MISSOULA — Current Missoula City Council member Heidi West is not running for re-election in Ward 1, so to fill the seat, Gwen Nicholson is one of two candidates that is running for the seat.
Nicholson says that the next 10 years are going to be important for the city of Missoula.
Nicholson — who has a background in journalism and activism — says that she wants to run for City Council so she can help make sure the culture of Missoula is a place for all residents.
“I'm running for City Council for a lot of reasons. I'm a lifelong Missoulian, I've been a lot of things in my life. I've been a journalist, I've been an activist and over the last few years, I've really gotten convinced that the best way to effect change is by getting started at the local level in your own backyard. And I think Missoula has a lot of really unique opportunities for change. I think, we're at a crossroads right now and I think the next 10 years are going to be really pivotal for kind of deciding where we want to go and what direction we want to take as a city. And I really want to be a part of that and making sure that Missoula continues to be a place where working-class people can thrive, where all kinds of different people can thrive,” said Nicholson.
Housing has become one of the most pressing issues for the residents of Missoula. Nicholson says that if she is elected to City Council she will want to make sure that residents are not being priced out or priced out of Missoula.
“We could do this as we're kind of pursuing new development opportunities and, and we are going to be pursuing a lot of new development opportunities with the changes that came to multifamily and housing code from the statehouse this last session. As that happens and we see this more like kind of growth-oriented mindset happening. We need to make sure that we're not pushing people out and further exacerbating the situation,” Nicholson said.
Nicholson says that she would also like to prioritize affordable housing truly affordable and prioritizing working-class families.
“That's going to mean like truly prioritizing affordable housing and not affordable in name only housing, actually genuinely affordable housing that's not pushing people out of neighborhoods as we do in field developments, making sure that, we're not putting luxury condos smack dab in the middle of what have been traditionally affordable and working-class neighborhoods."
Until the housing that is affordable is built, Nicholson says that the City needs to find a solution until some relief is given. She also says that looking at other cities that have been able to ease a housing crisis could help the City of Missoula in the meantime.
“Then in the meantime, kind of figuring out ways to offer assistance, like in the news recently, there was that pilot program that just got started in Whitefish with rental assistance. I think we've seen good work happening in Bozeman with the Tenants Union and the policy proposals that they've been pushing. The Tenants Union currently is pushing in Missoula...a universal right to council that would help with eviction rates, and, and helping to lower those so kind of pursuing those solutions around to make sure that we're, not piling on during this really, really difficult time that, needs to be sorted out by, leaders at every single level of local government,” Nicholson said.
The City of Missoula does not have control over property taxes or allow the city to have certain taxes. Nicholson says that if she were elected she would work with other cities at the legislature level to bring more control back to the cities of Montana.
“We're in a really difficult spot because, the state of Montana does not afford a lot of control over specifically property taxes to municipalities, which is not a situation that a lot of other cities find themselves in across the country. That's sort of a unique thing to Montana. And, we've seen that borne out, I think there's a lot of people in the State House who are trying to pin it on municipalities. But I think the fact of the matter is there is a failure at the statewide level to act on this and we're paying the price for it. Now, what I don't want to see is people get priced out of neighborhoods, people get pushed out because that's one of the main driving forces behind gentrification. So, I think what we can do at the city level is, first kind of work with other municipalities towards trying to bring some of that local control back so that we can levy more local option taxes on things like tourism, and kind of alleviate that pressure from property owners and property taxes."
Neighborhood councils are written in the Missoula City Charter, and they are an important part of government here in Missoula.
“I think a critical thing is a lack of awareness because I don't see a lack of people who would be willing to serve on neighborhood councils. Missoula has a really, really high amount of people who want to be civically engaged, who want to take active steps towards improving their communities and who want to specifically do that on that level, where it's just like no, kind of overstepping into like, not kind of taking on all the problems of the city at once, but kind of focusing on what they can do with the things around them,” Nicholson said.
