Candidate for City Council Steve Qunell
The Whitefish Pilot reached out to Whitefish City Council candidates running in the Nov. 7 municipal election. The information below was provided by the candidates and edited for spelling, punctuation and space.
Name: Steve Qunell
Age: 52
Family: Two Daughters, Ada and Emi
Occupation: Teacher, Flathead High School
Community involvement: Current member of Whitefish City Council, Chairman of the Whitefish Planning Board, city advisor on Legacy Lands Advisory Committee for the Whitefish Trail, USA Swimming and MHSA swim referee.
Why are you the right candidate for the position?
Experience and leadership is key to being an effective council member and I have the right mix for this job. Look at my voting record and you’ll see that I understand our community’s vision and I know how to make difficult choices that are sometimes unpopular. My record shows that I represent a broad range of stakeholders and in particular I’m the candidate who represents the working-class authenticity of Whitefish. We’re at a critical juncture after the explosive growth since 2020, and I have the experience, the heart and the leadership to face the challenges of the next four years.
As the city updates its growth policy, what is your vision for Whitefish’s future?
In terms of the growth policy, it’s not really my vision that matters — it’s the vision of our community members. In the coming year, I’ll be listening intently to what people in our community value. Even though so much has changed on the ground, I honestly don’t think our community’s vision has changed significantly since our first growth policy in 2007. The tricky part is crafting policies that carry out that vision — and understanding where we might have to make sacrifices. It's a job that is going to require experience and leadership.
What role should the city take in addressing housing?
The city needs to be active regarding housing and we need to continue the work we’ve already begun. For the first time, we have dedicated four mills to a housing fund in our budget that will support housing initiatives. Residents are also voting to reallocate 10% of the resort tax to the housing fund starting in 2025. These are huge accomplishments! The next step will be to make sure we leverage this money to support initiatives and projects that meet the needs of our community. In the next year, I’ll be bringing forth innovative ideas that will build affordable units.
How should the city manage public safety needs amid rapid growth?
Whitefish was recently named the safest city in Montana — amid the intense growth pressures of the last four years. All the credit goes to our great front-line staff and our leadership that has helped keep this staff together. Moving forward, we need to be open and honest about how each new development affects our safety and make sure that the burden is placed on that development (while also providing incentives to build below-market price) — and not on the taxpayers. We also need to ensure that we don’t pass on opportunities for future expansion of our fire and police.
What other issues should the city be addressing?
Two big issues often overlooked are recycling and public transportation because they are a significant part of our Climate Action Plan. Both come down to dollars and cents. We have to create a recycling system that works, and it will cost money, so we need to find a balance. Public transportation is going to require a county-wide solution because it’s a county-wide problem. It doesn’t make sense for city taxpayers to bear the entire cost of a system that serves people from all communities. At the same time, we need to do what we can within our city to make public transit more accessible.