There are five candidates running for Columbia Falls City Council, which passes for a crowd in a town that is home to Flathead County’s quietest city elections.
When voters look at their ballots on Nov. 8, they will be faced with the prospect of actually selecting candidates, which hasn’t always been the case in recent years. In the 2009 election, four candidates filed for three open seats but one withdrew, though his name still appeared on the ballot. The 2007 election was similarly uncontested.
The five candidates are vying for three seats on the six-member city council. The winners will serve four-year terms.
For those who have been paying attention to council affairs, three names will be familiar: incumbents Julie Plevel, 57, Harvey Reikofski Jr., 61, and Doug Karper, 59. Between them, they have almost three decades of combined experience on the Columbia Falls City Council.
There are also two newcomers, both of whom represent a younger demographic: Samantha Johnson, 29, and Darin Fisher, 34. Shane Hutcheson, another young newcomer, initially filed but dropped out of the race after discovering he lives outside of city limits.
None of the candidates are running what could be viewed as a campaign, particularly when compared to the contentious race happening just down the road in Whitefish. There is a notable lack of political mailers and candidate forums.
With that said, the number of candidates and their range of backgrounds seem to indicate an uptick in interest for the council. Karper, who has served for more than 12 years altogether on the council, said Columbia Falls races often consist of only incumbents. He welcomes more people into the mix.
“The more interest, the better,” he said. “I think it’s nice that we have a few new people interested.”
Reikofski, a truck mechanic, is seeking reelection after serving eight years on the council. In 2009 he was appointed to finish out a two-year term after Councilor Don Barnhart was elected mayor.
“I agree that it’s time to have some new faces, some new blood in there,” Reikofski said.
Fisher, a trails technician for the U.S. Forest Service, said Columbia Falls is seeing more young people move into town. Young families like his own, he said, seek out Columbia Falls because it’s “affordable and it’s a great place to raise a family,” surrounded by outdoor recreation opportunities.
“It has the best of both worlds,” he said. “I feel like people are rediscovering it.”
Johnson, who works for the public relations company Outside Media, agrees with Fisher’s assessment of Columbia Falls’ demographic shift, referencing recent U.S. Census figures that show “our demographic is the largest.”
But while she believes she could give those younger residents a voice in city government, she understands the council’s role is to be representative of the entire population and she says she embraces that role.
“There’s a great community spirit here,” Johnson said. “There are very resilient people here who have made it through the economic downturn. I just think we should enhance what we already have and make it thrive.”
Fisher expresses a similar sentiment.
“I’m not this young guy who wants to come in and change all these things,” Fisher said. “There’s a great heritage here and I want to keep that. I just want to get involved with my community.”
The candidates all convey an appreciation for the laid-back nature of Columbia Falls politics. Karper, who works in maintenance for School District 6, illustrates this point when he describes past scenarios in which there were fewer candidates than open seats.
“When that happens, you just find someone that’s interested and talk them into it and appoint them to the council,” he said.
With that in mind, candidates are apt to cultivate a political atmosphere that is more congratulatory than cutthroat. Fisher says, “as far as I’m concerned, (the candidates) are all good folks with good ideas who care about their community.”
“If there are more qualified people who win, I’m not going to be upset,” he added.
And neither will Reikofski.
“If I’m not elected to council and one of them is elected,” he said, “I think that’s good for the council and the community in general.”
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