If Nicholson were elected, she would want to communicate with the Neighborhood Councils to hear their concerns among her constituents.
“So, I think it comes back to communication, making sure that people know like this is a genuine avenue in which you can effect change. And you could directly be a part of that, and you could directly advocate for the things that you care about,” said Nicholson.
Nicholson says that if she is elected, she would also want to help the Neighborhood Councils build back after the COVID pandemic.
“And you could work with people and get to know people in your neighborhood who feel the same way and really build some bonds, and I think, making sure people are aware of the city of Neighborhood Councils that were, kind of pushing a greater involvement in that and also bringing those people into decision making spaces, and taking their input very seriously, I think is going to be really important. And making sure that, as we kind of flush out that system, kind of get it back up and running in a post, post COVID, post outbreak of COVID world. So, people feel heard when they do that, and they feel like their efforts aren't going to waste,” said Nicholson.
Sidewalks keep bikers, walkers, or runners safe from cars on the road and Ward 1 doesn’t have sidewalks in certain neighborhoods. For those who have mobility issues, the sidewalks are not compatible with wheelchairs. Nicholson says that she would want to help make the roads and sidewalks easier for the residents in her ward.
“This is something that I talk about a lot. Especially when I'm in the north side and west side because especially in the north side, we have a lot of older folks living there, a lot of retirees, a lot of people with mobility issues and disability issues. And a lot of people who feel kind of left behind by the state of infrastructure in those neighborhoods,” Nicholson said.
Nicholson says that while out in her community, she also noticed the lack of sidewalks.
“I've been walking these streets canvassing, knocking doors, and I've seen the lack of sidewalks. the state of extant sidewalks that are currently, in use, the loss of the pedestrian bridge was a really huge blow, and the process towards getting that back up and running has been really long and tortured. So I think what we really need to do is start thinking about ways of traffic control and traffic reduction because I think that's one of the main ways that we're going to kind of meet our infrastructure goals is if we can pursue solutions that are going to get more cars off the road, especially as we move towards this more dense housing model and kind of packing more people into a smaller space,” Nicholson said.
Nicholson also says that making more opportunities for cars to be off the road could also help with maintaining the roads in Missoula.
“It's going to require investments in pedestrian infrastructure, protected bike lanes, expanding transit. because like you say, cars are really heavy cars, take a really hard heavy toll on our roads, so that's kind of the main thing is like getting some cars off the road, getting other options into people's hands and then expanding the amount of options that we currently have. I really want to see that pedestrian bridge prioritized, because I think that's essential to creating strong communities with tight neighborly bonds is walkable neighborhoods, infrastructure that gets you into communication with people around you. I think that's part of how we are going to, like, preserve the aspects of Missoula that we really hold dear — feel are central to our identity,” Nicholson said.
Housing is a crisis in Missoula, and Nicholson says that she wants to make sure that in Missoula — and especially in her ward — residents aren't going to get priced out so they can stay in Missoula.
“Adopting a housing first model, building, truly affordable sustainable housing that's aimed at a low income to no income demographic. I think we've seen success in that with other municipalities. We've seen that work in other places. We need to bring that to Missoula. And in the meantime, make sure that we're not pushing people out to the margins, that we're not putting people in danger and that we're kind of adopting the stance of communication and we talk a lot about affordability, we talk a lot about homelessness,” Nicholson said.
Nicholson says that she wants to help the renters of Missoula and work with people from all aspects of the housing equation.
“I think another part of the conversation that needs to be kind of highlighted and elevated is renters and tenants issues, Missoula City, it's a slim majority, but it is a majority of people who are renters and tenants and I myself am a renter and a tenant, but I think too often we've seen that perspective kind of get pushed out and deprioritized in favor of like developers, and landlords. People like that who, are a part of the housing equation involved in dealing with and moving forward. But I think you really need to be bringing people who experience that on a day-to-day basis because the state of being a renter — and of being a tenant in Missoula — has dramatically shifted over the last five years. It's become such...an insane position to be in. I think people need to hear that perspective and I think that needs to be incorporated into all of the decision-making that we make around housing and zoning,” Nicholson said.
