Whitefish City Council candidate Vincent Dell'Omo

Vincent Dell'Omo is one of eight candidates running for a seat on the Whitefish City Council. The others are Ben Davis, Andy Feury, Kristen Riter, Phil Boland, Giuseppe Caltabiano, Judy Hessellund and Terry Petersen. Mark Owens' name also will appear on the November ballot, but he told the Daily Inter Lake he is no longer running, citing personal reasons.

Name: Vincent Dell'Omo

Age: 31

Family: Newly married.

Occupation: Accounting manager at Elevated Advisory & Accounting. Owner and CEO of Huckleberry Hemp LLC/Elixr CBD.

Background: Studied accounting and played soccer at Robert Morris University in Pittsburgh from 2010 to 2013. Worked as a senior auditor and adviser at accounting firms and earned a master's degree in accounting. Moved to Whitefish in 2017, worked at Third Street Market and founded Huckleberry Hemp/Elixr CBD, running a 10-acre hemp farm and selling CBD products. Also working with Elevated Advisory & Accounting.

Contact: vdellomo89@gmail.com

Why do you want to serve on the Whitefish City Council?

I believe it is my duty as a proud, local Whitefish citizen to serve on the town's City Council. I truly feel I embody the local point of view, and that I would be an asset on this town's decision for City Council. I have past experience in helping my mother host political "call-a-thons" for local campaigns, and have paid strong attention to our local and national politics for many years. Coming from an audit background, I bring an unbiased view to every decision and will always do the work required to research all issues being presented.

How should the city address its shortage of affordable housing, while responsibly managing growth and development?

The city should definitely re-address the affordable housing issue in Whitefish. With the recent influx of higher price changes, it has become quite challenging to address this issue. The city's dynamics are evolving quicker than usual in the past few years and it must grow in a reasonable manner. Expanding Whitefish's boundaries with this particular housing situation, could help accommodate these critical needs and improve the city in a modest way. My goal is to keep Whitefish local, while accepting and modestly planning for the reality of its inevitable growth.

As a council member, how would you prioritize the implementation of the city's Climate Action Plan?

As a local, responsible citizen, I am very aware of the negative effects climate change can have on our community and our planet. This past summer was an eye opening experience for all of us. We should not have multiple weeks of 100+ degrees here in early June/July like we did. Therefore, I would highly prioritize the city's Climate Action Plan. The work the committee has done has been amazing. They have very transparently identified ways to reduce our current footprint. They have earned many achievements and there are many more to come. This takes action from all of us.

A measure on the November ballot will ask voters to renew Whitefish's 3% resort tax. Should the measure pass?

Yes. While working at Third Street Market, I rarely noticed a tax impact to the Whitefish locals for regular essential items. The resort tax is designed to create revenue from nonessential items that are purchased primarily through visitors, and drastically increase the revenue to the town. This revenue can be applied to special projects like infrastructure or affordable housing.

How should city officials continue to lead through the Covid-19 pandemic?

City officials should operate under good judgement and align with the state and federal government's point of view. Covid is a very challenging topic because it is such a grave issue to many who have faced the harsh realities of the pandemic, whereas it can be nearly nonexistent to others. These dramatically different personal experiences can strongly affect a local community's acceptance of one another, and one another's opinions on the topic. We must always respect the reality of this situation and people's tolerance and/or intolerance to the ongoing changes the pandemic creates, and how those changes affect the community.