Scott Mangold sworn in as Ward II representative

A familiar face in local politics has returned to City Hall, as former mayor Scott Mangold has been named to the vacant seat on the City Council.

Mangold, who served as mayor of Powell from 2004-2012, will fill the Ward II seat that was vacated when John Wetzel became mayor. A council subcommittee of Wetzel, councilman Tim Sapp and councilman Floyd Young chose Mangold after vetting four candidates; Wetzel swore in Mangold on Monday evening following a unanimous vote of approval by the council.

“This is kind of interesting, because close to 10 years ago, Scott read me the oath of office,” Wetzel said as he swore Mangold in, to laughter from those in attendance.

Aside from his years as mayor, Mangold is also known as “The Voice of the Panthers,” having covered Powell athletics for KPOW (1260 AM) Radio for 36 years. A co-owner of the station, Mangold is also a member of the Wyoming Association of Broadcasters Hall of Fame, an honor bestowed on him in 2014. After watching from the sidelines for several years, he decided it might be time to get back into the game.

“The way the elections have been lately, I wasn’t sure anyone was going to do it, to start with,” Mangold said. “I know they had some pretty good candidates that applied, so that’s good. I still have a lot of contacts through the county and the state, so I thought it would be an easy transition with my background to jump in there right away.”

Out of local government since choosing not to run for re-election in 2012, Mangold said he missed the feeling of accomplishment one gets at the end of a successful project or meeting.

“Getting things done and working for the city, I missed that,” he said. “Sometimes meetings will get a little long, but if you accomplish something by the end, it all ends up being worth it.”

Communication is one of Mangold’s priorities.

“I’m in a position to pass on information, not just from the radio station, on what the city is doing,” he said. “Originally what I wanted to get involved with a long time ago, when I ran for mayor, was opening up those lines of communication. As long as we communicate with the public it will be an easier job for us in the city.”

Since arriving in Powell in 1980, Mangold has been an active part of the community, from coaching Little League baseball to providing play-by-play for the Panthers on the radio. He’s looking forward to continuing that service as a member of the City Council.

“I still think that Powell is the best town in Wyoming, and just to make this a place someone can be happy to raise a family, or to retire in, is important,” he said. “We offer all aspects of living well here in our community, and if I can contribute to that in a little way, I’d be really happy.”

Tasked with choosing from four qualified candidates, Wetzel told the Tribune on Tuesday that experience was ultimately the deciding factor.

“We had four really good candidates, and Scott brought the institutional knowledge and experience to the job,” Wetzel said. “I think that experience can be pretty valuable to the council, to have someone that can hit the ground running.”

Having a talented pool of candidates to choose from made the decision a difficult one, with factors such as community service taken into account.

“As a committee, we just did the best we could to judge the level of interest, how engaged folks can be, how much time they have to commit,” Wetzel said. “Scott is a known commodity, and that made a difficult decision a little easier. During the interview process, it became evident really quickly that we were on the same page with so many things. It just seemed like it would be a smooth transition.”

With Mangold serving a truncated term, the seat will again come open during the next election cycle in 2018. Wetzel said he hopes the other three residents — Christopher Cox, Debora Bush and Peter Sloan — consider throwing their hats in the ring once again.

“If any of the other candidates wanted to run again in the next election, that would be awesome, because they’re quality candidates,” Wetzel said. “But for now, I think we’re in good shape.”

Zane Logan began his tenure as City Administrator the same day Mangold began his as mayor, and the two worked closely together for years. Logan said the council and the community are fortunate to have Mangold back in the fold.

“Scott has experience, he understands the issues facing the city,” Logan said. “His interest level is there, and he’s excited to jump right in and accept the responsibilities of being a council person.”

For Mangold, it’s the start of his next chapter working for the City of Powell. As he settled into his chair at the council table Monday night however, he found that old habits die hard.

“It was a unique experience sitting next to the gavel; I sort of wanted to keep reaching out for it last night,” he said, laughing. “When I was mayor, I would just speak up at meetings, but now there is a protocol to go through. It’s going to take a little while, but I’m attending a couple of meetings today [Tuesday] so I’m kind of jumping right into it.”