The job of a City Council Member is to represent their constituents, be transparent and honest, and show up when the people they represent need them most. Specifically City Council Members are responsible for tax dollars, funding services such as fire and police, and legislating for the betterment of their constituents. The qualities needed for an excellent City Council Member to me are empathy, honesty, and representation. I intend to bring all of these qualities to council.
The top two concerns I have heard are general cost of living and development in or around their neighborhoods. I will be a good steward of tax dollars, ensuring that the budget is being combed through for the best possible use of money, resources, and time. Developing in Missoula is necessary but I do think that the city could be putting more pressure on developers to aim for improved connectivity of neighborhoods and residents access to resources. Zoning and planning in the future will also have a great impact on the ways in which and where we are developing in Missoula.
Every individual in my ward and across Missoula is facing different struggles in respect to this economy. Some folks are having a hard time keeping up with increased property taxes, rising home values, increased rents, and others are at risk of losing their homes entirely. A prime example are the folks in the Travois Village, they have experienced large increases to their lot rents and a majority of the residents in the village are on Social Security, fixed incomes, and many retired. What is within my power to help these folks is to help them organize, communicate with their neighbors, and advocate for better conditions with their landlord. Showing up to their community meetings and listening is also greatly appreciated by the residents.
Currently the city spends most of its earned property taxes on public services (Fire and Police), public street maintenance, parks and outdoor spaces, and general government spending to keep Missoula operating. I believe that the distribution of these dollars are necessary and I would be willing to dive into specific departments and expenditures to ensure we are using the money as efficiently as possible but I would never suggest major defunding for any of these areas.
Campaign Phone
4068809866
City Council Members are responsible for representing the will of their ward members while conducting the business of the city.
Excellent City Council Members are those that listen to all of the diverse opinions in their ward and vote to implement the majority will whenever possible. Council members must also remember that they are spending hard earned tax payer money and should do so respectfully, transparently and with as little waste as possible.
Housing availability and affordability are issues all of Missoula is facing. The city needs to reduce spending and stop the annual increase in property taxes. Leaving more money in peoples pockets will improve their quality of life.
Growth and growing pains including increased traffic and traffic patterns are a huge issue along Reserve Street and Mullan Road. Planning new roads and traffic patterns is needed. The research phase of this must include public engagement and the city should heavily weight the desires and opinions of the residents.
Our city needs to address the over regulation that is rampant in our city. Over regulation drives up development costs and slows down the building process.
The best way that the city can help our residents with economic changes and cost of living increases is to reduce taxes. When the city increases taxes it creates more stress and uncertainty for the citizens.
The city needs to look at the budget line by line. Taxpayer dollars need to be spent on the needs of the city not on special project wants of individual councilors or special interest groups. Once our needs have been paid for we can look at the wants. We need to look for alternative funding sources for wants instead of raising property taxes.
Major expenditures by the city should require robust public outreach and input. I believe that there should be a monetary threshold that will require non-emergent projects to be put on the ballot for the public to vote on.
Campaign Phone
6193987002
I am available for the required work that is expected of a city council member. Too often, we hear that the job takes on more time than the council person understood. Too often, we find Council members looking for a second source of income that is secondary to their primary vocational responsibilities. My ambitions, experiences, and educational background make me uniquely qualified for this position. The job of the city council member is representing the 51% despite their own personal convictions. Decisions are made on behalf of the many and not your own power to influence unpopular change.
The biggest concerns in Ward 2 and across the city is available affordable housing. A significant number of Missoulians are living in multigenerational housing (adult children living with their parents, grandchildren sharing residences with grandparents, parents moving in with their child’s families). Today, three available houses for sale under $400k and many $400-500k homes are taxed around $200-300k range. Montana is the least affordable state in the nation and Missoula is a product of that reality. We can improve the quality of life through TIF funds dedicated to demolition and land acquisition to create infill in blighted areas of the city while not causing mass exodus from otherwise sustaining neighborhoods.
Residents of my ward are affected by increasing infill without increased access into the neighborhoods. TIF funding in Montana is also authorized for infrastructure in support of “slow to develop” areas. We are infilling in areas like Northside with no approved additional access over railroads, onto the interstate, or through controlled intersections with stop lights from Stockyard to Reserve. We have new build in Grant Creek with no additional entrances into Grant Creek from the Interstate. Urban Sprawl has a bad reputation, but TIF is approved in Montana for greenfield development. We should maximize development west of Reserve along Mullan and Broadway while continuing to infill in blighted areas. Sprawl lends to affordable housing.
When we take funds from the balanced budget and apply it toward Reserve Street Walking Bridge, Northside Walking Bridge, $500k toward a stop light at Cregg and Orange, etc… we commit a large amount of city wide taxpayer dollars to support a small amount of city wide beneficiaries. These projects take away from available dollars in the budget, leaving the same city council members struggling to balance the budget. Council should be balancing the budget and using mill levy options during general elections to garner funding and support for additional projects.
Campaign Phone
406-544-2971
The job of a city council member in my opinion is to set policy and legislation centered around improving issues that impact the city and its residents the most. I also believe that the job of a city council member should include doing the above efficiently, transparently and with the input and best possible outcome for their constituents in mind. I think being able to communicate well, being available and responsive to constituents, being informed, dedicated and being somebody who thinks critically but also applies common sense to problem solving are all qualities of an excellent city council member.
I think the biggest concerns are home prices, limited supply of affordable housing, infrastructure, which can include lack thereof but also includes dealing with large-scale growth in a responsible way and the need for sustainable housing solutions for our unhoused neighbors. If elected, my plan is to try and effect some positive change in these areas. As it relates to housing, in keeping with a priority of the 2045 land use plan we need advocates for a zoning and code reform plan that allows for responsible growth while providing more housing supply. Looking at infrastructure, I’m a proponent of making changes to make our roadways safer and more efficient. I think the primary focus in this area needs to be Reserve street and Mullan road.
The median home price in Missoula is up around 59% in the last 5 years, property taxes have increased dramatically, mortgage interest rates haven’t been below 5% since 2022, inflation has prevented interest rate cuts. Additionally, tariff uncertainty has caused market volatility and I just want to briefly mention that I don’t think we can overlook how important of a factor AI is going to be in the future. The city of Missoula has little influence over most of these factors however I think we need to be encouraging more development of housing, especially of affordable and below median priced inventory. I also want to be an advocate for more vocational and skilled trade training programs to give people more employment opportunities.
I think the most appropriate uses of tax dollars are providing essential community services like law enforcement, fire department and first response personnel as well as infrastructure development and maintenance. Additionally, I think we need to continue to make investments in essential social programs that assist with providing housing for the unhoused members of our community, developing affordable housing options and recent efforts such as the housing sprint. I believe strongly in the need for a balanced budget and my focus in this area would simply be to think rationally and look at budgeting with a priority-driven approach.
Candidate has not yet responded.
Candidate has not yet responded.
Candidate has not yet responded.
Candidate has not yet responded.
