County Calls Mail-in Election a Success; Candidates Aren't So Sure

Though it took three hours to count the ballots, Missoula County elections officials pronounced the first mail-in City Council election a success late Tuesday because it produced a voter turnout of 46 percent.

Missoula County Clerk and Recorder Vickie Zeier said the county decided to hold a mail-in only election to increase voter turnout and solve staff problems at polling stations. It worked on both counts, she added.

“For a City Council election without a mayoral race, the turnout is usually between 12 and 18 percent,” Zeier said. “If the ballot is right in front of them, people are more likely to vote.”

Zeier and an exhausted staff of 60 finished counting the ballots at 11 p.m., three hours after the election closed. Zeier said that the office received about 2,200 ballots in the last 24 hours, along with quite a few walk-up voter registrations, which delayed the official counting.

Though ballots started coming in immediately after they were mailed out three weeks ago, Zeier said that the office is not allowed to count them until the day of the election.

The biggest rush of returned ballots came during the first week after they were mailed out, Zeier said. The second onslaught occurred during the last three days of the election.

For many of the City Council candidates, this fast return rate meant that they had to scramble to reach voters before they mailed in their ballots.

Jason Wiener, who won his Ward 1 race against Justin Armintrout with 64 percent of the vote, said that while the new system increased voter turnout, it made campaigning more difficult.

“I had to go for a broader audience of those people voting who don’t usually vote,” Wiener said. “I had to contact everyone who was going to vote three weeks earlier than I had planned.”

Wiener said that though he originally thought that three weeks between mailing and the election was too long, he was grateful for the cushion that it provided for mistakes.

Justin Armintrout, Wiener’s opponent, said that the three-week period places more emphasis on the day that voters receive their ballots in the mail, rather than the actual day of the election.

“It really took the oomph out of my campaign,” Armintrout said. “Last minute issues come up and voters don’t have time to change their votes.”

Armintrout said that he would favor reducing the time period to two weeks or less in future elections so that candidates have more time to reach voters.

Ward 2 incumbent Don Nicholson, who lost his bid for a third term to Pam Walzer, said that he wasn’t sure if the mail-in system affected his race because the new voters may not have been informed about his position.

“Whether that 30 percent knew what they were voting on is the question,” Nicholson said. “If they took the time to read my stuff and didn’t like it, at least they understood what I was trying to do.”

Ward 4’s Jerry Ballas, who was also defeated in his reelection bid, said that the system directly affected the result of his race because he didn’t have enough time to get his information to voters.

Before his race was officially decided, Ballas said that in hindsight, he would have started campaigning two weeks earlier. He also said that community events for the public to get to know the candidates were scheduled too late.

Other problems with the system included missing signatures on the ballot envelopes, the mailing of 178 ballots to the wrong recipients and ballots returned to the Elections Office marked undeliverable.

Zeier said that every effort was made to track down individuals who hadn’t signed their ballot envelopes before the election and to re-mail ballots to those who had either received the wrong one or hadn’t received one at all.

Of the 51,388 ballots that were mailed out, 4,800 were undeliverable. Zeier said that 2,000 of those belonged to Missoula County residents who hadn’t updated their information, as opposed to city residents.

In the September primary election, about 11,000 of 42,000 ballots were undeliverable. The Elections Office inferred that most of these ballots belonged to college students with outdated voter information.

“I think it went a lot better with the undeliverable ballots this time around,” Zeier said.

Zeier said that she also received a few complaints from people who feared that their signatures on the outside of ballot envelopes could lead to identity theft. Overall, she said, complaints about the new system were minimal.

- By LAUREN RUSSELL

Two Incumbents, School Bond Defeated; Voter Participation Well Above Average

Heavier than usual voter turnout Tuesday brought four new faces to the Missoula City Council. Two incumbent aldermen, Jerry Ballas and Don Nicholson, were unseated and a $10 million school bond was denied -- the first defeat for local school financing in more than a decade.

Newcomers to the council are Jason Wiener in Ward 1, Pam Walzer in Ward, Lyn Hellegaard in Ward 4, and Renee Mitchell in Ward 5.

Jenda Hemphill, chairwoman of the Missoula County Public Schools board, said school financing may have been defeated because, "It was easier for people to voice their opinion this year."

Defeated City Councilman Jerry Ballas speculated that the mail-in format effectively shortened the amount of time candidates has to campaign.

In all, 23,660 votes were counted, a turnout of 46 percent, according to Missoula County Deputy Clerk and Recorder Debbe Merseal. That's up from an average turnout for non-mayoral elections of 32 percent over the last 15 years, she said. She said about 4,900 ballots were turned in on Election Day, which kept a staff of about 60 people busy certifying and counting.

"It takes a little longer to process mail-in ballots," Merseal said.

Ballots accepted Tuesday included those received in the mail and those dropped off at the Missoula County Courthouse or five polling places around town. About 2,500 ballots were not certified until after the 8 p.m. deadline, Clerk and Recorder Vickie Zeier said.

-By CHRIS D'ANGELO and AMANDA EGGERT

Rye Blocks Harrison's Comeback in Ward 3

Door-to-door campaigning helped incumbent Stacy Rye defeat former Councilman Doug Harrison Tuesday in a race for the University area's Ward 3 seat on Missoula's City Council.

“I went and knocked on a lot of doors,” said Rye, who has served on the council for the past four years. “It’s all about shoe leather.”

Rye received 1,504 votes, or about 52 percent of the ward’s total. Harrison, who served for 12 years on the council through the 1980s and 1990s, garnered 1,089 votes.

Harrison had misgivings about his campaign, including how he connected with voters.

“I felt like we had articulated issues that needed to be addressed,” Harrison said. “I don’t think we did a good enough job of getting the message (of those issues) across.”

Rye said traffic was one of the defining issues in the election. She said she didn’t support raising the speed limits on Fifth and Sixth Streets, unlike Harrison.

“He has said that his idea of quality of life is not sitting in traffic,” she said. “I don’t think you need to have cars moving faster.”

For the next term though, she said, her priority will be revamping the city's zoning regulations. Starting six months ago, the council began rewriting those rules, a process that could take up to three years.

“We have zoning regulations that have been on the books since 1972,” she said. “Ithas a lot to do with growth -- a lot, a lot, a lot.”

Rye said Ward 3 has one of the highest percentages of student voters and has historically voted for the Democratic candidate. The Missoula County Democratic Central Committee endorsed the 38-year-old Rye. Harrison ran as a nonpartisan candidate.

Rye said she appealed to student voters because she was able to relate to them as renters. “I was a student before I was a homeowner,” Rye said. “I can remember the days of bad landlords.”

Rye said the direction the council might take in the next four years depends on the council’s makeup and its staff. She repeatedly said she was more concerned with other City Council race results, especially Ward 4 incumbent Jerry Ballas’ loss. Ballas was known as swing vote on the council.

Harrision, who spent part of the campaign in the hospital, dealing with a life-threatening ulcer, said he might not run again.

“Part of this election, I was down and out because of my health,” he said.

About 31 percent of active voters in Ward 3 participated in the election.

“Ward 3 is extremely plugged in,” Rye said.

- By MARK PAGE, BEN PREZ, ZACH WARREN, MELISSA WEAVER AND ASHLEY ZUELKE

Mitchell Strong arms Prescott in Ward 5

Renee Mitchell, a Missoula Youth Home manager, out-muscled former body builder Christine Prescott Tuesday to become the new City Council member for Ward 5.

Mitchell won with 1,220 votes to Prescott's 1,026.

She said she won because she holds the same values as the people in her ward, unlike her opponent.

"I'm a conservative in a fairly conservative district," said Mitchell, who campaigned as a staunch nonpartisan. She said she took clear stances on key issues, which earned her votes.
During her campaign, Prescott said she would be a positive voice for Missoula and called Mitchell a " 'No' person" who already has her mind made up.

Prescott was not available for comment after election results were in.

The issue of infill brought out the differences between the two candidates.

"I think we have to explore everything," Prescott said during the campaign. "I think there's a way to do it responsibly and do it in a way that fits with the neighborhood."

But Mitchell's more assertive stance on infill may have won her key votes.

"I think we should follow the zoning, and I don¹t think we should compromise the integrity of existing neighborhoods," she said. "Also, what's affordable isn't always acceptable."

Mitchell said her neighbors asked her to run for the City Council seat left open by longtime Councilman Jack Reidy. She said that her many years living in Missoula gave her ties that turned into votes.

