KALISPELL — The city of Kalispell will have a new mayor to start the new year for the first time in 12 years, as current Mayor Mark Johnson is not seeking reelection.
Three candidates are vying for the spot in the Tuesday, Nov. 4, election.
MTN News sits down with Kisa Davison for the second of our mayoral candidate profiles.
Kisa Davison has lived in Kalispell since 2007 and has owned several businesses including Iron Star Construction and Straight Blast Gym. She also serves as the current chair of the Kalispell Business Improvement District Board.
“I decided to run for mayor because I looked around and realized that there was an opportunity to bring a fresh perspective to city hall,” said Davison.
When asked about a key issue the City of Kalispell faces, Davison pointed to the area's growth.
“Our community is going to continue to grow, while we have survived there’s still a lot of infrastructure challenges that haven’t really been worked out, have kind of been put on the back-burner while we just kept our heads above water through this big growth, so I would like to see us go back and fix what maybe is flailing,” added Davison.
Davison said she will prioritize public safety as Kalispell continues to grow.
“We have to make sure that our people are safe and secure in their communities, on the streets, so public safety is my number one.”
If elected mayor, Davison said she would collaborate closely with the Kalispell community to help find affordable housing solutions.
“I would like to think that instead of us as a city relying on city staff to come up with solutions and then staff presents it and we all say ‘Oh we don’t like that solution,' or ‘yes we love it,’ or maybe people just are not even showing up to weigh in, I would like to think that we could come to the table earlier in the process with the intention of collaborating for the best interest of the entire community,” said Davison.
Davison believes her fresh perspective is what Kalispell residents needs for their next mayor.
“I know that I have the kind of leadership skills and the attitude to set a new culture for our town that is a culture of collaboration, that is a culture of problem-solving, that is a culture of efficiency and is a culture that will take our town to the next stage.”
Watch the full interview with Kalispell Mayoral candidate Kisa Davison here:
MTN will have a profile on mayoral candidate Sid Daoud on Thursday.
You can watch our full interview with mayoral candidate Ryan Hunter here.
