For the first time since Mark Johnson became Kalispell’s mayor voters will have the opportunity to pick between two candidates after Councilor Sid Daoud announced he was running in municipal election this year.
As the City of Kalispell grapples with rapid growth, a housing shortage, development and traffic congestion, officials are planning for the future with infrastructure and transportation plans.
“My big thing is I rely heavily on my expertise with financials,” Johnson said. “Working with the city manager and finance department to make sure we are on a positive financial trajectory.”
As the Senior Vice President of investments at Stifel in Kalispell, Johnson was born and raised in Whitefish and has lived in Kalispell for the past two decades with his wife. While raising their seven children, Johnson, 52, originally ran for mayor unopposed in 2013 with a desire to create a more diverse business environment in the city and attract better jobs.
“After looking at the accomplishments of the last eight years, we still have challenges and we’ve done a good job at setting the stage for new business developments coming in,” Johnson said. “I’m hoping to work on that for four more years.”
Growing up in Great Falls, Daoud moved to the Flathead Valley in 2006 and has lived in Kalispell since 2009 with his wife and three children.
Since Daoud entered the race, the 54-year-old technological consultant believes Kalispell residents should be able to choose their mayor after Johnson ran unopposed before his first two terms.
“Even though we have a lot of similar views like economic issues, I have a unique perspective,” Daoud said. “I’m a big proponent of community involvement. The bigger your government is, the smaller your community gets.”
After two years on city council, Daoud says he’s gained experience in city government. He also believes his unique perspective brings diversity to the council.
“I’ve been able to stick to my guns and vote without being swayed,” Daoud said.
In April 2020, Daoud was the lone councilor to vote against an ordinance that allowed the city to declare a state of local emergency, which authorized City Manager Doug Russell to access emergency funding, modify city purchases and modify council meeting dates for 90 days. The city manager could have also enforced a stay-at-home order and set a curfew, if necessary.
“It was very controversial because I was the only councilor to vote against the lockdown,” Daoud said. “It wasn’t because I was against protecting people from being healthy … There was a piece that I thought was close to the city manager being able to call Marshall Law.”
“I’m trying to prevent overreach of the government,” he added.
Johnson, too, prefers minimal government, especially to reduce barriers for developers. He points to the reduction in impact fees he helped pass in 2020, which eased costs for developers but also increased water and sewer rates for property owners.
“In 2020, the reduction of impact fees was critical in bringing in multifamily development,” Johnson said. “One of the things we asked was ‘What regulatory burdens is the city putting in front of housing?’ The first thing we identified was the impact fees.”
As the council approves new developments, Johnson would like to continue softening requirements that would ultimately lead to an increased supply of housing.
Daoud would also like to continue adding housing to the city, especially mixed-use developments that incorporate multi-family housing and commercial space, which could also reduce traffic congestion.
Improving road infrastructure is another important priority for Daoud and, as the city rolls out its transportation plan for the next 20 years, he would like to see more traffic diverted east to ease road pressure, instead of current proposals, which he says directs traffic through downtown Kalispell.
Johnson and Daoud would both like to preserve historic neighborhoods in Kalispell and they hope mixed-use developments continue while still bringing infill to the city.
Daoud also would like to see the city bring in more economic diversity instead of relying heavily on the tourism industry.
“Right now, I think we are overly dependent on the tourism business,” Daoud said. “I would love to get some more bigger businesses in here that can find employment. It’s important to diversify the economy.”
In addition to adding different industries to Kalispell, Daoud also believes businesses should have less oversight and more decision-making power.
“One of the things I firmly believe in is people should be able to choose,” Daoud said. “I don’t like forcing people to do anything if we don’t have to. I was against mask mandates and mandatory quarantines because it wasn’t voluntary. I’m even against the current state mandate to say that a business cannot impose a mask mandate.”
In early October, council passed the first reading of an ordinance that restricts marijuana dispensaries to industrial zones in the city, which Johnson motioned to amend from the original ordinance that would allow dispensaries in certain business zones.
“Anytime we go from restrictive zoning to less restrictive, I’ll fight against restrictive zoning,” Daoud said.
Both candidates believe the council needs to continue its work in addressing the city’s growth with new housing developments and reducing financial barriers for businesses while creating more economic opportunity.
“Everything is guided by our growth policy,” Johnson said. “We know where it’s going to be, the next question is looking at this next growth spurt and what do we do when amending the growth policy. How much bigger does Kalispell get and how much bigger can Kalispell get?”
The municipal general election will be on Tuesday, Nov. 2. To register to vote, visit www.flathead.mt.gov/election.