COMPARE

Here are some of the key issues facing the future of Flathead County and how Steve Qunell compares with his opponent Jim Dupont on those issues. The reality is that the challenges facing Flathead County are neither Democratic nor Republican. Consider for yourself how the approach of each candidate aligns with your own values.

ISSUE: County Planning

Candidate: Steve Qunell
Candidate’s Approach: Steve is a strong advocate of planning to accommodate Flathead County’s rapid growth – the second fastest in the state. He believes that simply sitting on the sidelines and reacting to growth is bad for taxpayers and property owners and leaves our future up to chance and luck. Would you want to invest in a business that didn't plan for the future?

Candidate: Jim Dupont
Candidate’s Approach: Jim DuPont is the favored candidate of anti-planning extremists and short-term profiteers. Look who is supporting him by going here and typing in "James Dupont". He is also on the record as saying, “If you have 20 acres and they put a pig farm next to you, you better start liking pork.” (Said at Montanans for Multiple Use Public Forum at Glacier High School, 5-20-08)

ISSUE: Rural Lands Bond

Candidate: Steve Qunell
Candidate’s Approach: Steve favors allowing county residents to vote on a bond that would preserve open space in Flathead County. An open space bond allows the County to protect key open space and farmlands from development by paying property owners for their development rights. In many instances, open space bonds can help farmer’s maintain productive farmlands when otherwise the farmer’s only option was to subdivide the property.

Candidate: Jim Dupont
Candidate’s Approach: Jim DuPont said Flathead County already has a huge amount of federal land and open spaces, and said he didn’t think a bond approach would be necessary. (Daily Interlake, May 21, 2008 “Commissioner hopefuls weigh in on issues”)

ISSUE: Property Rights

Candidate: Steve Qunell
Candidate’s Approach: Steve is an ardent supporter of property rights.

The politics of the good ol’ boy County Commissioners talk a lot about respecting property rights, but in reality these same "property-rights" Commissioners have time and time again acted to take away people’s rights to protect their property through neighborhood plans. Property rights belong to everyone and not just those with the deepest pockets.

Candidate: Jim Dupont
Candidate’s Approach: While Jim Dupont likes to proclaim that he is the candidate that favors property rights, we have to once again note that he is on the record as saying, “If you have 20 acres and they put a pig farm next to you, you better start liking pork.” (Quote at Montanans for Multiple Use Public Forum at Glacier High School, 5-20-08)

He has also stated that, while he's still working through his ideas on the matter, he principally believes that the interests of large landowners should take priority over the interests of the community at-large. (Expressed at Montanans for Multiple Use Public Forum at Glacier High School, 5-20-08).

ISSUE: Road Dust Problems

Candidate: Steve Qunell
Candidate’s Approach: Steve believes that excessive dust from some roads in Flathead County are a symptom of poor planning in the past. He’s in favor of good planning to accommodate growth in the future so that the problem doesn’t get any worse. To address the current problems, Steve is in favor of innovative dust mitigation solutions and objective traffic counts that prioritize the most problematic roads. He is also in favor of a very transparent schedule of paving and dust mitigation so that concerns of favoritism are alleviated.

Candidate: Jim Dupont
Candidate’s Approach: Jim DuPont downplayed the problem of dusty roads and its relationship to health problems. Despite what scientists and experts have reported, Mr Dupont says that his “internet searches found nothing to prove a correlation.” Further he has said that the road dust problem in Flathead County is “an irritation, not a huge health problem.” (Daily Interlake, May 21, 2008 “Commissioner hopefuls weigh in on issues”) DuPont has also said, “Sometimes I think we should go back to the old days and if you want your road paved, find out who is County Commissioner and move next to him.” (Said at Montanans for Multiple Use Public Forum at Glacier High School, 5-20-08)