John Sinskie

Following a decadeslong career in the military and the federal government, John Sinskie is looking to continue his public service by joining the Powell City Council.

Sinskie said he wants to help the city boost its communication with the public, look for efficiencies that can save time and money, and be accountable to residents. The Ward 2 candidate said his approach would involve listening to constituents and working with fellow council members and city staff.

Since December, Sinskie has worked as the operations and facilities manager of the Powell Valley Recycling Center. The position has allowed him to meet a lot of local people, but it’s part-time, which the 67-year-old said leaves him with the bandwidth to get out into the community.

His background

Sinskie’s service began with 20 years in the Air Force — including work in intelligence operations — followed by five years as a Pentagon contractor. Sinskie then entered the civil service and spent three years with the Department of Treasury’s Financial Crime Enforcement Network (FinCen) before being recruited to the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

He joined the FBI’s professional staff and initially worked on computer forensics within the counterterrorism division. He spent three months in the Middle East during Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2005-06 and later did a roughly six-week stint in England, working counterterrorism cases alongside the New Scotland Yard. 

Sinskie holds a master’s in information systems and he helped develop software that enabled FBI agents and analysts to perform digital forensic work from their own computers.

After 18 years in Washington, D.C., Sinskie transferred to Pocatello, Idaho, where he helped launch a new FBI data center; he served as the project manager for the IT infrastructure at the center, which opened in 2019.

Following his retirement from the FBI in 2021, Sinskie and his wife moved to Powell, where they joined their adult daughter and her family.

Increased communication

When longtime Councilman Floyd Young died in office last year, Sinskie was among five Ward 2 residents who applied to fill the position. The council picked Kristy Fields to hold the role through next year. Sinskie is now asking voters to choose him to serve the final two years of Young’s unexpired term, setting up a competition with Fields to represent the western part of the city.

Communication is one of Sinskie’s priorities.

“We don’t hear a whole lot from the council and the mayor,” he said.

He suggested the city be more proactive in communicating with the public and use a mix of methods to reach more people; he noted not everyone has access to a particular medium, like the internet or the newspaper. Sinskie suggested also offering residents the ability to opt into automated text messages and phone calls and hosting periodic town halls, where council members and staff could field questions and concerns.

Sinskie said he would work to gather input from a variety of people and expressed a passion for getting information to the elderly and vulnerable. 

Seeking good decisions

On the council, Sinskie said he would seek to be a good steward of the people’s money and resources. As one example, he wondered if the city could get a well-maintained used pickup for $30,000 rather than, say, a brand new one for $80,000.

However, Sinskie said he would first want to do careful research and collaborate with other city officials.

“I’m coming into it new,” he said. “I’m not gonna come in and make and recommend … wholesale changes.”

Sinskie said good decisions are based on good information and data.

“I do my best not to make a knee-jerk type of decision,” he said, adding that he likes to pray and seek God’s guidance.

Being the example

Sinskie emphasized accountability is also key.

“If something happens [and] you’re wrong, … admit the mistake and move on,” he said.

Elected officials, he added, should lead by example with integrity and honesty. 

Sinskie was among those who provided input as the city considered increasing its two-dog limit; he expressed concern about trespassing and waste issues that exist under the current rules. At one meeting, he said a certain “city official” owns three dogs.

“I think that city leaders, wherever they are within the city as far as their status and the position that they’re in, they need to keep the ordinances too, right?” Sinskie told the Tribune. “They need to [be] the example.”

The council recently indicated it will keep the city’s two-dog limit while allowing residents to also have up to two cats, and Sinskie praised that decision.

The council candidates who file this month will appear on August’s primary election ballot, and the top two vote-getters in each race will advance to November’s general election.