Wallace City Council Position 6 candidate: Jon Ruggles

Jon Ruggles is running for Wallace City Council position 6 and, if elected, wants to have the council play a larger role in the city.

“We need to actively encourage volunteerism at all ages and thank them accordingly,” Ruggles explained. “I find it sad that when we have community events, how underrepresented the Wallace Council is. The council needs to be a cheerleader for this community in particular and the county in general and that advocacy is not as forceful as I think it ought to be.”

Ruggles is running against incumbent Dean Cooper for the position.

Ruggles attended California State University San Bernardino where he graduated with departmental honors and received a BA political science, as well as the University of Notre Dame Mendoza College of Business with certificates in transformational non-profits, grant writing and fundraising strategies.

During his time in Wallace, he was the chairman of the East Shoshone Hospital District for 14 years, president and founder of Friends of the Coeur d’Alene Trails for 16 years, co-chair of the Wallace Flower Project for five years, and a former adjunct professor North Idaho College for five years.

“As one of two founders of the Wallace Flower Project, my focus will continue to be on beautification efforts, promoting tourism and fostering community arts,” Ruggles stated.

“I will continue to seek grants to assist with Wallace’s development and work to assist economic development on a larger scale. I am also proud of the fact that both Art Fleming and I were able to expand flower baskets in Wallace from 75 baskets to approximately 200 for the same dollar amount.”

Ruggles stresses that he could not have accomplished these tasks “without volunteer efforts of the Wallace Flower Project and more specifically Pat Cornelius.”

As part of the “over 800 volunteer hours” Ruggles says he works a year, much of his time goes into running the Friends of the Coeur d’ Alene Trails non-profit organization.

He says this organization has brought “over 7 million dollars to our regional economy” and that it is “extremely important especially here in Wallace with our tourist based business.”

In 2015, due to his afflicted speech as a result of a battle with tongue cancer, the State of Idaho retrained Ruggles.

“I was given the opportunity to study online at Notre Dame. As a result, I was able to prove up with my first grant for $23,000 funded by the Idaho Department of Parks and Recreation. That grant places a shade shelter, picnic table, bench and bike rack at the Mullan Trailhead this coming spring.”

When it comes to the position of City Councilman, Ruggles says that “Wallace needs to figure out how to do more with less.”

He believes that “families and our communities need to be elevated in our daily lives and even though I have a noticeable speech challenge, I have been able to craft grants, run two nonprofits, volunteer at my church, and run a successful business because ACTIONS SPEAK LOUDER THAN WORDS.”