In Craigmont, a rare three-way race

Travelers on U.S. Highway 95 often pass by the turnout to Craigmont and do not even know they were there, one candidate for city mayor said.

“I feel, in some ways, we have had council members who like the town just the way it is,” said Don Johnston, a former City Council member who is in a rare three-way race for the mayor’s seat being vacated by Mayor Roger Riggers. Newcomers Jared Arnzen and Randy Berg have also thrown their hats into the ring.

“It is quiet, it is peaceful and they’re not interested in getting new people and new businesses,” Johnston said.

That’s a mistake. Johnston, 87, said he originally decided to run for mayor when it appeared there would be only one other name on the ballot and he wanted to give voters a choice. Now that he’s in the race he wants to see the community do something to revitalize its downtown and help it grow in a healthy way.

“We need to actively work on this,” Johnston said. “We can spread the word throughout the country that we have a place businesses can come into and we will welcome them. You’ve either got to keep growing a little bit or you’re going to die a little bit.”

Johnston said, because of his age, he doesn’t expect to get a lot of votes, although he’s willing to serve one four-year term.

“People think: `We’ve got Trump; we’ve got Biden and now we’ve got another old man who wants to run for mayor,” he said.

Injecting new blood and new ideas into Craigmont to help it out of its stagnation is also a goal of the other two candidates.

“I like the city but there are directions it’s going that I don’t like,” said Berg, 60, who lives in Craigmont but is a Farmers Insurance agent at Grangeville. “I want to see what could be done to improve the city without changing too much. I want to see some improvements in downtown and change from a ghost town to attract some businesses.”

Part of the solution, Berg said, would be to upgrade the city’s infrastructure and encourage more businesses to open up shop to provide more jobs.

“It’s become a bedroom community,” Berg said. “There’s hardly any business to support businesses. I’d like to get in there to see what can be done. There’s no grocery store and one gas station that charges way too much. Berry’s (the former grocery store) is boarded up and makes the town look like a ghost town. Something needs to be done. It looks like the town is dying.”

Arnzen, 30, a crop adjuster and rancher, grew up in Craigmont and, although he agrees that it has become a bedroom community because there are few jobs available for younger workers, it’s a good place to raise a family.

“I love Craigmont,” Arnzen said. “I’m young and I don’t plan to go anywhere. I believe Craigmont is going in the right direction and I want to keep it that way.”

Arnzen said he would like to see more business come to town and is open to finding out what can be done to encourage that growth. But in the meantime, “there’s a lot of good things here; a lot of good people here. There’s lots of business opportunities with a great school, good community members. There’s a lot to offer. If we can make our town more attractive for businesses, then so be it.”

Hedberg may be contacted at khedberg@lmtribune.com.