Ammon mayor running against District 32 legislator in Republican primary
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IDAHO FALLS — A longtime Bonneville County legislator will have a challenger in the May Republican primary.
Ammon Mayor Sean Coletti has filed to run against Rep. Wendy Horman, a Republican in District 32. District 32 encompasses a significant portion of rural Bonneville County.
He declined to offer any comment at this point in the race, but is planning to speak with EastIdahoNews.com soon.
Coletti, who worked as an attorney with Hopkins Roden Crockett Hansen & Hoopes in Idaho Falls for many years, is currently in his second term as mayor. Decisions about whether he’s planning to seek a third term have not been announced.
Coletti is a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and graduated from Rigby High School. He went on to attend Ricks College before obtaining a political science degree at Brigham Young University, according to his bio on the city of Ammon’s website.
As a student at the University of Connecticut Law School, he worked as a counterintellingence agent and Korean linguist for the Army National Guard. Coletti previously served as an LDS missionary in Korea.
He served two terms on the Ammon City Council before getting elected mayor in 2016. He and his wife, Jessi, have two sons.
Horman has served as a member of the Idaho House of Representatives since 2012. Her current committee assignments are Appropriations, Commerce & Human Resources, Environment, Energy & Technology and Ethics and House Policy.
Horman was not immediately available for comment, but she got her start in politics as a trustee for Bonneville Joint School District 93. She served in that role for 11 years and went on to serve as president of the Idaho School Boards Association.
Her page on the Idaho Legislature’s website lists her as a leader with the Nuclear Energy Commission, as well as the founder and chair of the Energy and Technology caucus.
Like Coletti, Horman is also a Latter-day Saint. She earned a bachelor’s degree in political science from Brigham Young University-Idaho.
She and her husband, Briggs, live in Ammon and have five children and six grandchildren.
Horman’s District 32 legislative colleague, Rep. Stephanie Mickelsen of Idaho Falls, will face two challengers this election season as well. Ammon Republican Sean Calvert Crystal and Idaho Falls Republican Kelly Golden are also vying for the position.
RELATED | Legislative committee censures local lawmakers accused of violating party platform
Mickelsen was recently censured by the Legislative District 32 Committee, which — they say — “prohibits her” from identifying as a Republican on campaign literature for the next five years.
In a recent conversation with EastIdahoNews.com, Mickelsen disputed the committee’s actions and said she isn’t planning to change her affiliation.
Many other legislative and county races are contested as well. A list of all the contested primary election races will be posted in an upcoming story.
The deadline to file to run for legislative or county office is Friday, March 15.