MISSOULA — Sean Patrick McCoy, a farmer and US Navy veteran says that he’s running for Missoula City Council in Ward 6 to continue his service to his community.
“I am running for City Council because I have spent my whole life serving my community, starting as a veteran at 18 and continuing through fighting wildland fire. And so this for me just feels like a continuation of my public service,” McCoy said.
McCoy says that he wants to work on transparency if he is elected to the Missoula City Council if he is elected.
“So I agree wholeheartedly that transparency is something that the City Council needs to work on. And my thoughts on that are that City Council members have a responsibility to communicate with their constituents outside of the Mayor's Office and outside of city staff, they have the ability and the opportunity to set up community meetings. They have [the] opportunity to do any of the forms of communication that the Mayor's Office or the City staff is doing. And that's one of the things that I want to bring to the table....a leadership style that is not waiting for the City staff or Mayor's Office but will spearhead or organize community events so that we can talk with people and get to know what our constituents do and don't know. And if they don't know something, we got to get the information to them."
On the topic of housing, McCoy says he wants to work with the state legislators to help address the housing crisis in Missoula.
"So, on the topic of housing and affordability, I think it's really important to identify what's happening here in Missoula as gentrification. I think we need to use the correct terminology. And on City Council, I will do my best to help mitigate those circumstances. But really, it's at the state level where those things can be tackled the most. And so I would be pushing for the City to work with the state and also create organizations with other municipalities to push against the state to help with housing. We can't tackle gentrification on the city level alone. We can't build our way out of this. A lot of the updated zoning code is going to make a huge difference. I'm very excited about diving into redoing the zoning code to help us build more — but we can't build our way out of this. We have to create a grassroots effort to push up against the state and get their help."
When it comes to the homeless population in Missoula, McCoy says he wants to work on a partnership with the private sector.
"So I think homelessness — or the unhoused — is a huge issue here in Missoula and it is a crisis, or bordering on a crisis. And my ideas are that we need to be creating public, private partnerships to help tackle this issue. And I don't think that there's any one solution that we can come up with. We have to come up with multiple solutions and look at what isn't working within the country and then go from there on finding ideas and solutions to help tackle this. It's really important to identify that our homeless people are not all just one category. There's a lot of different people that are houseless and they all need help."
When it comes to taxes, McCoy said that he would want to do what’s best for the constituents and the residents of Missoula.
“So I would be willing to work with any state representatives. I'm not interested in partisan politics. I'm not — I don't care what side of the aisle you come from. What I care about is the people that I'd be working for the constituents of the state, the citizens of the state. And I think there's a lot that can be done as far as tax reform goes, particularly on the state level because that's where the majority of the power is held. And if they're just willing to look at new ideas and be inventive and not fall into partisan politics, then I think we can make lots of ground. So I'd be happy to work with anybody on tax reform and coming up with ways to relieve the burden on property owners."
When it comes to infrastructure and roads, McCoy says he wants to work to make the city of Missoula have the best infrastructure at a good price.
“So despite the big topics we have in front of us —like housing and homelessness, the nuts and bolts of roads and sidewalks and plowing snow are really important to me. Just like everybody else. I feel it when I drive down the road and I hit a rough road. I would like to see what we can do within our local budgets to prioritize different areas. And I would also like to see...what we can do on the state level as well to bring more money into infrastructure. One of the key components that's missing within like our housing and infrastructure discussions is that if we invest in infrastructure, then we can make it easier to build homes and cheaper to build homes. If the infrastructure is already there — which more often than not, it's not — then it makes it cheaper for the developers to build, it makes it easier. So we need to find ways to invest in our infrastructure, state and nationwide."
On the topic of neighborhood councils, McCoy says that if he's elected, he would want to express concerns for the constituents of his Ward at the city level.
"So I am already trying to work with my neighborhood councils. When I first moved into the River Road neighborhood, we volunteered and worked with our neighborhood council. And so my intention would be to not only be accessible to them on a monthly basis or biweekly basis but also just to have a direct line of communication with the neighborhood council so that I can bring their needs and concerns directly to the City Council and express those on their behalf. I would like to be a conduit for any of the neighborhood councils or organizations within my Ward — or any Ward for that matter — to help their concerns or their needs be brought up to the City level. I think it's extremely important that we work with our local organizations, whether that's churches, neighborhood councils — it doesn't matter who it is. They are the people we're working for and we should be listening and supporting them."
McCoy says that when it comes to reforming the tax system in Montana, he wants to make sure that he is representing the people of Missoula and doing what is best for them.
“So. I would be willing to work with any state representatives. I'm not interested in partisan politics. I'm not, I don't care what side of the aisle you come from. What I care about is the people that I'd be working for the constituents of the state, the citizens of the state. And I think there's a lot that can be done as far as tax reform goes — particularly on the state level because that's where the majority of the power is held. And if they're just willing to look at new ideas and be inventive and not fall into partisan politics, then I think we can make lots of ground. So I'd be happy to work with anybody on tax reform and coming up with ways to relieve the burden on property owners."
When asked why voters should vote for him, McCoy said that he would want to bring a different type of leadership to the city.
“I think the reasons that I think people should vote for me is because I bring a different type of leadership to City Council. I have a background in government through the military and wildland fire. And I know how to navigate bureaucracy. I also bring ideas and inventiveness. My leadership skills is really what I have to offer and a work,” McCoy said.
The Missoula election takes place on November 7, 2023.
