Muhlfeld hopes to keep council centered
Mayor-elect John Muhlfeld says he’ll
work hard to keep the Whitefish’s political pendulum centered in
the wake of decisive city election wins by both Muhlfeld and a
slate of council candidates who campaigned together.
Muhlfeld nearly doubled mayoral
candidate Turner Askew’s vote count in this year’s election, and
newly elected councilors Richard Hildner, John Anderson and Frank
Sweeney each won the six-way council race by more than 200 votes.
The four candidates campaigned together leading up to Election Day
and were all featured in the same political ad in the Nov. 2
Whitefish Pilot.
The election, while nonpartisan, was
broken into two distinct camps. Muhlfeld, Hildner, Sweeney and
Anderson in one, with Askew and council candidates Mary Vail and
Doug Wise in the other. Council candidate Life Noell toed the line,
but was endorsed by some in the Askew, Wise, Vail camp.
Muhlfeld’s goal when he takes office
this January will be to keep what he considers a currently balanced
council in the middle. The incoming council, he says, appears to be
well-balanced, too.
“I hope we don’t shift too much,” he
said. “I’ve seen it happen and it doesn’t do the city any good and
it doesn’t do businesses any good. I’ll be working hard with
council to keep that balance.”
He says a healthy portion of votes went
to the candidates who weren’t elected and that those constituents’
concerns should be recognized.
As for his campaign, Muhlfeld felt
confident about his chances of winning prior to Election Day. He
spent two months knocking on doors in town, which gave him an edge
in shaping his political message, he said.
“That helped me to better understand
the voters concerns and craft my message moving forward,” he
said.
He says he didn’t have a good pulse on
the council race, but that he’s surprised by the margin of victory
earned by Hildner, Anderson and Sweeney.
“The voters clearly indicated that some
change is desired,” Muhlfeld said. “That’s more in the form of how
we treat each other as a council and how we make decisions that are
in the best interest of all of Whitefish.”
The results show that voters are
concerned about “keeping Whitefish the special place that it is,”
Muhlfeld noted.
“That resonated in this election,” he
said.
He gave a “hats off” to each of the
candidates who ran in this election.
“Few people are willing to take on
these roles,” he said. “I hope those not elected stay involved with
the city.”