Moscow bets on Bettge

After nearly two decades of serving in city government, Art Bettge will now lead Moscow as its new mayor.

The two-term Moscow City Councilor is the clear leader in the mayoral race after unofficial election results were released Tuesday night.

He earned 3,480 votes while Jim Gray came in second with 1,132 votes. Olivia Moses and Barb Rathbun came in third and fourth, respectively.

Bettge served for a decade on Moscow’s Planning and Zoning Commission until 2013. He has served on Moscow’s City Council since 2014. Bettge said Tuesday these roles helped him connect with voters.

“I think I had the experience to articulate a vision of where this city should be going,” he said.

Bettge said filling Mayor Bill Lambert’s shoes is “pretty intimidating,” but he is looking forward to working with the city’s staff. Bettge said he is preparing to immediately tackle a number of projects and initiatives when he steps into office, including making sure there are enough resources to complete the Pullman-Moscow Regional Airport terminal.

Bettge attended the University of Idaho in 1972. He later worked for the USDA on the Washington State University campus before establishing ADB Wheat Consulting.

Hailey Lewis, Julia Parker and incumbent Gina Taruscio are comfortably leading the pack for Moscow’s three open City Council seats. Lewis earned 3,698 votes, while Parker earned 3,535 and Taruscio received 3,199. They were the top three vote-getters in a field of eight candidates.

Lewis has worked for nine years at Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories and currently serves as the company’s government affairs specialist. She is a UI graduate and has lived in Moscow nearly all her life. This is her first time serving in public office.

Lewis said she is excited to “have this opportunity to give back to my town” and to see Moscow politics from a different vantage point. She also pointed to the airport terminal as one of the first projects she hopes to tackle in office.

This is also the first time in public office for Parker, who has worked as a nurse for the past 16 years. She is a member of the Moscow Human Rights Commission.

Taruscio has been on the council since 2016, is the director of the Partnership for Economic Prosperity and used to be the director of the Moscow Chamber of Commerce.

Unofficial Latah County Election Results

As of 10:33 p.m. Tuesday, with 96.9 percent of precincts reporting, here are the partial results for select races, listed by candidate, votes:

Moscow Mayor (top vote-getter earns seat) — Art Bettge, 3,480; Jim Gray, 1,132; Olivia Moses, 480; Barb Rathbun, 226.

Moscow City Council (top three vote-getters earn seats) — Hailey Lewis, 3,698; Julia Parker, 3,535; Gina Taruscio, 3,199; Kyrk Taylor, 1,696; Steve Harmon, 1,145; Jason Stooks, 1,097; Shaun Darveshi, 385; Melissa Cline, 306.

Deary City Council (top two vote-getters earn seats) — Jamie Johnston, 70; Eric Sutton, 60; Karen Caffrey, 27.

Potlatch City Council (top two vote-getter earn seats) — David Cada, 88; Martin Anderson, 60; Darrell Bostic, 42.

Kendrick City Council (top two vote-getters earn seats) — Jessica Wegner, 39; Keith Wilson, 36; Amanda Sneve, 28.

Troy City Council (top two vote-getters earn seats) — Patrick Cordova, 144; Mike Yenney, 125; Toni Salerno, 72.

Onaway City Council (top three vote-getters earn seats) — Ellis Bryngleson, 46; Lester D. Owens, 40; Emily Hunt, 36; Brian King, 32.

Juliaetta-Kendrick Rec District (top vote-getter earns seat) — Aaron Heinen, 146; Tony Shipman, 20.

For complete Latah County election results, visit livevoterturnout.com/Idaho/LiveResults/57/en/Index_118.html.

Kuipers can be reached at akuipers@dnews.com.