A local construction proprietor, martial arts gym co-founder and yoga teacher, Kisa Davison has entered the race for Kalispell’s next mayor.
Davison has lived in Kalispell since 2007, discovering the town while her and her husband were looking to move away from Camas, Wash. Born and raised in the Midwest, Davison self-identifies as a “western Kansas girl” and wanted somewhere to raise her four children away from the bigger city boroughs. On a drive from Washington to Kansas in 2006, she made a stop in Kalispell.
“I came into town, and I was like, ‘oh this is home. This is where we’re moving,’” she said.
Davison has been the principal owner of Iron Star Construction for the past eight years, owner and instructor for the Yoga Room of Montana since 2005, and founder and coach of Straight Blast Gym of Montana with her husband since 2008, for which they now oversee four locations across the state. Downplaying her business résumé, Davison said her real qualification comes from coaching children and raising four of her own, plus two grandchildren.
“I’m very good at listening and helping people to find consensus, and negotiations,” said Davison. “I coached children’s jujitsu for quite a while, so negotiation was a strong suit.”
For her campaign, Davison is focused on two issues: addressing the housing crisis and opening lines of communication between city staff and the community.
“The biggest underlying issue is that Kalispell is growing,” said Davison. “Instead of ignoring or trying to fight the growth, I would like for us to approach the growth as something that requires attention and requires problem solving.”
She pointed to a disparity between the city’s median income and the average cost of rentals and housing. As a developer, she’s watched as a large group of various construction industry heads has come together to create a list of complaints, suggestions and requests for the city and county, which she “wants to see at the top of the list for what this next council deals with.”
“We are in a housing emergency in our valley,” Davison said. “When we have an affordable housing emergency like this, it means that everybody has to come to the table and sit down and figure out these problems.”
Paying attention to city council meetings, Davison said she has noticed a disconnect between council discussions and the information that makes its way out to the community. She said she plans to explore using town halls, technology, and other tools to improve community involvement during her campaign.
“Getting people involved means it’s going to be messy, it’s going to be hard,” said Davison. “Have you ever watched a toddler learn to walk? It’s a mess…but it’s a necessary process that toddler has to go through to learn how to walk.”
Davison’s campaign makes this year’s mayoral election a three-person race, with Councilor Sid Daoud and Councilor Ryan Hunter having announced bids for the post after Mayor Mark Johnson decided he would not seek reelection. The filing deadline for municipal elections closed on June 11.