Letters to the editor Oct. 27

Mayoral hopefuls

This week, I settled into my armchair and pored over the profiles of our mayoral hopefuls, much like flipping through the old almanacs of my youth — eager for the lay of the land, yet wary of the storms ahead. As a fellow who’s spent decades leaning conservative, I’d be inclined to cast my ballot for Sid Daoud or Kisa Davison. But Sid’s campaign motto leaves me with a sour knot in my stomach.

“Executing the will of the people,” has a certain homespun appeal at first blush. But peel back the layers, and it reveals timidity: a leader who’d rather echo the noisiest demands than chart a course through them. Leaders don’t bend to the angriest corners of the internet, those self-appointed town criers who shout down sense with sheer volume.

Lord knows I’ve tracked Sid Daoud’s past electoral marathons. His garage must sag under the weight of yellowed signs, faded buttons and crumpled flyers from campaigns that went nowhere. I suspect he’s in it more to stir the pot than to claim the prize — scattering confusion and eroding two-party lines. One can’t help but wish he’d channel half that energy into City Council: showing up reliably, not just via Zoom, not flip-flopping with every fresh uproar or ducking uncomfortable votes. That’s not guidance; that’s driftwood masquerading as a rudder.

Worse still is the company he keeps in the shadows — the keyboard warriors lurking in the comments of the Daily Inter Lake and its Facebook kin. They propel him forward with a barrage of low blows: personal jabs at his opponents that sidestep ideas altogether. 

If “executing the will of the people” boils down to heeding these shrieking harridans, then I’ll pass. In my years, I’ve learned that genuine leadership calls for a firmer grip and not mistaking vitriol for vision.

— Steve Williams, Kalispell

Experienced leadership

The Nov. 4 election is the first time Kalispell will vote for a new mayor in more than a decade. Flathead County’s need for responsible leadership and careful guidance during its accelerated growth has never been more critical.

Candidate Sid Daoud promotes himself as the most development-friendly member of the City Council. Yet Daoud recently admitted, “I don’t think we need to go at the accelerated rate that we (Daoud and a deciding number of Council members) were doing before.”

Mayoral candidate Kisa Davison likewise tries to play it both ways. In her Inter Lake profile she claims she is “not afraid to disrupt things a bit.” Although she has no experience relevant to the position she seeks and “dedicates most of her time to her Iron Star residential construction business,” she says she wants to cut “bureaucratic red tape that … hinders housing development.” Such an approach would clearly benefit her own construction business. Yet, as Diane Etter noted in her Oct. 12 letter (Thoughtful Planning) Davison apparently suggested that she would have opposed the controversial Spring Creek development, a position that seems contradictory.

In contrast, Ryan Hunter, mayoral candidate and experienced Council member, is the clear choice to be Kalispell’s next mayor. Hunter has supported developments that expand the variety of housing options our community needs, while consistently opposing those that sprawl into our open spaces or threaten clean water and wildlife habitat. His record demonstrates balanced, thoughtful decision making.

Kalispell deserves transparent, experienced leadership. Look to Ryan Hunter’s track record and his commitment to responsible growth.

— Joseph and Anne Biby, Kalispell

A genuine conservative

As a Kalispell voter, you might vote for Sid Daoud if you want to elect the next Kalispell mayor who:

Is principled on liberty.

Is a genuine conservative. 

Is the only Montanan candidate.

Supports the people of Kalispell wanting traffic moving through downtown on U.S. 93 via four lanes, not two.

Is the only veteran candidate.

Understands private property rights. 

Will maintain Montana values, not Portland values.

Supports limited and constitutional government.

Is principled on liberty and has the City Council voting record to prove it.

Studies the issues before the Kalispell City Council before casting his vote.

Strives to support the voice of the people of Kalispell, not self-interest.

Is principled on liberty.

Votes against government overreach.

— Susan Manson, Kalispell

The huddled masses

We have moved from, “Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,” which is enshrined on the Statue of Liberty, to a nation of, “Get the heck out of here.”

We have changed from being the good guys to being the bad guys. We have changed from a generation of “No one is above the law,” and being the greatest democracy of modern times, to an autocracy where the rich and powerful are above the law and only certain votes count. 

 It breaks my heart.  

 And what about, “one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.”

I’m glad that most of my life was within that period of being the great democracy that our country was.

Think about it my friends and neighbors.

Here is the rest of that verse:

“Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free. The wretched refuse of your teaming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door.”

This is what made us great, the huddled masses. Like my great-grandparents. That golden door has slammed shut. I mourn its death. 

— Bill Goodman, Kalispell