Kalispell council members seek re-election

Filing deadline is June 28 for city positions

The Daily Inter Lake

All four Kalispell City Council members whose terms expire this year have filed for re-election.

They include Kari Gabriel in Ward 1, Wayne Saverud in Ward 2, Randy Kenyon in Ward 3 and Duane Larson in Ward 4.

The filing deadline is June 28.

In Columbia Falls, incumbent Julie Plevel has filed for re-election. Plevel was appointed in October 2004 to fill a vacancy left by Tad Rosenberry's resignation. She then was the write-in candidate elected a month later to finish the final two years of the term.

Kathie Lapcevic also has filed for one of three council seats open in Columbia Falls. She is the officer manager for Glacier Country Regional Tourism Commission.

The terms of Don Barnhart and Doug Karper are expiring, but neither has yet filed.

No one has filed for three open council seats in Whitefish.

The terms of Whitefish council members Cris Coughlin, Velvet Phillips-Sullivan and John Muhlfeld expire at the end of the year. Muhlfeld was appointed in January 2006 to fill out the remainder of Tom Muri's term after Muri resigned from the council.

Coughlin and council member Nick Palmer have announced their candidacies for Whitefish mayor, but the county election department doesn't have their paperwork yet.

The Whitefish mayoral term will switch from two to four years in the November general election. Andy Feury is in his fourth term as mayor, but has not said if he plans to run for re-election. He announced earlier this year he plans to spend much of the next two years in China, where his company has embarked on a joint venture to start a new factory near Shanghai.

Whitefish candidates must gather petitions of voter signatures to accompany their filing papers.

Mayoral candidates need 39 valid signatures; council members need 32. Packets are available at Whitefish City Hall.