Commissioner choice will matter

It DOES matter who is elected county commissioner on Tuesday.

The board of commissioners is responsible for a budget of almost $56 million; makes decisions every week about our roads, weeds, parks and rural subdivisions; and, most significantly, writes the future of the Flathead on a map that is variously called a master plan or a mass confusion.

For that reason, it is absolutely necessary for the Inter Lake to have an opinion about the race between Democrat Joe Brenneman and Republican Denise Cofer. Several people have even approached us and asked us to put aside our common practice of not endorsing candidates and to weigh in "for the good of everyone."

We are, of course, grateful for the vote of confidence in us and our humble opinion, but the fact remains that the vote that matters is not ours but the one on Tuesday, and we simply encourage, as always, that the electorate make an informed decision.

One thing remains certain - under this system, if a majority of the voters favors one candidate, they will get the winner that they deserve. This year, the choice is clear - in the sense of clearly divided. There should be no reason why any voter should need to be told how to vote.

Vote for the candidate who represents your own vision of the future of the Flathead:

If you vote for Joe Brenneman, you are voting for a vision of people working together - across party lines and across municipal borders - to try to define how our beloved communities should change as growth inevitably occurs.

He represents not the left wing, as you may have heard, but rather the old guard. His family has been here for four generations, and Brenneman still has a belief in the homestead era's values of neighborliness, hard work, and common sense.

He wants better intergovernmental cooperation and a more active role in determining how growth occurs - and he's well aware of the financial strains hampering county operations.

Brenneman has also pledged to pick representatives for county advisory boards not because they agree with his point of view, but because they can draw on information from all sides in making decisions. He wants a county government that encourages public participation.

He thinks the county's politics has become polarized in the past few years, and he sees himself as someone who will be able to draw all sides together.

If you vote for Denise Cofer, you are voting for a vision of people protected from government interference - for a strong sense that property rights should be considered a part of the individual's civil rights.

This belief could have a significant impact on how she does her job when deciding on whether to approve such developer-driven growth as the proposed Glacier Mall, the Two Rivers proposal north of Kalispell, and in general the conversion of agricultural land to residential or commercial use. She will approve subdivisions and other proposals if they can be made to conform to basic principles of common sense, safety and health, and isn't likely to reject a project simply because it isn't popular.

She has complained about special interest groups obstructing economic activity here, and sees the role of the county as an ombudsman to ensure that inevitable growth meets community standards. In addition, Cofer wants the county more involved in the planning and management of federal park and forest lands that account for roughly 70 percent of the county's land base.

So now, here's our pledge to you: if you don't tell us whom to vote for, we won't tell you either. But whomever you favor, please do go out and vote. Vote for county commissioner, vote for president, vote for governor, and vote in all the other races on the ballot. Then vote your conscience on a number of ballot issues and bond issues.

When you've done all that, you can go home and relax. You've done your part to keep our republic strong, and you've preserved your right to criticize the eventual winners, a right which all American cherish - with good reason.