- By KELSEY BERNIUS, ALEXANDER TENENBAUM, PETER CONTE and LINA MILLER

Ward 4's Ballas unseated by Newcomer Hellegard

Missoula City Councilman Jerry Ballas's support for a controversial aquatics project helped sink his re-election bid, a victorious Ward 4 challenger Lyn Hellegaard said Tuesday night.

Hellegaard, a transportation-issues executive, blocked Ballas's bid for a third term, winning 53 percent of the votes to his 45 percent.

While Ballas was one of the strongest voices supporting the Missoula Aquatics Project, Hellegaard said she feels the project has distanced the community from city government and that it will be detrimental to future projects.

Throughout the campaign, Hellegaard, who is executive director of the Missoula Ravalli Transportation Management Association, voiced her concern about the lack of collective vision within the City Council.

She said the process of campaigning and having an election has helped to establish city priorities.
"I would hope to say that through this process we've gotten a collective vision, we've gotten our fiscal priorities straight and we've gotten good paying jobs," she said.

Ballas blamed his loss on a shorter campaign season and mail-in ballots.

"Those community meetings you count on, but a lot of those were set up late," Ballas said. "With mail in ballots, there's really not enough time to get information out to everyone. In hindsight, you'd have to start two weeks earlier."

Ballas is the council's vice president and chairman of its Conservation Committee. He also sits on the Finance, Plat, Annexation and Zoning Committee.

- By WHITNEY BERMES, ADAM BOEHLER, JEFF OSTEEN and RYAN THOMPSON

Childers Edges Schneller in Ward 6

Election to a third term on Missoula's City Council was thin as a dime for Missoula"s former city treasurer Tuesday.

Ward 6 Councilman Ed Childers defeated first-time challenger Lewis Schneller by 40 votes, 892 to 852.

Childers said he won the election because he has been doing a good job for the people of Missoula. Childers, who also serves as City Council president, said he intends to run for that leadership spot again.

Schneller said he was disappointed not to be able to bring change to the council, but wasn't discouraged by his defeat.

"The balance of power still hasn't changed," he said. "I don't think there'll be any healing. The far left still calls the shots."

He called his first bid for council a learning process. "I don't think I'm through with this," he added.

The two candidates split over several issues including infill, planned neighborhood clusters and the size of the city budget.

Currently, Ward 6 permits rezoning that allows density of more than 16 units per acre with caveats, Childers said. He said he would like to continue to make high density available to people who desire to build small homes.

Schneller said he is against high density and planned neighborhood clusters because he was once evicted from his trailer so that a developer could build a PNC on his lot. The developer had no "sense of empathy" for those who lived in the trailer park, he said.

Both candidates said the mail-in balloting was a success and contributed to higher voter turnout.
Childers, however, said watching the votes come in wasn't as much fun as watching a horserace.

"We've never come down here for this before and now I see why," Childers said when he got to the courthouse where the ballots were being counted. "This is the most boring party ever."

- By LUCAS HAMILTON, KALIE DRUCKENMILLER, CONRAD WENDLAND and MORGAN FREDERICK

High School Bond Fails in Close Race

Voters shot down plans for a major security and maintenance overhaul of Missoula's four high schools Tuesday when they voted 48 to 51 percent against a $10 million school bond.

The High School Building Reserve, which appeared on the election ballot of every eligible voter in the Missoula County Public School District, failed by a vote of 11,967 to 11,292.

MCPS School Board Chairwoman Jenda Hemphill said the defeat came as a surprise.

“I can’t remember the last time a school money issue didn’t pass; it’s probably been 12 years,” Hemphill said. “It’s shocking.”

Hemphill also said that new mail-in voting might have had a bearing on outcome. She commended the increased voter turnout, but said more votes may also mean more diversity of views.

“It was easier for people to voice their opinion this year,” Hemphill said.

As for the proposed projects at Hellgate, Big Sky, Sentinel and Seeley-Swan high schools, Hemphill said they wouldn’t be going forward any time soon.

"We need to look for another way of funding these projects,” Hemphill said.

When asked why she thought the levy had failed, Hemphill said: “I hope we weren’t taking the community for granted. We’ve always been so lucky with community support. Maybe we as a district need to do a better job.”

Big Sky, Hellgate, Sentinel and Seeley-Swan would have used the $10 million bond to revamp the interior and exterior of each school, as well as upgrade the school¹s safety equipment.

Of the $10 million bond, $8 million would have gone into maintenance and renovations of high school facilities, while $1.5 million would have been used in making each high school safer.

To cover the cost of the bond, residents with a taxable home value of $200,000 would have paid an average of $24.42 per year for the next five years.

However, a decline in tax rates due to a lower assessment would average the overall increase in taxes by $3.42.

According to the Missoula County Public Schools, the bond money would have paid to install interior and exterior security cameras and with a key-card system to improve students' safety.

Other projects would have included upgrading the heating and ventilation systems, replacing science and woodworking equipment, upgrading parking facilities, theater, band and orchestra equipment, and replacing lighting.

-By KRISTIN GREGORY and JOE SLEMBERGER

Wiener's Campaigning Pays Off in Ward 1

Neighborhood volunteer work and a long "grassroots" campaign may have helped Jason Wiener to a commanding victory in Ward 1's City Council contest Tuesday.

Wiener, a freelance journalist, defeated his opponent, Justin Armintrout, collecting 64 percent of the vote. Wiener received 1,676 votes to Armintrout’s 887.

Wiener said he felt strong coming out of the primary election but did not stop campaigning until 4 p.m. on Election Day, when he went for a hike in the Rattlesnake to watch the sunset.

He attributed his victory to a “grassroots effort,” saying people in his ward knew him on a more personal level than Armintrout because of his volunteer work in the community.

“A lot of people are excited about my candidacy that aren’t usually interested in city politics,” Wiener said.

Armintrout, an executive recruiter, said he felt “naïve” about the political aspect of the election process but also said the voices of Ward 1 voters were overwhelmingly heard on Election Day.

“I wanted to voice the opinions of the entire Rattlesnake neighborhood,” Armintrout said. “But I underestimated the power of the political machine of Missoula. Jason started campaigning about a year before I did and I think that had a great effect on the outcome of the election.”

Wiener said the first thing he is going to do as a City Council member is to listen.

“I’m looking forward to the opportunity to see how people in the city do their jobs, and how to do them better,” Wiener said.

Wiener, who supported a proposal to allow the raising of chickens in the city, voiced his support for the issue in personalized postcards to voters.

Although the chicken ordinance was not the deciding issue in the election, “I know it got me at least a couple votes,” Wiener said.

Armintrout said his candidacy was a great learning experience that could prove worthwhile in the future, though he is not sure if he will run again.

“It’s too early to tell,” Armintrout said, “but I am leaving the door open,”

- By BRIENNA BOYDSTUN, AMY FAXON, VIRGINIA CLEAVELAND, COLTER NUANEZ, ERICA DOORNEK

Walzer Trips Incumbent Nicholson in Ward 2

Voters in Ward 2 sent a message Tuesday that they want change on the Missoula City Council by narrowly electing Pam Walzer over incumbent Don Nicholson.

Walzer, a scientist and jewelry maker, garnered 998 votes to Nicholson’s 906. The loss denied Nicholson a third term on the council. He served one of his terms in the mid-1970s.

Ward 2 comprises northwest Missoula, including North Reserve Street and the Grant Creek area.

Nicholson led after initial vote counts, but as updated tallies came in his margin shrank.
Before Walzer’s 52 percent tally was announced, Nicholson left the courthouse but acknowledged that he had likely lost.

Walzer said one of her first priorities is to increase Mountain Line bus services to accommodate more people.

“I’ve heard that through the entire ward,” she said at her election party at Red’s Bar. “All neighborhoods would like to see that.”

She attributed her narrow victory to meeting with voters and discussing the issues.

“I now know where every street is in our ward and I’ve walked pretty much the whole thing,” she said. “I’ve worked hard to know the issues and voters, worked really hard.”

Nicholson, a retired paper mill manager, said he felt local media did not adequately cover the campaigns and that he was hurt by a lack of formal debates. Also, the new mail-in balloting system made it difficult for candidates to target voters, Nicholson said.

“You can do the best you can with your literature and talking to people but you can’t know for sure (if you’re reaching people),” he said.

Walzer said that Ward 2 has traditionally had tight elections and that the campaign was rigorous.

“It took several years off my life,” she said.

- By KAYLEE PORTER, KAYLA MATZKE, BILL ORAM, TREVON MILLIARD, HALLADAY QUIST AND BESS DAVIS

Missoula Votes U.S. Out of Iraq

The Higgins Bridge was cold, quiet and, well, peaceful Tuesday night, its weekly anti-war rally done for the night by the time the news came in: Missoulians voted almost 2-to-1 in favor of telling the U.S. Congress that it's time to bring the troops home from Iraq.

