Protect valley for future

Democratic candidate Clara Mears-LaChappelle says she can bring an open mind and new ideas to the Flathead County Commission. She’s running for the District 3 seat currently held by Dale Lauman and faces Republican Gary Krueger in the Nov. 3 election.

Mears-LaChappelle came to Montana in 1985 and moved to the Flathead in 1990. She’s been a business owner for more than 20 years and works as a bookkeeper, trains emergency workers and owns the Gourmet Buns On The Run Bakery.

She’s been involved in emergency services for a long time. She is a training officer for the West Valley Volunteer Fire Department, taught EMS at Flathead Valley Community College and is a National Registry examiner for EMTs for the state of Montana.

This is Mears-LaChappelle’s first foray into politics, although she was active in grassroots efforts to block gravel-pit development in the West Valley. She’s concerned about how that kind of development will impact Flathead Valley’s beauty and the amenities that attract people here.

“We have so many people who are afraid to get up and say no or debate an issue,” she said. “We’re always told we can’t do this or can’t do that. I will tackle the issues facing this valley.”

Mears-LaChappelle is concerned the county’s revised growth policy will weaken neighborhood plans, such as the West Valley plan, and open up the Flathead to uncontrolled development.

“We need some regulations or we’ll be open to anything and everything,” she said.

As a party in the lawsuit to stop a gravel pit proposed by Republican Sen. Bruce Tutvedt and as an active player in efforts to stop a gravel pit and asphalt batch plant proposed by her Republican opponent, Gary Krueger, Mears-LaChappelle witnessed how the public process played out. She blames a “good old boys network” for the result.

“We’re not going to have anything left in this valley if this isn’t stopped,” she said. “They want Kalispell to be Anytown USA. People came here for the natural beauty and amenities, but they won’t come here in the future if things have changed.”

Mears-LaChappelle says she supports private property rights — but for everyone, not just some people. She wants to stop commercial development in residential areas.

“I attended a chamber forum and was impressed by how many people were not third or fourth generation residents,” she said. “I’ve invested my whole life in this valley, but it seems like we don’t get a say about things. It seems like the third and fourth generation folks are tearing up the countryside.”

The county needs to more closely vet projects to avoid mistakes, Mears-LaChappelle said. She’d also like to see the number of commissioners increase from three to five because of all the growth in the valley.

“We have three commissioners overseeing 90,000 people — that’s not enough,” she said. “They should be elected by district, not countywide, and they should hold more public meetings.”

Mears-LaChappelle said she was opposed to the way the U.S. 93 bypass was built around Kalispell. She says it will dump lots of traffic at U.S. 93 and Reserve where congestion is already bad and where she’s responded to serious accidents as an EMT.

“We need to be able to control traffic for the safety of our residents and visitors,” she said. “If we are faced with shrinking federal and state funding for road improvements, then we need to place impact fees where needed.”