Democracy triumphs

An unusually hardworking and knowledgeable Whitefish councilman has been re-seated with the solid support of the newspapers, the court and, most importantly, the voters from both sides of the aisle.

And in the process, the long-festering boil of city control over the unrepresented citizens living in the two-mile extraterritorial doughnut has finally been lanced, both in the courtroom and at the ballot box.

Undoubtedly, a shallow minority on both sides will dwell in rancor and recrimination for some time. Such is the nature of politics.

But the diverse and progressive coalition that produced the Stumptown Ice Den and The Wave, the O'Shaughnessy Center and the Pennington Library, the skateboard park and the bike path, and the restored train depot and Whitefish Middle School Performing Arts Center is already moving forward.

The previous self-serving state of denial has been speedily discarded and new ideas, including a township, are being pursued.

And once again the rejuvenation of democracy trumps in inherent messiness.

Andy Palchak Kalispell