"The vote itself is the expression of the will of the people," said Missoula City Councilman Bob Jaffe, who sponsored the referendum. It will be up to interested groups to pass the message on further, he said.

When all the ballots were counted, 65 percent of the voters favored the referendum intended to urge Congress to "authorize and fund an immediate and orderly withdrawal of the United States military from Iraq in a manner that is fully protective of U.S. soldiers."

"I was optimistic the referendum would pass, Missoula is a pretty liberal town," said Sean Gibbons, president of Students for Peace and Justice.

With their vote, Missoulians joined about 300 other communities across the nation in opposing the war through such a non-binding resolutions.

The next step, Gibbons said, is for a letter to be drafted and sent to the Montana Legislature, the state's U.S. senators and the White House.

The issue has divided the Missoula City Council since June when Mayor John Engen cast the tie-breaking vote to put it on the ballot. Groups such as the Jeannette Rankin Peace Center and Forward Montana staged events leading up to Tuesday's election to increase voter registration and raise awareness of the issue.

"It's about getting our voices heard," Gibbons said.

- By WILL FREIHOFER

Final 2007 Missoula Election Results*

BALLOT ISSUES

Iraq War Referendum
X For: 9,192, 65%
Against: 4,999, 35%

High School Building Reserve
X Against: 11,967, 51%
For: 11,292, 49%

CITY COUNCIL RACES

Ward 1
X Jason Wiener: 1,676, 64%
Justin Armintrout: 887, 34%
Write-in: 46, 2%

Ward 2
X Pam Walzer: 998, 52%
Don Nicholson (incumbent): 906, 47%
Write-in: 19, 1%

Ward 3
X Stacy Rye (incumbent): 1,504, 57%
Doug Harrison: 1,089, 42%
Write-in: 30, 1%

Ward 4
X Lyn Hellegaard: 1,506, 53%
Jerry Ballas: 1,282, 45%
Write-in: 57, 2%

Ward 5
X Renee Mitchell: 1,220, 54%
Christine Prescott: 1,026, 45%
Write-in: 34, 1%

Ward 6
X Ed Childers: 892, 50.48%
Lewie Schneller: 852, 48.22%
Write-in: 23, 1%

Votes cast:

*All results are unofficial until the returns have been canvassed.

Preliminary 2007 Missoula Election Results

As of 10 p.m., 20,699 votes had been counted. County officials were hoping to have final results by 11 p.m.

BALLOT ISSUES

Iraq War Referendum
For: 7,897, 64%
Against: 4,421, 36%

High School Building Reserve
For: 9,853, 48%
Against: 10,543, 52%

CITY COUNCIL RACES

Ward 1
Justin Armintrout: 853, 34%
Jason Wiener: 1,611, 64%
Write-in: 46, 2%

Ward 2
Don Nicholson: 882, 48%
Pam Walzer: 923, 51%
Write-in: 18, 1%

Ward 3
Doug Harrison: 784, 42%
Stacy Rye: 1,042, 56%
Write-in: 22. 1%

Ward 4
Jerry Ballas: 1,197, 45%
Lyn Hellegaard: 1,398, 53%
Write-in: 50, 2%

Ward 5
Renee Mitchell: 1,073, 54%
Christine Prescott: 895, 45%
Write-in: 31, 2%

Ward 6
Ed Childers: 721, 52%
Lewie Schneller: 648, 47%
Write-in: 18, 1%

Early Missoula Election Results

As of 8:20 p.m., with 7,000 votes still to be counted

Ballot Issues

Iraq War Referendum
For: 5,054
Against: 3,042

High School Building Reserve
For: 6,510

Against: 6,866

City Council Races

Ward 1
Justin Armintrout: 622
Jason Wiener: 1,150

Write-in: 26

Ward 2
Donald Nicholson; 715
Pam Walzer: 664

Write-in: 12

Ward 3
Doug Harrison: 313
Stacy Rye: 339

Write-in: 8

Ward 4
Jerry Ballas: 768
Lyn Hellegaard: 879
Write-in: 25

Ward 5
Renee Mitchell: 833
Christine Prescott: 701

Write-in: 22

Ward 6
Ed Childers: 500
Lewie Schneller: 434

Write-in: 12

Keep Those Ballots Coming

If it's too late to get your municipal ballot in the mail, you can drop it off at the Missoula County Elections Office, 200 W. Broadway. County officials also will accept ballots at the following locations, from 7 am. to 8 p.m., on Election Day only:

• Rattlesnake School, 1220 Pineview Drive


• Paxson School, 101 Evans


• Russell School, 3216 Russell


• Hellgate Elementary, 2385 Flynn Lane


• Cold Springs School, 2625 Briggs

Missoulians to Weigh Iraq War Referendum

By LAUREN RUSSELL

Missoula is thousands of miles from Iraq, but city voters are being asked to decide a referendum calling for the withdrawal of U.S. troops from that war-torn nation, an issue some say has no place in city politics.

The decision to put the referendum on the mail-in municipal ballot was made by six Missoula City Council members and Mayor John Engen, who cast the tie-breaking vote at the June 25 Missoula City Council meeting. Engen said that he wanted to put the issue before residents and allow them to express their desire for change.

Sponsored by Ward 3 Councilman Bob Jaffe, the referendum contains the following language:

“The citizens of Missoula, Montana, hereby urge the Congress of the United States of America to authorize and fund an immediate and orderly withdrawal of the United States military from Iraq in a manner that is fully protective of U.S. soldiers.”

If passed, this nonbinding document will be sent to Congress and the president. Jaffe said that though the measure is mostly symbolic, its passage would unite Missoula with other communities making a statement about the war.

Besides Missoula, Helena and more than 300 other cities have passed similar resolutions, said Karen Dolan with the Cities for Peace Campaign of the Washington, D.C.-based Institute for Policy Studies.

“President Bush is deaf to the wishes of the American people to stop pouring money and lives into this failed war,” Dolan said in an e-mail. “Because federal representatives on Capitol Hill seem impotent to challenge him, citizens all over the country are forcing the issue in their town and city halls and state houses.”

The cost of the war and the strain on the country’s economy prompted the Missoula Area Central Labor Council to endorse the measure, said Mark Anderlik, the organization’s president.

“It’s costing trillions of dollars that could go to health care and other issues here,” Anderlik said. “From a labor standpoint, it’s what the representatives of the Iraqi Labor Federation and the Iraqi people are calling for.”

Others support the referendum because of the freedom of speech it represents. Major Dean Roberts, of the University of Montana’s ROTC program, said that though he supports the war, he also supports the right of the people to debate it.

“As an army officer, it’s neat that I get to live in a country where I get to defend the right to have these debates,” Roberts said.

Rob Harper, student political action director for student government at the University of Montana, said that the group debated its support of the issue and ultimately decided that its engagement of students was worth endorsing.

“We support it as an engagement issue because it gives 15,000 students all the way out here in Montana the ability to have a voice,” Harper said.

But some people don’t think a referendum on a divisive national issue has any business being on a city ballot because it won’t have an effect on the national political stage.

Ward 4 Councilman Jon Wilkins, a veteran and adamant opponent of the resolution, said that the issue was meant to split the council on partisan lines before the election and shouldn’t cost the city time or money.

Professor James Lopach, head of the University of Montana's political science department, shared Wilkins’ opinion that city government should stay out of national politics. He said that the measure represents the personal politics of City Council members, not the population of Missoula.

Council members are neither sufficient representatives of Missoula nor the state, said UM President George Dennison. Citizens, he added, should leave the decision-making up to elected federal representatives.

“I don’t believe in plebiscite government,” Dennison said. “I don’t think it’s appropriate for us to make this decision because we really don’t have the information to make an informed decision.”

Missoulians’ concern with national issues is a good thing, UM College Republicans president Allie Harrison said, but it shouldn’t be expressed at the cost of Missoula taxpayers, who have no jurisdiction to deal with national issues.

“To me, it seems like a glorified poll that wastes a few thousand dollars of taxpayers’ money,” Harrison said.

But Matt Singer, a spokesman for Forward Montana, which supports the measure, said opponents are just grasping for reasons to oppose the referendum and that the homegrown response to a national issue is “wholly appropriate.”

“We’re building a chorus of voices,” Singer said. “People can make a difference individually and we must work together to demand that D.C. do a better job.”

Singer said that he is confident Missoula residents are ready to bring the troops home from Iraq. The question, he said, is whether these people will vote on it, since many people are unaware that the issue is included on the ballot.

