Mayor stands by appointment policy

On Monday, City Council candidate Karlene Osorio-Khor questioned Kalispell Mayor Mark Johnson’s statements in early August that he would not be re-appointing anyone to a city board who sued or threatened to sue the city.

Khor joined a neighborhood association which is suing the city on claims that a new parking ordinance to alleviate parking congestion by Flathead High School has not made an impact. Khor currently sits on the city Planning Board; her term will expire in 2016.

In the public comment section early in the meeting, Khor mostly reiterated a letter to the editor she authored in the Daily Inter Lake.

“I think now that I will have to stand with my neighbors,” Khor said. “I believe in our government, its unique checks and balances and the lawful right to dissent.”

At the end of the City Council meeting on Monday, Johnson also reiterated his stance without compromise.

“I’m not going to reappoint someone when they have any kind of antagonistic stance to the process,” Johnson told the Daily Inter Lake on Tuesday. “We’re not taking away her access to due process. I will not recommend she be reappointed to the board.

“It’s one of those things that is my position as the mayor, and I want to make it black and white to the public.”

Reporter Seaborn Larson can be reached at 758-4441 or by email at slarson@dailyinterlake.com.