Tamara Gulde insists she wasn’t planning on running for council herself.

She spent weeks this summer visiting with other residents, encouraging them to run for one of the two available positions. People were either afraid to run or simply weren’t in a position to do so right now— they had kids in school or were too busy with work.

So on a Monday in early August, she stood up in front of the council during the citizens’ communication portion of the meeting and offered a blistering criti...