This was the case Friday afternoon at the downtown Veterans of Foreign Wars club, where five of the eight customers said they hadn’t heard of the referendum.

However, Jim Bobbitt, commander of Post 209, had -- and he offered an opinion about it.

“Instead of wasting time and money, they could fill another pothole,” Bobbitt said.

Bond Issue Would Pay for High School Security, Other Improvements

By KRISTIN GREGORY

Voters in Missoula’s School District No. 1 are scheduled to decide a $10 million bond issue designed to improve Missoula high schools.

If passed, the High School Building Reserve will be used to finance improvements for the district's four high schools: Big Sky, Hellgate, Sentinel and Seeley-Swan.

The additional property taxes to pay off the $10 million bond issue would be spread over the next five years.

If the bond issue passes, district taxpayers with homes valued at $200,000 would pay an average of $24.42 extra per year.

But that increase would be offset by lower general property taxes, which should average of $21 less per household, said Lesli Brassfield, a spokeswoman for the district. The upshot, she said, it that the bond issue would increase the average district taxpayer’s burden by about $3.

Almost $8 million of the $10 million bond would go directly into renovating and maintaining high school facilities, while $1.5 million would be used for equipment upgrades and for the Safer Schools Program. Almost $500,000 would be left for contingency.

If the bond issue is passes, security cameras, gates and card entry systems would be installed at all four high schools.

Meanwhile, Big Sky High School aims to remodel its science rooms, improve lighting within the parking lot, and upgrade fire alarms.

Sentinel High School wants improve parking facilities, redesign its heating and ventilation systems, and build locker rooms at Stegner Field.

Among other things, Hellgate High School hopes to upgrade its heating and ventilation systems and improve the lighting and acoustics in its auditorium.

Seeley-Swan High School would replace its roof and windows, build a running track, and install new flooring.

All mail-in ballots must be completed and mailed to the County Elections Office by Nov. 6.

Meet Lewie Schneller, Ward 6

AGE: 64
OCCUPATION: Independent licensed Montana contractor and semi-retired entrepreneur
MARITAL OR DOMESTIC STATUS: Single parent of four grown children
EDUCATION: University of Montana, bachelor's degree in liberal arts, ROTC
MILITARY EXPERIENCE: ROTC
PUBLIC SERVICE: Fundraising for Missoula YMCA and UM athletic department
PARTY AFFILIATION: Democrat
ENDORSEMENTS: Chamber of Commerce rating: 2.2 of 3.0.

Questions and answers

What qualifies you to be on the City Council?

''My age and having been able to live in Missoula for almost 27 years, watching it grow from a small town into bordering on a good-size city. My basic qualification is that for the past 25 years I’ve been self-employed as an independent contractor. I’m familiar with what it takes to make a business successful, and I’m involved in the entrepreneurial aspect of business."

What are the best and worst things the City Council has done in recent years?

"The e-mails during meetings are a real problem. They are camouflage for partisanship, and I think the e-mails will reflect that when they’re all uncovered. The City Council has become very partisan, and it’s been orchestrated by a progressive, New Party move. If elected, I would never use a computer during the meetings, and I would ask for everything to be presented to me on paper."

What one thing would you most like to accomplish as a member of the City Council?

"I would like to help restore the balance of dignity, respect and communication on City Council. I would like to see the City Council become a symbol for uniting and not dividing Missoula. I would like to be a contributing factor in ending that divisiveness. I would also like to be a voice for protecting and maintaining the integrity of the neighborhoods in the ward that I represent and for the different neighborhoods in Missoula."

What can the city do to attract better-paying jobs?

"What I can do is promote and encourage city government and the county government to promote our city and the availability of all of the different talent pools and the excellent living conditions that Missoula offers. Then we can have a pool of major employers, which would establish a competitive spirit. If we have a multiplicity of employers in this city, then we will see wages naturally increase because of the competition for the employees."

What should the city do to encourage the development of more affordable housing?

"Missoula created this mess in the first place. Missoula allowed rampant developers and investors to come cherry-pick available space and multiply its worth by the so-called boundary reconfiguration. And so Missoula has allowed this problem – we created this mess. What it’s going to take to solve this is a lot of hard work in terms of backing up and reconfiguring the direction that we’ve gone. First, we have to admit that there’s a problem, then whole-heartedly search for a solution."

Should Missoula endorse a troop withdrawal from Iraq? Why or why not?

"The Iraq referendum was a horrible, horrible mistake. It was brought by the power brokers on City Council, and it isn’t the city’s business at all. The war in Iraq is a national issue."

What is Missoula’s most pressing traffic problem and where should the city turn for the money to solve it?

"I think the biggest traffic problem is congestion slowing down traffic where we have these mini traffic jams, bordering on big city traffic problems, like you see out on Reserve. We’ve got to stop trying to choke off traffic. I ride my bike recreationally, but I don’t ride it in bad weather or in heavy traffic. We need to free up traffic, and the way to do that is not to discourage the use of automobiles."

Should the city encourage or discourage more housing in existing city neighborhoods? Why or why not?

"I am against excessive crowding of our neighborhoods. Back-alley houses and infill wrecks our old neighborhoods. In my ward, 50 percent of the people are transient renters who are gone within a matter of months. The city needs to stop pushing off special improvement districts on neighborhoods too."

Should the city limit the number of unrelated people who may share a house?

"I am neutral on occupancy standards. I understand that it is an important issue to students in the university area, but not as big in my ward. I would be sensitive to both sides of the fence, and would be happy to hear both sides."

What specific problems in your ward would you like to see solved?

"I would like to keep high-density zoning out of my neighborhood. There are certain areas in Missoula that can be high density, like downtown, but there shouldn’t be large, clustered neighborhoods in my ward."

Meet Ed Childers, Ward 6

AGE: 60
OCCUPATION: Retired
MARITAL OR PARTNERSHIP STATUS: Married to Patricia for 37 years, two children
EDUCATION: University of Montana, bachelor's degree in creative writing, 1971
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE : Missoula City Treasurer, 12 years
MILITARY EXPERIENCE: None
PUBLIC SERVICE: Missoula City Council member, 8 years
PARTY AFFILIATION: Democrat
ENDORSEMENTS: Missoula County Democratic Central Committee, Missoula Area Central Labor Council, Missoula Organization of Realtors, Missoula Independent, Mayor John Engen, City Councilwoman Heidi Kendall, City Councilman Dave Strohmaier, Sen. Dave Wanzenried, Sen. Ron Erickson, former City Councilman Myrt Charney; Chamber of Commerce rating: 1.6 of 3.0.

Questions and answers

What qualifies you to be on the City Council?

“I’ve been elected city treasurer of Missoula three times. I served for 12 years on that. I ran for mayor and failed in 1997, and then I was elected to the City Council in 2000. I’ve put a lot of my acquired knowledge to use as a city councilman. I used to build SIDs (special improvement districts) and calculate splits and business licenses. I understand those things.”

What are the best and worst things the City Council has done in recent years?

“A great thing is we opened a section of England Boulevard recently. Negatives? When I got on the City Council we had a subdivision tool called the density bonus. It allowed developers to put more housing in an area than the zoning allowed. When I got on the council I thought that was simply unfair.”

What one thing would you most like to accomplish as an alderman?

“I just like things to keep getting a little better all the time. I’m really concerned we could get people elected to the City Council who don’t have that view. If that happens, we’re going to stop having new sidewalks and improvements on streets, and stop adding to the police force and having fire stations. That’s not going to make Missoula a desirable place to live.”

What can the city do to attract better paying jobs?

“We’ve got an educated and dedicated workforce. I don’t know that my goal is really to attract businesses. My goal is to keep the businesses that are here here, and let them roll.”

What should the city do to encourage more affordable housing?

“The only thing I’m aware of that’s really within our power is zoning and subdivision things that let you build smaller homes and let you build condos. But there’s a lot of opposition to that, even where the zoning says you can already do it. Do the small simple things we know help, at least for a while.”

Should Missoula endorse a troop withdrawal from Iraq? Why or why not?

“Even though everybody sends a letter in and calls individually, sometimes it’s helpful to have something come in a group form from an organization or particularly from a subset of the government, so if this referendum passes and we send it to all the powers that be, they’ll have that to look at. They’ll have that to refer to when they vote on things.”

What is Missoula’s most pressing traffic problem, and where should turn for the money to solve it?

“The worst intersection in the state I guess is Reserve and Mullan. One solution is to have less traffic on there. And it’s possible that if we ever get Russell Street done in a wider fashion, if that’s what ends up being done, that will take a little bit of demand off of Reserve, but not much.”