The homeless population in Missoula has also reached a crisis level. Nicholson says that she has worked with the homeless population on a weekly basis and also talks to the homeless population.
“Well, I'd say for sure it's a crisis and, I try and see different sides of it because I really want to work with the homeless community in kind of figuring out solutions. And that's what I try to do on kind of like a weekly basis. I do a lot of work with food banks and the house neighbors Union, I kind of get out there and talk to a lot of people directly experiencing houseless. And the thing that I hear more than anything else is a desire to be better neighbors to people in the house community, a desire for more independence and self-determination, a desire just for the kind of basic elements that make for human dignity, like being able to throw away your garbage, being able to clean up after yourself, being able to kind of have these basic amenities like running water and things like that."
Nicholson says that she would also want to have a humane approach if she is elected to the City Council when it comes to the homeless population.
“I think moving forward, all of the decisions that we make and all the solutions that we adopt have to be based in an ethical and humane approach that brings people and puts them in dialogue with each other as opposed to criminalization and marginalization, which is an approach that we've seen in Missoula a lot. I think we've seen this with like the kind of debate over sweeps and encampment sites, that we've seen play out over the summer as the city decides to figure out how it's going to come into compliance with Martin V. Boise. I think the only long-term solution, the only permanent solution to houseless is housing."
After the City of Missoula raised taxes 9.7%, setting the budget will be harder next year because the money the City of Missoula received from the American Rescue Plan Act Funding (ARPA) will not be in the budget next year. Nicholson says that next year she would work to manage the budget while hoping to keep some of the programs that have been funded through the ARPA funds.
“It's really difficult because we have some things that have been funded through ARPA funds that are really exciting and I think really incredible that we want to see continue things like the mental health response team and things like that, we're going to have to kind of do a little bit of budget Jenga and make sure that, we're really kind of identifying the areas in which the budget isn't serving the people of Missoula and identify which ones we want to prioritize,” Nicholson said.
Nicholson says that when the time of passing the budget comes around in 2024, she would want to go through the budget and prioritize what the city needs.
“I think that's going to come a lot with kind of trying to make it so that, we're on kind of like a budget model that doesn't allow for a lot of review and kind of in-depth auditing of where the money is going at any given time. I'd really like to see a fine-tooth comb taken into the budget as a whole and to spend some sessions really kind of digging into where our money is kind of currently being prioritized. So, kind of making sure that we're doing that. And then, I think there's projects that have been prioritized by the city, especially through like Tiff projects, that we could take a look at and kind of evaluate whether or not we want to move forward with them and whether or not that money would be better spent in other places."
Nicholson also says that she would want to make sure the most important priorities are at the front of the line for the budget.
“It's going to be a lot of that, it's going to be a lot of nitty gritty. It's going to be a lot of kind of pouring through details. But at the end of the day, I think we're going to find a way to figure out what the actual genuine priorities in the city are and make those, first and foremost at the head of the line for the budget."
When asked why Ward 1 residents should vote for her, Nicholson says that she wants to make sure that the City of Missoula’s culture is protected for the future.
“I'm a lifelong Missoulian. I really deeply care about the city. I've gone to school here, I've lived here, I've worked here my entire life. But I think we're in danger of seeing a lot of the things that we love about the city go away, and I think that centers around these issues that we have around affordability, around how difficult it is to find housing, hang on to housing, to find employment and hang on to employment. And I think the city can and should be doing more to boost the little guy, and to kind of build up resiliency so that we don't see our city kind of go the way that a lot of other mountain towns in the West have gone — where you leave and then you come back five years later and you don't recognize it anymore. I want to make sure that if you put down roots in Missoula, it's still going to be Missoula that you have those roots in."
Election Day is on November 7, 2023.
