Commissioners-Agreeing to disagree part of the job
By Suzanne Werre
Editor
It’s a little odd that neither City Commission President Rick Olson, nor commissioner Steve Cottingham remembers exactly how they were elected – if they were actually on the ballot, or if they were elected by write-in, or how they really got their spots on the commission.
"I was sitting out in Oregon when I got the phone call that I had won," said Olson.
"I may have come on in the middle of my first term," said Cottingham, who estimates it’s been about 12 years that he’s been on the Underwood City Commission (actually Cottingham was informed he was on the commission for eight years, but he was on the park board for four years prior).
"That means you’re having a good time," said Cottingham, on his not being quite sure on the timeline.
With Olson putting in 16 years and Cottingham putting in 12, they both agree that they did their best for the community, and while they maybe didn’t get everything accomplished they had hoped for, they’re proud of what they did.
Neither of them got on the commission because they wanted to make major changes to Underwood – neither had a particular agenda going in.
