Under the city's timeline, the application period for it opened around July 8, with a deadline anticipated in mid-July and public interviews in late July. With the mayor's office vacant, Idaho Code puts the nomination in the hands of the council president, subject to the council's confirmation.

What to watch: the city opens applications for the Muncaster-vacated council seat; the council's next regular meeting is on July 22.

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