A victory for the donut
The Montana Supreme Court's decision to deny the city of Whitefish's request for an emergency injunction means that Flathead County can proceed with assumption of the jurisdiction of the donut.
This is a major victory, but one that most experts firmly believed would be the result of the city's appeal. However, this isn't the end. City attorney John Phelps still has this case under appeal to the state Supreme Court, challenging Judge Katherine Curtis' original ruling against the city of Whitefish. This case may not be heard until mid to late 2009. At what cost to the residents of Whitefish?
After the Flathead Business and Industry Association received overwhelming votes in favor of the county assuming jurisdiction of the doughnut in their recent survey, the Whitefish City Council continues to allow Phelps to lead the city into a losing battle with the county for control of the doughnut area, despite the fact that councilor Turner Askew continues to attempt to persuade Phelps and the council to stop the madness.
Judge Curtis' ruling spells out the exact verbage of the state laws that guarantee that the county shall have jurisdiction of this doughnut area. Yet Phelps and our city council continue this ridiculous legal battle instead of accepting defeat and working with the county in moving forward.
Why? How can this council so blatantly ignore the response of the doughnut residents? They have heard it loud and clear — these residents do not want to be governed by this group of anti-growth officials who have shown no respect whatsoever to a large group of citizens' property rights. In fact, some of these same officials scoffed at the survey itself and have likened the city council to Goliath vs. David (the citizens).
This period that our current city council has governed our city and Phelps has served as our city attorney will be remembered as one that has seen unprecedented turmoil, lawsuits, seizure of property rights guaranteed by our Constitution and the implementation of tremendous new bureaucratic controls over it's Citizens.
If our "leaders'" goals were to drive away potential new citizens, slow growth and slow business that has affected nearly every business and resident in our city, they have been incredibly successful.
I for one, however, still believe in the system that our great country was founded upon. In the end, we as citizens of Whitefish are seeing justice served. Our county officials have stepped in to protect us by seizing the doughnut back under control of the county, the local legal system has upheld that decision, and our state Supreme Court has now confirmed what we all knew was right and fair.
The time will come when we, the citizens of Whitefish, will once again have our guaranteed right to vote for new leadership. This new leadership will hopefully bring with them a time of less turmoil, less government controls, and the goal of listening to the needs of its citizens, instead of ignoring them, as our current leadership has done so well. Unfortunately, that time cannot come soon enough.
Eric Payne lives in Whitefish.