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.”