Letters to the editor Oct. 22

Dugan will find common ground

Twenty years ago, I was elected to the Whitefish City Council and two generations before, my grandfather was also elected. Now another member of my family is running for Whitefish City Council: Nathan Dugan.

When I ran, Whitefish was struggling with the affordable housing issue and though I saw the problem, I had no idea that our attempts to solve the problem, would only, in some ways, make it even worse.

Nathan Dugan has done a great job of studying the issue and working with people across the political spectrum to find common ground and begin to take action that has tangible benefits. Unlike me, he is a problem solver and a change maker. At the time I could only think about trying to keep things as they were.

Even though I appreciate that the councils before me and after me all had love for our community, I think we have helped to create and magnify the problem, and what I have witnessed is that Nathan is willing to work not only on a local level but on a state level as well to solve the issue.

To solve the problem, we all need to admit how our actions contributed to the problem. Blaming others solves nothing. I now see that my mission to save neighborhood integrity was a missed opportunity to slowly evolve neighborhoods with intermittent multi-family housing. With hindsight I see how it could have been done.

Since my time on the council, my community means even more to me. My community consists of the people who bag my groceries, who plow the roads, who teach the children, who run the shops and even the people who live here part of the year. All people matter here and should have an opportunity to live in the community in which they work.

I understand that this community is only going to continue to grow, and it would be great to build a bigger table rather than build a wall. Please consider voting for Nathan Dugan.

— Velvet Phillips-Sullivan, Whitefish

Hunter stands up for Kalispell

In the fall of 2019, I actively supported Ryan Hunter’s campaign for City Council Ward 3 in Kalispell by knocking on doors and engaging with our community. Having known Ryan for years, I can attest to his genuine concern for Kalispell and his unwavering commitment to addressing our housing crisis.

While canvassing, I encountered numerous neighbors who shared our concerns about the future of our city. Many worried that their children would not be able to afford to stay and raise families here, while others were desperately seeking housing options due to the threat of losing their homes.

I am thrilled to join Ryan’s campaign for re-election this year because of his outstanding track record over the past three years. Ryan consistently stood up for our hardworking community members, never compromising his principles, even when it meant disagreeing with fellow councilors.

Ryan Hunter has been a vocal advocate for addressing our housing crisis, tackling the challenges posed by short-term vacation rentals, promoting a more bike and pedestrian-friendly community, and supporting our dedicated first responders with fiscally responsible budgets. I urge you to join me at the ballot box to re-elect Ryan Hunter, who is dedicated to bringing responsible growth to Kalispell!

— Jamie Quinn, Kalispell