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Kopelson selected to fill vacant Council seat
2/1/2012 11:52:53 AM
By Kelly Moore
Splash Staff Writer
The Liberty Lake City Council voted Tuesday evening to appoint local business owner Keith Kopelson to fill the seat vacated by Ryan Romney. He was selected from a pool of five applicants who were interviewed in the special meeting.
Kopelson
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"We had a wonderful group of people apply and wish we could have them all serve … but the reality is that we have to chose one," Mayor Steve Peterson said.
Kopelson, a father of four with 20-plus years of retail management experience, described himself as a family guy with deep interest in community and city affairs. In his interview, he said proper planning for future growth would be one of the most important goals for the city in the next 4 years.
"My personal position with growth is that is it should be well thought out, steady and make sense," Kopelson said. "I'd love the city to grow, but it needs to be done with a strong foundation and in a manner the city can afford and the population wants."
When asked about availability for Council commitments, Kopelson said family and business come first, but a flexible schedule would allow for a full commitment to the position. Advertisement
"I don't believe people should be on Council if they can't make commitment," Kopelson said. "You wouldn't have to discuss excused absences and non-excused absences with me. I don't believe in absences in this case."
Kopelson first garnered attention at City Hall when he ran for position 7 last November, losing narrowly to Shane Brickner. He campaigned with the goal to keep Liberty Lake living standards high while maintaining financial stability for the city - achieved through proper representation of local residents and extensive research and evaluation of pending issues in front of the council.
In November, he described his first foray into politics as "educational" and "a great time." That sentiment was echoed Tuesday.
"If I don't get on the Council this time, one of you are going to run against me next time," Kopelson said in his interview.
Kopelson was sworn in immediately after the Council's selection. He will fill the remainder of Romney's term, which expires Dec. 31, 2013. Romney announced his plans to step down from his Council position Dec. 27, citing a lack of time for the commitment as a factor in his decision.
The other applicants interviewed Tuesday were Scott Simon, Lewis Valkenaar, Ashley Salzwedel and Wadie Elaimy.
The Council also voted unanimously to elect Odin Langford as mayor pro tem. Peterson appointed Langford, Brickner and Cris Kaminskas to the finance committee. Dan Dunne, Susan Schuler and Kaminskas were appointed to the public safety committee. Kopelson, Dunne and Josh Beckett were appointed to the community development committee. Beckett was not in attendance.
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