Responses have been edited for length and clarity.
I know the best spot in my ward for …
Dinner and a beer: the Miller Creek Cafe.
If loving this is wrong, I don’t want to be right
Pineapple on pizza.
This year, I really want to achieve …
I really want to achieve serving the people of Missoula. And I really want to achieve a well-earned vacation with my wife. She deserves one.
What I order for the table
As an appetizer, probably teriyaki-style buffalo wings with celery and ranch.
Never have I ever …
Gone to a beach without at least getting my feet wet.
How can we alleviate tax pressure on homeowners and renters?
What I’m hearing knocking doors is people’s finances are stretched really thin with the recent property tax increases. The city needs to be more accountable and responsible in how they use the taxpayers’ money. I believe oftentimes the city forgets where the money they spend comes from. We need to bring back a good degree of fiscal discipline to local government, and be stewards of the people’s hard-earned money.
Change my mind about …
Black licorice isn’t a real ice cream flavor.
I wind down with …
A bit of scotch.
What’s a specific approach or policy that a community elsewhere in the country has employed to reduce homelessness that you think might also work in Missoula?
I just watched a segment on 60 Minutes in California. Basically, they’re trying to enact a system where the state or a family member would take legal guardianship of an individual experiencing houselessness to make their mental health and health care decisions on their behalf. There’s some funding that has to go with that to make sure that those mental health professionals and addiction services are available. And I think Missoula can make better use of the state’s Healing and Ending Addiction through Recovery and Treatment program (HEART) that allocates money to local jurisdictions for addiction and mental health treatment.
I geek out on …
Astronomy. I own a Celestron 8xE Schmidt Cassegrain scope I’d been saving up for years to get. I finally got it. It’s a classic orange design, but it’s got all the modern updates, such as star tracking and, you know, it does the zenith and ascension declinations automatically.
My best dad joke
Knock knock.
Who’s there?
Ice cream.
Ice cream who?
Ice cream so you can hear me.
Three infrastructure priorities?
Transportation infrastructure. And that includes street maintenance, snow clearing, all those things. I also think it means supporting development to improve our high-tech infrastructure—augmenting our fiber optic broadband capability for business, both industrial and commercial, and help lure that kind of business into town and into Missoula Valley for more high-paying jobs. And we own Missoula Water, of course, so that needs to be maintained and that includes infrastructure below ground that’s many decades old that’ll have to be brought up to standard.
My cry in the car song
I kind of think of “Bohemian Rhapsody” by Queen. I don’t know. It’s got a lot of ups and downs in it.
That fire levy though …
I thought it should have still gone to the voters. The city positioned itself poorly on putting up a new fire station out on Mullan. If they had planned years in advance on this, it could have been a smaller ask. There’s still tools that could be used: a general obligation bond or perhaps TIF funds. I’m for a wise use of TIF funds. They need a fire station out there because of extreme growth. Allocating funds for that would be a priority for me.
Unusual skills
Good barbecue. I smoke, I broil, I bake. Many talents on a grill.
Together, we could …
Do great things working together towards a common goal of prosperity for all.