Should the city encourage or discourage more housing in existing city neighborhoods? Why?

“In Ward 6, the land was platted into subdivisions with rather small lots, and the zoning that’s in place allows fairly high densities. We have one that allows 12 units per acre, or 16 with some caveats, and we have some rezoning that allows way higher density than that. I want to continue to make that available to people who want to build small homes.”

Should the city limit the number of unrelated people who may share a house? Why or why not?

“We have a quality of life officer, and if you guys throw a wild party in your house and the neighbors complain, (he) would come and explain to you the negative aspects of that. That’s the kind of thing I’m all in favor of. I don’t like the idea that me and other poor old folks living in our houses that we’ve been in for a long time are going to be unduly disturbed.”

What specific problems in your ward would you like to see solved?

“Well, I would like some sugar daddy to come pay to put sidewalks on the main routes through Ward 6. We’ve got places where a lot of kids walk to Franklin School, and they use streets where there aren’t sidewalks. And there’s more traffic, particularly on Johnson Street, because of the Malfunction Junction redo, and people’s inability to follow the signs that tell them were they should appropriately go. So it’s become kind of dangerous.”

Meet Christine Prescott, Ward 5

AGE: 56
OCCUPATION: Self-employed facilitator
MARITAL OR PARTNERSHIP STATUS: Married, 34 years
EDUCATION: University of Oregon, Lewis and Clark Northwestern School of Law, Western Evangelical Seminary, George Fox Evangelical Seminary
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE: Cashier, University of Montana's University Center Bookstore; pastor, ordained by American Baptist Church; trial and criminal defense attorney, Multnomah and Washington counties, Ore.
MILITARY EXPERIENCE: None.
PUBLIC SERVICE: Missoula Public Library board of directors, Montana State Library’s board of directors, Habitat for Humanity.
PARTY AFFILIATION: Democrat
ENDORSEMENTS: Missoula Independent, Missoula County Democratic Central Committee, Missoula Area Central Labor Council, City Councilman Dave Strohmaier, City Councilwoman Heidi Kendall, Sen. Ron Erickson; Chamber of
Commerce rating: 1.5 of 3.0.
Questions and answers

What qualifies you to be on the City Council?

“I think having been an attorney, especially a trial attorney, gives me the ability to look at proposed ordinances, to look at things that have been prepared by the city attorney and see what they say. I want to look at the issues as they come up, from all sides, be open about everything. So neither the “grumpies” nor the “friendlies” know what side I'm going to be on.”

What are the best and worst things the City Council has done in recent years?

“I think the worst thing that they've done is to allow decisions to be made and then allow people to bring them back up again. The people who lose bring it back up until they win and they shouldn't be allowed to do that.

“The best? I think the city is pretty healthy in terms of zoning and planning and I think it's sometimes a struggle, but the City Council has really tried to help Missoula grow in a healthy way.”

What one thing would you most like to accomplish as a member of the City Council?

“I would like to help Missoula continue to be diverse. I would like to help keep it a place that not only rich people come to, a place where real people can live. I want to keep it healthy as it grows.”

What can the city do to attract better-paying jobs?

“I think it's outside the City Council. Some jurisdictions have economic development coordinators to try to tell businesses how good it is for them to be here. I think that's all the city could do. Try to make sure that there are places for businesses here, something that's compatible with Missoula. Try to lure them with who we are.”

What should the city do to encourage the development of more affordable housing?

“I would like to get the whole development community together -- developers, contractors, realtors, bankers, nonprofits, and the city government -- to decide what is best for Missoula. We need to keep our rivers clean. We need to make sure people have access to recreation and keep our open space. We need to keep it the way we want it to be.”

Should Missoula endorse a troop withdrawal from Iraq? Why or why not?

“I think that we're doing it the right way. We went to the people and I think what the people vote for is the way it should be. I hope it passes. I will vote for it, but I would also respect it if the majority of people vote against it."

What is Missoula’s most pressing traffic problem and where should the city turn for the money to solve it?

“I think that is the most pressing traffic problem ... where do we get the money? A lot of people are opposed to the transportation impact fee, but I am not. I think that it's part of the council's job to press the state senators and representatives to give us more options. We can't count on federal money to pay for everything because it's going to decrease.”

Should the city encourage or discourage more housing in existing city neighborhoods? Why or why not?

“The dreaded 'I' word. My opponent has said she's going to vote no on 'infill.' My position is: How do you know you're against it until you know where it is? You don't want to cram houses into every neighborhood. I think there's a way to do it responsibly and do it in a way that fits with the neighborhood.”

Should the city limit the number of unrelated people who may share a house?

“That is an issue that should be dead. You can't enforce it. I'm more concerned about getting the students and the established neighbors get to know each other. So if the students are having a party or if there's garbage everywhere, people won't be afraid to knock on someone's door and compromise. I would rather see that.”

What specific problems in your ward would you like to see solved?

“I would like to see Hillview Way get fixed. I don't know what's going to happen with that. It would be nice to have a fix for Miller Creek Road. I would like to see more streetlights on Garret Street. Twenty-third Street needs sidewalks, and there are ongoing transportation issues. It's kind of the forgotten ward.”

Meet Renee Mitchell, Ward 5

AGE: 58
OCCUPATION: Missoula Youth Homes manager
MARITAL OR PARTNERSHIP STATUS: Married to Jack Mitchell
EDUCATION: University of Montana, bachelor's degree in education
MILITARY EXPERIENCE: None
PUBLIC SERVICE: Volunteer with Youth Homes, Easter Seals; promoted neighborhood concerns on Briggs Street; president of Montana State Women’s Gold Association
PARTY AFFILIATION: None
ENDORSEMENTS: City Councilman Dick Haines, former City Councilwoman LuAnn Crowley; Chamber of Commerce rating: 2.4 of 3.0.

Questions and answers

What qualifies you to be on City Council?

“As a Neighborhood Council member, I was elected to be a Community Forum representative. That group meets once a month. I also have been attending the City Council meetings for about the past four years. Because of this experience, I have learned a lot about other issues in Missoula.”

What are the best and worst things the City Council has done in recent years?

“The best thing is that despite all the obstacles and political division, we can still get things done. The worst thing the council has done is to allow for infill without a property owner's right to protest. City Council never saw a petition against the Lincoln School development because of a decision on planned neighborhood clusters.”

What one thing would you most like to accomplish as an alderwoman?

“I would like to see city government truly represent people and become open and transparent so people can know what’s being done and why. We need more accountability. The budget shows money going in and money coming out, but it doesn’t show the sources. It’s not a question of honesty. It’s a question of detail.”

What can the city do to attract better-paying jobs?

“The city can work with businesses that might want to come to Missoula, to see what their needs are. I don’t think we can always address every aspect, but we shouldn’t tax them so heavily they can’t survive here. Tax incentives might be an answer, but there should be reasonable conditions for them to want to come to Missoula.”

What should the city do to encourage more affordable housing?

“Land prices have gone so high in Missoula. I think it’s almost impossible for someone to get a starter home. I am not totally against infill, but we need to do it wisely. Infill is not always the answer to creating affordable housing. The council needs to work with agencies that help people get affordable housing.”

Should Missoula endorse a troop withdrawal from Iraq? Why or why not?

“Whether or not there’s a referendum isn’t going to make a difference. We spend a lot of time debating the big picture when all we can control is the local, small picture stuff. I’m grateful to everybody who has ever served so we can maintain our freedom, such as putting referendums like this on the ballot.”

What is Missoula’s most pressing traffic problem, and where should the city turn for the money to solve it?

“Hillview Way needs to be addressed. A few people, because they have a lot of property up there, are paying the lion’s share for improvement. We need a more equitable tax base, and I think the whole city benefits from that road. It keeps traffic off my street, so even though I don’t use it often, it certainly helps me.”

Should the city encourage or discourage more housing in existing city neighborhoods? Why?

“I think we need to follow the zoning, and I don’t think we should compromise the integrity of existing neighborhoods. Also, what’s affordable isn’t always acceptable.”

Should the city limit the number of unrelated people who may share a house? Why or why not?

“We’ve already tried that. We don’t need to go down that road again. It just caused a lot of dissention and City Council members weren’t able to agree. We have a lot of other things that need attention.”

What specific problems in your ward would you like to see solved?

“Obviously, Hillview Way and how to pay for it is a big, big hot-button issue. Also, where Upper and Lower Miller Creek meet, the roundabout needs to be addressed. Otherwise they can’t build up there.”

