Though they are running on the same party ticket, Democratic county commission candidates Joe Brenneman and Noel Gorton each bring varied goals and concerns to the primary race for the District 2 seat.
Incumbent Brenneman said he has the advantage of an in-depth perspective on how and why the county functions as it does today. And from the commission seat he’s held since 2005, Brenneman thinks he has helped Flathead County trim its budget, advance public safety methods and scrutinize water quality needs.
“Flathead County is better off than it was six years ago,” Brenneman said at a May 4 candidates’ forum in Bigfork.
When he took office, Brenneman said the county’s cash reserves were “dangerously low,” something he said he has countered by looking for efficiencies within the budget and county procedures.
The commissioners have also refrained from taxing the maximum amount allowed by law, Brenneman said, leaving 10 mills on the table while other counties have maxed out theirs.
Brenneman also touted adding four sheriff’s deputy positions during his tenure, as well as pushing for new radio equipment for law enforcement and emergency responders. The result is $4 million in equipment on various mountain peaks in the valley, he said.
A fourth-generation Flathead resident and a dairy farmer, Brenneman also said he is committed to preserving water quality in the valley. As examples, he cited initiating the new stormwater system in Bigfork, establishing the Flathead County River Commission and a new, valley-wide wastewater management group.
Brenneman also pointed to tighter regulations and environmental assessments for development in the last six years, including the county growth policy and subdivision regulations. These documents were necessary, he said, because Flathead County dealt with considerable growing pains in the past decade.
“We have to be able to sell quality of life,” Brenneman said.
He conceded that during the real estate boom earlier in the decade the commission did not scrutinize some developments thoroughly enough, leading to lawsuits against the county.
The commissioner does, however, stand by his decision to turn down the North Shore Ranch Subdivision, despite the subsequent lawsuit.
The future of the Flathead County economy will depend on its ability to adapt, Brenneman said, whether that is by stabilizing the wood products industry or by making the valley a regional health care destination.
Brenneman said the current commissioners function well as a team and he is confident they will continue to do so.
“I’m proud of the part I played on that team,” Brenneman said.
As Brenneman’s challenger on the Democratic side, Noel Gorton said she decided to throw her hat in the political ring because she feels the current county commission can do better.
“I have been dealing with county commissioners for the past three years, very unsuccessfully,” Gorton said at the Bigfork candidate’s forum. “I feel that we’ve regressed.”
It’s this feeling that drives Gorton’s campaign, one that she said is most active at the local level with door-to-door visits and based on the idea that elected officials derive their power from the public they serve.
That, Gorton said, is something she can bring to the commissioners’ table. It is her belief that commissioners should be more accessible to the public than they are right now, regardless of which district they live in.
To remedy this perceived lack of accessibility, Gorton strongly supports adding two more commissioners to the board. More people would bring diverse ideas and could change the feeling that the commission is a “good old boy” network, Gorton said.
When it comes to private development, Gorton said she thinks past commission decisions, such as denying the North Shore Ranch Subdivision and eventually settling a lawsuit with the developers, have needlessly put the county in hot water.
“Most of the lawsuits are directly the result of (the commissioners) deciding (they) don’t like something,” Gorton said at the May 4 forum. “That’s not the job of a county commissioner.”
The commission can eliminate legal risks in the future by adhering to development regulations, Gorton said.
The economy will be one of the biggest issues in the Flathead’s near future, Gorton said, adding that she believes a solution lies in keeping property taxes from increasing.
Though she thinks it would be a demanding position, Gorton said she is ready and eager to serve Flathead County taxpayers. She said bringing a new perspective to the commission, as well as having a love for research and a respect for the expertise of others in the county, such as department heads, qualifies her for the job.
If elected, Gorton said she would leave her position at her business, Creston Topsoil, to her daughter in order to devote her full time and attention toward the taxpayers’ interests.
“It’s not about me, it’s about you,” Gorton said.