Melissa Hartman resigns from City Council, Ben Davis tapped to fill position

Whitefish City Councilor Melissa Hartman has resigned from her position.

She made the announcement at the end of Monday’s Council meeting saying personal commitments forced her decision, which is effective immediately.

“The City Council demands a great amount of time and investment, and personally I can’t make that work right now with my commitments,” she said. “I’m glad to have served with the people on Council and want to thank city staff for their support.”

Hartman said she plans to be involved in city government again in the future.

She was first elected to Council in 2017 and her first term was set to expire in 2021. She owns a private mental health counseling practice in Whitefish and moved to Whitefish in 2008.

Mayor John Muhlfeld thanked Hartman for her service to Council.

“You can leave with your head held high for all the work you’ve done for Council,” he told her.

Under the city charter, Council has 30 days — in this case by June 1 — from her resignation to appoint a new Councilor. The charter does not specify the procedure for how a new Councilor is appointed, Muhlfeld noted, but often Council has solicited for letters from those interested in filling the position.

However, Muhlfeld suggested Council appoint Ben Davis to the position. Davis narrowly lost out on a seat on Council in last fall’s election.

“He had overwhelming support from the voters,” Muhlfeld said of Davis. “We need to be looking for an individual who can hit the ground running.”

Muhlfeld said it’s imperative, since Council is beginning budget deliberations later this month for fiscal year 2021, to have someone in the spot who is already familiar with the city and can get up to speed quickly.

Council voted to place Davis’ name on its May 18 agenda to fill the spot, but will officially vote on his appointment at that meeting.

Most Councilors seemed to agree on the course of action, but Councilor Rebecca Norton said that while she felt Davis is an excellent candidate for the job, the position should be opened up for letters of interest as has been the procedure in the past.

Davis, who is chair of the Whitefish Housing Authority board of directors and chair of the city’s Strategic Housing Steering Committee, has actively been involved in affordable housing issues in Whitefish and is involved in the Whitefish Chamber of Commerce.

Davis is one of the owners of Seven Hills Construction, where he manages the company’s projects as a residential-focused general contractor. He moved here more than a half dozen years ago from Florida and earned a bachelor’s degree in finance from the University of Florida.

The last time a Whitefish councilor was appointed came in 2015 when John Anderson resigned, and he was replaced by Sarah Fitzgerald.