Four candidates are running for three vacant seats on the Columbia Falls city council, setting up a competitive council race between one incumbent and several newcomers.
The Flathead Beacon is publishing a series of questionnaires with candidates for municipal elections across the valley this fall, where voters in Kalispell, Whitefish and Columbia Falls will see competitive races with potential to reshape all three city councils and elect a new mayor in Kalispell.
As for Columbia Falls, the city council has six members, and half the council’s seats are on the ballot this year, along with the mayor. The mayor and city council members are elected to four-year terms.
Mayor Donald W. Barnhart is running for re-election in an uncontested race. Mike Shepard, Paula Robinson and Jenny Lovering’s seats are all open. Of the three, only Robinson has filed to run for re-election.
Robinson, when reached by phone, said she would not return her questionnaire. Her answers are not reflected in this story, nor are fellow candidate Hannah Pennington’s. Pennington did not respond to several emails and phone calls asking for a response.
A fifth candidate, Beth McBride, had filed to run for election in Columbia Falls, but said she has dropped out of the race.
“My day job and running Montana Bar Fairies makes it impossible to add another thing,” McBride wrote in an email. “I will be traveling extensively for work next year and it’s not fair to my community if I can’t fully commit.”
The other two candidates remaining in the race — Christopher Semok and Marijke Stob — returned questionnaires. Their answers are printed in full below.
Ballots will be mailed out on Oct. 17 and must be returned Nov. 4. Residents can drop off ballots at a voting booth at the county elections office, located at 290 B N. Main St. in Kalispell, or mail it in via the postal service.
Candidate Questions
- Why are you running for a seat on the Columbia Falls city council?
- What do you see as the largest issue facing Columbia Falls, and what would your priorities be if elected?
- As Columbia Falls has moved forward with its street safety redesign project, some residents have expressed concerns, from narrowing lanes to a lack of communication from officials. Where do you stand on the project, and in what ways would you work to incorporate community feedback if elected to the city council?
- The city has been looking at housing, as construction of a Habitat for Humanity affordable housing project has been underway and the city conducted a recent housing needs study as part of the actions required by the 2023 Montana Land Use Planning Act. What housing policies and ideas do you support for Columbia Falls, and why?
- Do you have anything else to add regarding your candidacy?
NAME: Christopher Semok
AGE: 22
HOMETOWN: Fort Lauderdale, Florida
EDUCATION LEVEL: High school graduate
OCCUPATION: FedEx driver and volunteer firefighter
PREVIOUSLY HELD POLITICAL OFFICES: None
1. I am running because working families in Columbia Falls need a stronger voice in local government. Too often decisions are made with the interests of developers and outside money in mind, while ordinary residents are left struggling with higher costs and less control over their own community. I want to make sure the council puts the people of Columbia Falls first, and that city government is accountable to those who live and work here.
2. The biggest issue we face is the rising cost of living, especially housing. Too many people who work here can no longer afford to live here. My priority will be to make housing more affordable and accessible for local families and workers. I will also work to make city decisions more transparent and open, so residents know what is being planned and have a real say in how Columbia Falls grows.
3. I believe safer streets are important, but the process needs to be handled differently. Projects like this should be built on the input of the people who actually live and drive here. I would push for more open meetings where residents can speak before plans are finalized, and I would make sure community feedback is taken seriously instead of treated as an afterthought. Safety and accessibility should go hand in hand, and the city should listen to the people at every step.
4. Housing should be for the people who live and work here, not just for investors or second-home buyers. I support partnerships with nonprofit builders like Habitat for Humanity because they put local families first. I also support looking at community land trusts or similar approaches that can keep housing affordable over the long term. The city should prioritize developments that serve workers, teachers, and families instead of allowing the market to push people out. If elected, I will make sure the council uses the housing study to push for policies that protect residents and not just developers.
5. My campaign is about giving power back to the people of Columbia Falls. If I am elected, I will work to make the city more affordable, more transparent, and more responsive to the needs of its residents. Columbia Falls should be a place where working people can build their lives, raise their families, and have a real voice in the direction of their community.
NAME: Marijke Stob
AGE: 35
HOMETOWN: Grandville, Michigan
EDUCATION LEVEL: Bachelor’s degree in Environmental Science
OCCUPATION: Seamstress and owner and operator of Superbloom Gear Repair
PREVIOUSLY HELD POLITICAL OFFICES: None
1. I am running for city council largely because I am a renter and a younger person and currently, these perspectives are not represented in community leadership positions. I truly love Columbia Falls and care about its future and I hope to be a good, honest and intelligent representative for all the people.
2. The largest immediate issue facing Columbia Falls is completing the new growth policy to community standards. Cities make many important development decisions based on their growth policies and it is very important that this process is open to the public and approved by community members. Adjacent to this, the next obvious issue is housing access and affordability. I mainly would like to foster ample community involvement in the growth policy and figure out practical and creative ways to make Columbia Falls more affordable and more accessible to the work force.
3. I think improving walkability and bike-ability is very important for Columbia Falls but when it comes down to it, this current project has blindsided a lot of folks. I empathize with the community members who are going to be impacted by this construction and I hope that moving forward we, as a city, can think twice about major developments and be infinitely better at communicating about high impact projects. I understand that there are rules and regulations to building roads and sidewalks but I really wonder if there could have been a better design put forward that could have accommodated the community members and also accomplished the requirements for the project. As a city councilor I aim to ask these questions and would like to be as transparent as possible for the community.
4. I believe the main thing the city can do, and I would be very interested in seeing implemented, is allocating a certain percentage of the resort tax toward attainable and affordable housing. I also think Columbia Falls could rezone certain areas to become “mixed use development” which would incorporate housing alongside, or on top of commercial units. This change could be critical as developable land within city limits is dwindling in supply. We also need to be working closely with the county as they operate just outside city limits and make a lot of housing choices that impact the city.
5. Please don’t hesitate to reach out to me about any of your concerns about the city. I am happy to listen and to help where I can.