Elections for the City Council are scheduled for November 7, 2023 at the Oneida County Event Center.  Under Idaho law, polling locations will remain open from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. on election day.  

Currently, the City Council includes councilmembers Jaime Olsen, Tyrell Neal, Larry Thomas, and Lance Tripp.  City council has a wide range of duties throughout the city, including establishing and updating city policies and ordinances, approving the city’s budget, serving as liaisons to a number of taxing districts, and as advisory members to a number of regional, state, and in some cases national organizations.  Decisions about the maintenance of roads, buildings, and city assets including property are all made by the city council.  The city council also coordinates with the county on a number of issues, including the Impact Zone that shapes development in the area just outside the city limits.  Additionally, a number of operations throughout the year rely on joint cooperation between city, county, and sometimes state and federal representatives.   

Over the course of the city council terms up for a vote, the city will continue and take on a number of important issues, including the Impact Zone, road and development projects, water system updating, ordinance enforcement, and many others.

This year, two seats on the city council are up for election, with three candidates vying for the positions.  All three are likely familiar faces to residents of the city, and all three work and have worked in positions that give them a base of knowledge about both city and county operations.  To help provide information to voters, each candidate for the election was asked to provide a brief personal introduction and overview of their plans for the city.  Those are printed below. 

 Lance Tripp

For those who may not know me, my name is Lance Tripp. I am married to my beautiful wife Staci, and we have 3 daughters, one son, and 7 grandkids. I have lived in Malad most of my life and have watched it change and grow over the years.

My roots in Malad run deep. As a young child, I explored every nook and cranny of our town, riding my bike with friends, collecting pop bottles to trade for candy at Mill Stream Grocery, and watching from the seat of my bike the day when Jack's Snacks burned to the ground. My teenage years were filled with playing sports for the Malad Dragons and cruising our town in my '68 Mustang. Much of my adult life has been spent serving on committees, in church callings, and re-upholstering most of your furniture. I also had the honor of serving as the Chamber of Commerce president for about 10 Years. I have served the past 12 years on the city council with an emphasis on the city park. We have made great strides in the park by adding things like the splash pad, walking path lighting, basketball court, a new pavilion, a new well and electrical hub for future expansion, and most recently Pickleball courts. We have been able to do a lot of these things with the help of grants.

While the park is fun and improves the quality of life for residents, Malad faces many challenges in the coming years. We have an aging infrastructure that we need to upgrade. Many roads are in need of fixing. Our town is growing and our utilities are in need of upgrades to keep up with the growth. I plan to work united with the other council members to tackle these, and other challenges with minimum impact to the tax payer. 

As a city councilman, my primary focus has always been, and will continue to be, the financial well-being of our city.  I am committed to making sure your money is used wisely for the benefit of our community. I always try to see every issue from all angles and make decisions that are in the best interests of our town and its residents.

I have been truly blessed to be a part of the service to the people of Malad, and my hope is that our children and grandchildren will continue to find Malad a safe place where they can create their own wonderful memories, just as I have had the privilege to do.

 Justin Schwartz

Justin Schwartz is a lifelong resident of Malad City. A graduate of Malad High School, he has spent his life serving the people of Malad and Oneida County as an officer with the Oneida County Sheriff’s Office for the past 25 years. Justin is currently a Detective with the Sheriff’s Office and President of the Franklin County Fraternal Order of Police Lodge, which the Oneida County Sheriff’s Office is a member of. Justin has been a member of the Malad Volunteer Fire Department for 4 years and is currently the Vice Fire Chief.

Justin is the son of Terrill and Peggy Schwartz. He and his wife of 26 years, Nikki, have two children, Hailee and Hayden. Justin enjoys spending his time with his family, taking rides through the beautiful area on the RZR, and also fishing and hunting in the great outdoors. 

“I want to ensure the taxpayer’s dollars are being spent wisely, in ways that improve our lives without undue burden and in ways that give citizens value on their taxes. I aim to help restore some of the lost pride in our great City; smarter infrastructure spending and a focus on quality of life and beautification projects that impact all of the residents and not just the few.”

 Jaime Olsen

Hello Malad City Residents! I am Jaime Olsen, and for the last two years I have been serving on the Malad City Council. I have enjoyed serving the people of our community and working with the other council members to make improvements to our city. I know that the changes we have made and are making have been creating a better environment to raise our families and plant our roots. The future of our city matters to me and I am sure it does to you. We have been working diligently to improve our infrastructure for new and exciting projects in the park and other parts of the city. I look forward to continuing these efforts and supporting our community. 

I would like to remind you that early voting has already started and it goes through November 3rd. Voting is at the County Court House. Consolidated election day is November 7th at the County Events Center. I really appreciate your support.