Common sense government

I, like many people who live in and around Whitefish, have watched our community and current city council go through many contentious debates over the last two years. I have been surprised to see our community be drawn into a divisive debate over property rights and growth.

A lot of the discussion centers around clean water and Whitefish Lake. I think everyone in Whitefish wants to protect the lake and keep it clean. I am a property owner on Whitefish Lake, and this is important to me; however, I believe this issue is being used to divide us over how we plan our future growth.

I am concerned over the leadership and direction of our current city council. I only have to point to the Safeway expansion to show how our current council is not leading us. Safeway's expansion should not have been contentious, but that is what it turned into.

There are always two sides to an issue, but what I see is a lack of common sense solving the problems coming before our council. We need to remind our mayor and councilors that they represent all residents and taxpayers. The council's decision should be balanced and respectful to all parties.

I have heard all the candidates, and it is time for Whitefish to vote for a little common sense and get that into our city council decision-making.

I formed Common Sense in Whitefish Government in order to encourage others to vote for Mike Jensen for mayor and any of the following for city council: Turner Askew, Martin McGrew, John Murdock and Kent Taylor. All of these candidates will bring some common sense to our city government.

We don't need a win-lose decision in our city government. Let's get decisions that work for all of Whitefish. Let's get behind these candidates that work for all of us.

Rick Blake

Whitefish