Kalispell Councilor Sid Daoud Running for Mayor
This is Daoud's second time running for mayor. He is currently serving his second term on city council.
By Zoë Buhrmaster
Kalispell Councilor Sid Daoud has thrown his hat into the race for mayor in this year’s municipal election.
This will be the second time Daoud has run for mayor, the first being in 2021 against incumbent Mayor Mark Johnson. At the time Daoud noted that the difference between Johnson and him, saying he supports the “government only doing what it needs to do and using community-centric solutions that don’t include the government.”
Daoud has served as a council member for Ward 4 since his first term began in 2020 and was reelected for a second term in 2023. He ran unopposed in both electoral races.
Daoud also ran a campaign for the U.S. Senate in 2023 as a Libertarian. He has made two other unsuccessful runs for the Montana Legislature, in 2018 losing a race for a seat in the state House of Representatives to now Sen. John Fuller, R-Kalispell, and in 2022 running for the House again, losing to Rep. Terry Falk, R-Kalispell.
Daoud’s Senatorial campaign page, which he linked to in his April 17 mayoral candidacy filing, states that “the United States Constitution and its Bill of Rights forms the core of my principals.”
“Any issue I consider has to pass through the crucible of enhancing individual rights or support for the community free market,” he states.
Over the past decade, Daoud served as the chair of the Montana Libertarian Party, stepping down last December to “concentrate on my non-partisan role as a Kalispell City councilman.”
Daoud was born and raised in Great Falls, going on to serve in the U.S. Army for 13 years and eventually moving to the Flathead Valley in 2006. In 2009 he moved to Kalispell, where he and his wife raised their three children. He currently works as a consultant for cybersecurity company Summit 7 Systems.
On city council, Daoud has voted against an ordinance to restrict motorists from participating in “Kruise Kalispell” ride on Main Street, saying that it would violate human rights, though he clarified he did not participate in the cruises. Other votes have included opposition to stronger tall grass and junk vehicles ordinances, support for multi-family housing developments, and opposition to tighter restrictions on roadway transactions.
Municipal elections are scheduled for Nov. 4. Daoud’s term in the Ward 4 seat is not up for election this year as it ends in 2027.
The only opposition Daoud has so far is against fellow Councilor Ryan Hunter, who announced his candidacy on May 7.