Meet Lyn Hellegaard, Ward 4

AGE: 49
OCCUPATION: Executive director of community affairs for the Missoula/Ravalli Transportation Management Association and coordinator of the Montana Transit Association
MARITAL OR PARTNERSHIP STATUS: Married with two kids and a dog
EDUCATION: Sentinel High School graduate
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE: Nineteen years as an AVP at First Interstate Bank and seven years in her current position; adult instructor for the American Institute of Banking, where she conducted classes in lending, marketing, and customer service
MILITARY EXPERIENCE: None
PUBLIC SERVICE: Missoula Youth Court Community Council, the Small Urban and Rural Transit board and the Rural Transportation Advisory Program board
PARTY AFFILIATION: Nonpartisan
ENDORSEMENTS: Missoula Organization of Realtors, Missoula County Republican Party, Councilman Dick Haines; Missoula Chamber of Commerce rating: 2.6 out of 3.0.

Questions and answers

What qualifies you to be on the City Council?

“My 18 years experience in the financial industry, managing a non-profit agency and owning a small business with my husband should prove valuable to developing positive solutions for Missoula’s future. My position at the Missoula Ravalli Transportation Management Association has required an ability to work on “both sides” of the aisle to secure sustainable funding.”

What are the best and worst things the City Council has done in recent years?

“Worst: Allowing the City Administration to keep the fees collected for fire hydrant maintenance and reallocating it rather than refunding to the citizens.
“Best: Requiring city staff to present their oversight committee’s recommendations to council, rather than staff recommendations.”

What one thing would you most like to accomplish as a member of the City Council?

“The community’s wishes seem to be ignored. For example the Broadway Road Diet, the aquatics project, and fire hydrant issue. These processes have created a very deep sense of resentment and distrust in our city government that could be detrimental to all future projects. Also, the fact that we are ignoring our infrastructure and setting nothing aside for a major failure could put an enormous burden on future generations.”

What can the city do to attract better-paying jobs?

“I believe the local government should take a very active and supportive role in encouraging business development as this creates a solid tax base, taking some pressure off of residential taxes. Incentive programs that have been successful in other communities that need to be considered are fast track permitting, fee deferral programs and a procurement technical assistance center incorporated with fiscally responsible spending priorities.”

What should the city do to encourage the development of more affordable housing?

“I believe that a review of city policies, streamlining of permit process and consistent application of zoning ordinances should all be incorporated into our strategies to address attainable housing issues. Affordable housing for some of our citizens will be rentals. We need policies in place that will ensure the rentals are safe places to live.”

Should Missoula endorse a troop withdrawal from Iraq? Why or why not?

“Foreign policy is not under the jurisdiction and/or authority of the Missoula City Council. Missoula has some major issues that council does have the authority to address and our time should be spent on those issues.”

What is Missoula's most pressing traffic problem and where should the city turn for the money to solve it?

“Russell/South Third road project. Fixing Russell could minimize some of the issues on Reserve Street. If this is a top priority then funding may need to be taken from lower priority projects. We were able to secure an earmark from Senator Baucus for the bridge work, now we need to institute some sound fiscal policies to identify other funds.”

Should the city encourage or discourage more housing in existing city neighborhoods? Why or why not?

“If the city wants to change the structure of a neighborhood, then they should be required to seek a super majority of property owner’s approval. People purchased home in certain neighborhoods because of the character or structure of those neighborhoods. They bought believing the covenants and zoning would be protected the integrity of the neighborhood.”

Should the city limit the number of unrelated people who may share a house?

“In circumstances where the number would create unsafe/unhealthy living conditions for the occupants or where they are in violation of current ordinances there should be a limit.”

What specific problems in your ward would you like to see solved?

“Hillview Way SID and road improvement.”

Meet Jerry Ballas, Ward 4

AGE: 64
OCCUPATION: Architect at the University of Montana’s Physical Plant
MARITAL OR PARTNERSHIP STATUS: Married
EDUCATION: Architecture degree from Montana State University
PROFESSIONAL: Owner FBB Architects for more than 30 years
MILITARY EXPERIENCE: Served in Vietnam as an Army combat engineer and officer.
PUBLIC SERVICE: Habitat for Humanity
PARTY AFFILIATION: Declined to comment
ENDORSEMENTS: Missoula County Republican Central Committee, Missoula Indepedent; Chamber of Commerce rating: 2.5 of 3.0.

Questions and answers

What qualifies you to be on the City Council?

"I’ve had lifelong residency in Missoula, 35 years as a homeowner, almost 35 years as a business owner, working with the community and being active in community affairs. Being an architect, I’ve worked with just about every segment of the community, listening to their needs, dreams and goals, and helping them achieve those dreams and goals. City Council is just kind of one more segment of that community service.”

What are the best and worst things City Council has done in recent years?

“The best thing that I think the council did was approving the aquatics facilities for the community. ... I think that was an extremely challenging job, but one with tremendous benefits for the community. As for the worst thing the council has done, to allow the boundary line process to proceed as far as it did without challenging or questioning the legality of that issue.”

What one thing would you most like to accomplish as a member of the City Council?

“One major goal, and the reason that I decided to run again, is to make sure that the zoning and subdivision rewrite is clear, concise; that it addresses some of the problems in the city, and also protects the character of the core neighborhoods. The only way I can do it is by utilizing the experience I have in trying to analyze and review and approve ordinance changes.”

What can Missoula do to attract better-paying jobs?

“The city by itself can’t do anything. The city needs to find ways to partner with economic development corporations and other business promoting entities to create the atmosphere to develop those types of jobs. The city also needs to make sure that ordinances don’t discourage the development of new jobs.”

What should the city do to encourage the development of more affordable housing for Missoula residents?

“We need to make sure that we have a very modern, progressive housing authority that can help us address the greatest needs. We have to seek opportunities like redeveloping the mill site, and partner with private developers interested in developing those larger pieces of ground. We must keep administrative costs manageable and decisions timely.”

Should Missoula endorse a troop withdrawal from Iraq? Why or why not?

“No. I was an officer in Vietnam. I was a pretty young and inexperienced officer. You had to figure out how to keep the morale up in a situation that wasn’t the best. For me, the opposition to that war totally demoralized many of our troops. I associate the resolution with having an effect of demoralizing the troops without really achieving the ends.”

What is Missoula’s most pressing traffic problem, and where should the city turn to for money to solve it?

“The worst traffic problem we have is probably Reserve Street. A lot of our major thoroughfares in Missoula are also state highways, and our best opportunity is to work the state and federal government to approve them."

Should the city limit the number of unrelated people who may share a house?

“I supported the occupancy standard limitation when it was first raised. The basis for my argument is, if you turn around and let a house be used for something that it wasn’t designed for, very probably it will lead to deterioration of the entire neighborhood. I think if you adopt occupancy standards you've got to then find a better way of providing housing for students. We could encourage the university to provide a higher proportion of housing for students. There isn’t any one single solution.”

What specific problems in your ward would you like to see solved?

“We need to improve Hillview Way, because it is substandard and it’s a hazard. We need to find a way to develop hillsides and sloping sites so that new development doesn’t impact people who have invested in this property for many, many years. I want to better develop the standards for planned neighborhood clusters. We are susceptible to planned neighborhood clusters which I don’t think will fit in with the character of the neighborhood.”

Meet Stacy Rye, Ward 3

AGE: 38
OCCUPATION: Coordinator, University of Montana Women and Gender Studies Program
MARITAL OR PARTNERSHIP STATUS: Married to Paul Bowles
EDUCATION: University of Montana, bachelor's degree in anthropology; two years of graduate study in sociology
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE: for executive Director of Brain Injury Association
PUBLIC SERVICE: Missoula City Council; Rose Park Neighborhood Council; Literacy Volunteers of America;Ward 3 ice cream social; campaign volunteer for President Bill Clinton, U.S. Sen. Max Baucus, U.S. Sen. Jon Tester, and numerous City Council and School Board candidates.
PARTY AFFILIATION: Democrat
ENDORSEMENTS: Missoula County Democrats, Missoula County Democratic Central Committee, Missoula Area Central Labor Council, Mayor John Engen, Missoula Independent; Missoula Chamber of Commerce rating: 1.2 of 3.0.

Questions and answers

What qualifies you to be on the City Council?

“First of all, I was the director of a nonprofit for five years. That’s an enormous amount of work. In the nonprofit world you don’t get paid, but you do get to wear a white hat. I’ve sat on City Council for four years; I’ve put in a lot of hours, probably 20 hours a week at least. I’ve chaired the Administration and Finance Committee; I’ve worked on state issues such as public power …. Working for a non-profit, you have to be able to write and vote on by-laws. You have to be able to report to a board in an objective manner. I was staffing that board. Now, on council, I am the board. So I’ve worn both hats at the same time, and to know the difference is critical. Politics are one thing, but crafting policy takes some skill and people have to know how to be able to do it effectively and objectively.”

