Election race developing for Kalispell mayor

Tammi Fisher, a former deputy Flathead County attorney who now runs a private law practice in Kalispell, will run for Kalispell mayor in this November's election.

The 33-year-old widowed mother of two announced her candidacy and filed for election on Monday.

A willingness to help bail the city out of its financial woes and a desire to give back to her community are behind her decision to run, she said.

"Life's short. I won't be remembered for being an attorney I want to give back to my community," Fisher said. "And I think there's a real need for leadership in this community."

She said she also is concerned about lagging growth in Kalispell, a trend which she said could threaten her - and thereby others' - ability to support families in the future.

Fisher said she was approached by a group of Kalispell business owners and professionals seeking qualified candidates for local races - "candidates they felt had the background, leadership skills and enthusiasm to help dig Kalispell out of the financial hole."

Kalispell faces a general fund reduced from nearly $10.2 million this fiscal year down to $9.1 million proposed for fiscal 2010, although part of that change includes the removal of the Parks and Recreation Department from the general fund. Another $136,000 is proposed to be cut from the police and fire budgets.

Fisher called the proposed police and fire cuts "unacceptable." Poverty fosters crime, she noted, and a recession is no time to cut back on police protection.

"I'm concerned about the Kalispell budget. The fact that there's only $130,000 in reserves really concerns me," Fisher said. "We're coming out of an eight-year bubble" with ample funds in the city budget, and now the city is short on reserves. "Where did it go?"

She called for an audit to help answer the question.

Fisher grew up in Great Falls, worked three jobs as she earned undergraduate and law degrees from the University of Montana, and completed her final exams for law school by fax machine as she traveled with her husband for treatment of his rare form of cancer. She also clerked for federal judge Richard Cebull in Great Falls and worked for a Missoula law firm.

After her husband's death she worked 2 1/2 years as a prosecuting attorney for Flathead County, leaving in December 2007. She now runs her own law firm.

Incumbent Mayor Pam Kennedy said Monday she intends to file for re-election within the coming days. As of midafternoon Monday, no other candidates had filed for mayor.