Ponderay names councilman

PONDERAY — A former Bonner County clerk and volunteer firefighter for the Northside district was appointed to Ponderay’s City Council this week.

Rick Larkin will replace Dale Daugharty on the board.

Daugharty was council president when died last month after serving 10 years on the Ponderay council.

Ponderay Mayor Carol Kunzeman elected Larkin from a pool of five candidates who had voiced interest in the vacant council seat.

“I felt Mr. Larkin was the best choice for the city, and council agreed with me,” Kunzeman said.

Larkin, a salesman at Columbia Paint in Ponderay, said he has for several years considered a council bid.

“It’s been something I’ve wanted to do for a long time,” he said.

How best to control growth is the biggest issue facing the council, he said.

“A city like this is in its growing stage and we need to make sure we have everything we need to take care of it,” he said.

Infrastructural improvements to fit the city’s needs must be addressed, he said.

“I want to see it done in the least expensive way to taxpayers,” he said.

Larkin worked in the county assessor’s office and as an interim clerk. His bid for county clerk in the 1990 election was unsuccessful. He has worked for Columbia Paint for eight years. His term on council will expire in 2012.

The council elected Steve Geiger as their new president.

Daugharty was popular among council members and city residents. He grew up in Clark Fork and was a Korean War veteran who moved to Ponderay after retiring as a union representative in Seattle. He was known as a staunch Democrat who enjoyed lively political discourse and his interest in politics did not take a back seat. He died March 13 of colon cancer.