What are the best and worst things the City Council has done in recent years?

“Transportation and growth are our two most contentious issues. In regards to affordable housing, we have had a difficult time with it. We kind of agreed to put an end to some policies which the community had been extremely reactionary to in a negative way, mainly density bonuses and PNCs. We haven’t gone back and revisited why those policies were put into place in the first place and what, if any, positive things came out of them. So that’s a problem. We’re there to see the community in 50 years, not what happens next month. Montana Public Power, going forward with that bid, was just thrilling. It is a state issue, and the cities took an initiative to do something about a bankrupt supplier. I think the widening ordinance was remarkable. Missoulians care about quality of life issues. There’s an old lumber mill that ran for a lot of years in Missoula that is being cleaned up and turned into a mixed use neighborhood.”

What one thing would you most like to accomplish as a member of the City Council?

“Definitely something about affordable housing and growth. Some sort of inclusionary zoning would be wonderful, just the idea that we have a developer put in 10 percent of their development as affordable housing. We talked about a land trust non-profit in town that could help take care of that, that would be excellent, or an affordable housing bond. I mean, this community really has picked up when it comes to things like open space and parks, things like that. I think it’s time to do something regarding affordable housing, because affordable housing and economic development are tied together. Anybody that claims to be a big business candidate, if you don’t have the work force here to support those businesses and (a workforce) able to live here on $12 an hour, then you’re not going to have that (businesses). So if you’re not pro-affordable housing, you’re anti-economic development.”

What can the city do attract better-paying jobs?

“Work-force housing, have housing available for people to be here. Businesses are attracted to a couple of different things. They’re attracted to the work force that’s here, which is largely educated, much more so than the national average, and amenities. It’s our job to provide the unsexy infrastructure like sewers and roads, but it’s also our job to make sure that business owners are attracted to open space and trails and things like that.”

What should the city do to encourage the development of more affordable housing?

“The city has two-fold responsibility. One is the development of work force housing, and the other is the social justice argument that the government is here to serve all people, not just the people who can afford to live here. I think we have some responsibility to encourage by regulation or manipulate the market by regulation to some extent to help the market and median house price. The median house price is $210,000. There has to be some recognition of power, too. It used to be that parents or families could help college graduates with the down payment. A down payment on a 20,000 dollar house is about $2,000. Families would scrape that together and help kids buy houses. The down payment on a $210,000 dollar house is $21,000 dollars.”

Should Missoula endorse a troop withdrawal from Iraq? Why or why not?

“Since I co-sponsored the ballot initiative, I certainly do (think so). One or two cities here or there that have no power or say in this issue means nothing, but the more cities that do it and the more populations that work for it fill up a bucket. If one city is a drop, many cities start to fill up that bucket. If federal officials are acting contrary to what the general public has said that they want, and their values aren’t being listened to; then they start to look to local officials to do something about the gap in those belief systems and value systems. If it were to pass, it gives a message to three congressional representatives in Montana as well.”

What is Missoula’s most pressing traffic problem and where should the city turn for the money to solve it?

“The most pressing traffic problem is that we don’t have the money to fund anything. I would say possibly Russell Street. Russell Street has been due for improvements for at least 11 years and it had a $20 million price tag about four years ago. I would guess its now about $40 million. We just don’t have that kind of money. So far we have about $6 million in our combined budget. That’s nothing, that’s peanuts. We also have Reserve Dtreet, Miller Creek, the Higgins-Hill roundabout – it’s a never-ending list of improvements, and drying up federal and state funds. We don’t have leadership at the federal or state level to either fund this realistically or come up with a viable solution, and we’re paupers here, our budget couldn’t possibly come up with that. So, we have to face some harsh realities here and, in my view, we do need those improvements. We can’t build every single road to be four or six lanes to carry single occupancy vehicles. That is a hugely inefficient waste of money. If we throw a little bit of money, like 10 percent of those budgets, at different modes of transportation we could make a huge difference, huge. We have a tiny little gas tax that goes to supporting single occupancy vehicles. I don’t know why we continue to go down a path leading us to a train wreck.”

Should the city encourage or discourage more housing in existing city neighborhoods? Why or why not?

“They should encourage it, especially if it doesn’t increase the overall density. If we have a parcel of land that’s zoned for apartment building, there’s no reason why we shouldn’t be able to build condos, town homes or single-family homes. It doesn’t increase the overall density of that parcel of land. If you have an eight-plex you can have eight houses or eight condos. I would like to see Missoula look at the possibility of mother-in-law units. And that would probably increase the density but they’ve been built for decades behind existing houses. They’re small little cottages usually, they’re attractive. We’re talking tiny. So that would increase the density and that would increase student housing, which I think is not great right now and I don’t think students want to live out behind Wal-Mart. I’d rather students be one or two per cottage rather than eight per house.”

Should the city limit the number of unrelated people who may share a house?

“No. It’s unconstitutional. They can’t do it. It’s not right. It’s a dead issue, hasn’t come up in years.”

What specific problems in your ward would you like to see solved?

“Parking for the university. I’d like to see the city and the university get together and determine how that can be mitigated. I don’t think the answer is necessarily more future parking lots at the university because it just encourages more people to drive. So that’s a huge problem. Housing is a huge problem in Ward 3. And I feel like development is not. We have a diversity of housing plots and neighborhoods, but we don’t have a lot of affordable housing. It’s more toward the 60th percentile of the median house price. We don’t have any under the 60th percentile.”

Meet Doug Harrison, Ward 3

AGE: 53
OCCUPATION: Customer service supervisor Mountain Water Company (1983-present)
MARITAL OR DOMESTIC STATUS: Married to Rosemary, 32 years; two children: Greg, 22; Allie 19.
EDUCATION: high school diploma
MILITARY EXPERIENCE: none
PUBLIC SERVICE: City Council member for Ward 4 from 1986 to 1998; City Council president for two years; council representative to Missoula Health Board; United Way board of directors; council representative on the city-county Growth Management Task Force
PARTY AFFILIATION: None
ENDORSEMENTS: Missoula Organization of Realtors; Missoula Chamber of Commerce rating: 2.8 of 3.0.
WEB SITE: http://dougharrisonward3.com/exp.html

Questions and answers

What qualifies you to be on the City Council?

“I served for 12 years on the City Council from 1986 to 1998, and during that time I served on all kinds of committees and subcommittees. During that time, the City Council also elected me president for two years. I’ve also worked extensively with United Way; I’m on its board of directors. I’ve worked for Mountain Water Company for 24 years. I’ve seen the private aspect, the public sector, and I’ve seen the nonprofit sector, and so I have a pretty broad perspective of the community.”

What are the best and worst things the City Council has done in recent years?

“When I was first on the City Council, the economic life of the community was dead, and we kind of resolved the financial issues of the city. From there we ended up doing the Riverfront Park system. We also did things say, in the environmental area. When a few people approached me about running, I couldn’t think of what we’d done since the time I’d gotten off. We did build the Orange Street Bridge, which I think is beautiful. It’s great. In the Montana Constitution, it guarantees you certain things, and one of them is the right to know and the right to participate. I felt like the way West Broadway was handled was all backwards. You should pull everybody together first, and then allow people to participate. If people don’t have the right to know and the right to participate until it’s done, then you kind of bypass their rights.”

What one thing would you most like to accomplish as a member of the City Council?

“I think government needs to be involved with the people aspect of the community. Missoula’s known as the greatest city for young people or the greatest city to retire in … maybe we ought to be the healthiest city. I think we could screen everybody from the age of 21 or 23 and under in a health screening. Then we’d be doing the right thing for the right reason, and it’s something the whole community could get behind. We have those issues here in Missoula. You’re going to hear about transportation and spending, but there are some real-life needs on the ground.”

What can the city do to attract better paying jobs to the community?

“We’re positioned very well to do that right now. We’ve built an infrastructure that makes people want to move here. While I don’t think DirecTV is the answer, I think it did show that when governments like the Missoula Area Economic Development Corp. and the local government work together, they can pull people in here. I think we need to focus on that a little bit more.”

What should the city do to encourage the development of more affordable housing?

“I think affordable housing hinges on two things: You have to raise the wage in Missoula, and you have to increase the supply of housing. When we talk about those, then you have other issues that come up. But if we don’t talk about that – increasing the supply and raising the wages – then we’re never going to address that affordable housing issue.”

Should Missoula endorse a troop withdrawal from Iraq? Why or why not?

“Missoula has a lot of real needs. I think if our local government could handle its local issues, then we’d be doing really well. I am all for freedom of speech though, but I don’t think (the City Council) ought to cost the community money by putting it on the ballot. We could use that money in a lot of other places. … I’ll not support the referendum. Decisions have to be made at different levels of government. If we can’t build three swimming facilities for $8 million, how can we even think that we should tell the national defense how they ought to run their stuff? But, at the same time, people have the right to say what they want.”

What is Missoula’s most pressing traffic problem, and where should the city turn for the money to solve it?

“We have two major issues in transportation: Number one is the congestion aspect, like on North Russell (Street) and West Broadway (Street). And the second issue is the interaction between bicycle/pedestrian and vehicles. The last one has a lot quicker fix. And that is that we finish out the trail system and that we kind of establish an independent transportation system for bicycles and pedestrians. We can separate out bikes and cars to a good degree. … But (when it comes to) the money that it takes to relieve congestion, we’re not working very smart. I think we need to focus more on our designs and what we’re trying to accomplish with them. I think we can definitely do Russell Street and Broadway, but then we really need to focus on how we’re designing roads and our transportation systems.”

Should the city encourage or discourage more housing in existing city neighborhoods? Why or why not?

We spend millions of dollars on open space, on the trails and everything we do to enhance our quality of life. We bought open space so we don’t fill up every little inch, and we want to make it nicer here. If we spend all this money over here, it seems counterproductive to go in and trash out your neighborhoods. I think the question we ought to be asking is can we increase the supply of housing and maintain the quality of life or enhance it? I would leave the neighborhoods alone, but we have a few sites that we can build, and we can build denser there.

Should the city limit the number of unrelated people who may share a house?

“That’s a practical impossibility to enforce, to where you know who’s living in a house. You don’t want the government to have to deal with that stuff. The whole idea of zoning to begin with is how to we minimize the impact of neighbors on neighbors. There definitely is a difference between high-impact, high-noise (rental units) versus a residential (home). I think there should be places for people who want it quieter and places for higher-impact uses.”

What specific problems in your ward would you like to see solved?

“This is a very diverse ward, really. The biggest issue right now kind of deals with the infill issue. If you walked around this ward, I could take you over where infill has been done and fits perfectly, and I can show you in the same trip where it’s just a disaster. One of the issues we’ll have to work out is how do we move ahead and placate all these different needs. Everybody I’ve ever talked to on either side of the issue has some fairly reasonable points.”

Meet Pam Walzer, Ward 2

AGE: 52
OCCUPATION: Jewelry maker
MARITAL OR PARTNERSHIP STATUS: Divorced
EDUCATION: Indiana University, bachelor’s degree in biology and minor in chemistry; West Virginia University, graduate work in biochemical genetics
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE: Space rocket researcher and quality tester; EPA hazardous waste management of chemical agents and explosives; substitute science teacher
MILITARY EXPERIENCE: None.
PUBLIC SERVICE: member of Missoula County Local Government Study Commission and Missoula Downtown Association; volunteered for International Wildlife Film Festival and U.S. Sen. John Tester’s election campaign
PARTY AFFILIATION: Democrat
ENDORSEMENTS: Missoula County Democrats, Missoula Area Central Labor Council, Mayor John Engen, Missoula County Commissioner Jean Curtiss, Sen. Greg Lind, Sen. Dave Wanzenried, Rep. Ron Erickson, former Rep. Gail Gutshe; Chamber of Commerce rating: 1.2 of 3.0.
WEB SITE: http://www.pamwalzer.com/

Questions and answers

What qualifies you to be on the City Council?

“Part of it has to do with my very varied background. As a scientist, the analytical thinking of having to find what the problem is and looking for a solution is all part of my background training. Businesses and cities are similar, and I have a lot of experience in the business end that can be applied to the city. Not to mention being a member of the Missoula City Local Government Study Commission. I do know what’s going on. People say it’s the closest I can get to being an incumbent. Also, the environmental work I did, disposing of toxic wastes, made me very much involved with the regulations. Because of that, in the study commission I dug into government relations, something most councilors can’t do. And that makes me an asset.”

What are the best and worst things the City Council has done in recent years?

“The worst is a no-brainer, the scuttling of the 2000 Northside/Westside neighborhood plan. Council took all that the residents wanted and destroyed it by amending the update. Luckily, it was killed. Nothing about the update changed, but there was an attempt to damage the original plan. The neighborhood’s original update describes the vision for what should happen in the neighborhood. Part of it has to do with the expansion design of the Safeway store. It doesn’t fit into the neighborhood plan of expanding West Broadway as a part of downtown, keeping it pedestrian and bicycle friendly. The amendment would remove Safeway from the plan. One store might not be a big deal, but it sets the ground for the rest. Currently, a compromise is about to be reached, and the neighborhood’s real excited about that.

The best is the Iraq war referendum. Putting it on the ballot is nonbinding, but it gives Missoula a voice. This is truly something that City Council offers the people of Missoula: to speak as one voice, not just individually sent letters.”

What one thing would you most like to accomplish as a member of the City Council?

“I would like to see council regain its job of well-arranged planning. They seem to be wrapped up in day-to-day minutia without a great road map to follow. We need to have a big plan to follow so the City Council knows what to do. Right now, they don’t know what they’re supposed to do. From election to election it changes without reflection of any big plan.”

What can the city do to attract better-paying jobs?

“I’m not for trying to drag businesses in from the outside. I’m not against anyone coming in, but I’d like to see ways to take advantage of the brain trust we have here, through the university and the medical community. We have so much opportunity for spin-off. And to do that, we need to start small and build up from within. That way, the entrepreneurs themselves are getting the wealth. (Take) for example, the Missoula Children’s Theatre. So much money comes into Missoula because they’re going out. The idea is to grow it here, keep your smart guys here in town.”

What should the city do to encourage the development of more affordable housing?

“We need to continue efforts of nonprofits for low-income affordable housing. We also need to think of affordable rentals. But everyone forgets quality. We need to look at models around the country to adapt and apply here. Maybe even giving landlords tax incentives to cap rents. People are seeing increase in taxes, meaning special improvement districts and impact fees. Make developers pay upfront, but they say it’ll increase the cost of the house. Maybe, but wouldn’t it be better to know when you bought your house you could afford it, than later get hit with a $100 a month charge? In the meantime, they’re trying to encourage development within the city. But there’s a minimum lot size which is too big. Large houses on large lots equal poor affordability. We need to change those rules to (offer) small houses on small lots.”

Should Missoula endorse a troop withdrawal from Iraq? Why or why not?

“Yes, because even though it’s nonbinding, it gives Missoula a voice. This is truly something that City Council offers the people of Missoula: to speak as one voice, not just individual letters.”

What is Missoula’s most pressing traffic problem and where should the city turn for the money to solve it?

“Problem is we’re looking at roads and cars. (The) more roads you build, the more cars you get. To prove that, look at North Reserve Street, and we still haven’t learned that lesson. We need to change how we’re thinking about transportation. When we develop, we want to make it so people don’t have to drive across town to do anything. Mixed housing is the answer. That way, low income doesn’t mean you’re stuck living in one section of town. You’re mixing things together, and essentially that doesn’t cost anything. Secondly, we need to increase Mountain Line service. I feel the demand is there. I hear many people say, ‘I’d take it, but it takes too long to get anywhere.’ Finding money is always a big issue, but if we don’t build more roads, it might be there.”

Should the city encourage or discourage more housing in existing city neighborhoods? Why or why not?

“Yes, it should, in all neighborhoods. We need to spread the wide variety of housing prices throughout the city. There’s no reason well-built multi-family dwellings can’t exist very nicely in different locations. I think the city should let the market decide where the growth happens, whether it is within the city or not. No matter what, more housing vacancies mean lower prices.”

Should the city limit the number of unrelated people who may share a house?

“I once had 10 people living in a neighboring duplex; they were great, other than the seven cars. That’s a complex issue, and it has to do with health and safety. Related or unrelated doesn’t matter. The issue is if they can safely live in a location. That’s a really hard thing to govern. Having been a student myself, I’d rather see safety in rentals and not just discriminating against rentals.”

What specific problems in your ward would you like to see solved?

“The ward has three distinct areas, and traffic is in issue. We need to increase Mountain Line availability throughout the ward. Also, I’m not a bike Nazi. I don’t ride a bike. I have one, but I don’t ride it. But I want people to appreciate being in your car is not a fun thing. We need to design the city to be pedestrian friendly. And I am for chickens.”