The Flathead County commissioner race officially got underway Wednesday as Whitefish businessman Phil Mitchell became the first candidate to file for the District 1 seat currently held by Cal Scott.

Mitchell, 61, filed as a Republican. 

He served on the Whitefish City Council from 2010 through 2013 and before that served on the Whitefish School Board from 2002 through 2007.

“I am a conservative who is frugal with our tax dollars,” Mitchell said in a press release. “I am a property-rights advocate and I support business growth and jobs creation in our beautiful valley.”

Mitchell favors the county having planning control of the two-mile “doughnut” around Whitefish “in order to give doughnut residents representation. “

While on the City Council, Mitchell voted against appealing Flathead District Judge David Ortley’s decision last year in favor of the doughnut to the Montana Supreme Court. During his time on the council Mitchell had a reputation for fiscal conservatism and working out problems instead of filing lawsuits.

Mitchell also opposes the proposed water compact with the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes. Mitchell said he “would have voted with Commissioner Pam Holmquist to oppose the recent letter the other two commissioners wrote in support of the compact.”

A Flathead Valley resident for 35 years, Mitchell spent many years constructing well-known golf courses around the world, including the Iron Horse course on Big Mountain.

He and his wife, Belinda, have operated several small businesses in the Flathead Valley, including a retail chocolate store and a furniture refinishing and antique business. Mitchell currently owns and manages real estate in the Whitefish area.

Mitchell has a long history of local community service. He was a volunteer contractor for the recent construction of the North Valley Food Bank. 

For the past eight years he has served as the volunteer sports park manager for the 38-acre Rollie and Heidi Smith Sports Park. He also was the volunteer construction manager for the construction of Christ Lutheran Church several years ago.

The Mitchells were founding donors for Cross Currents Christian School, now called Whitefish Christian Academy, and has continued to help maintain the facility for the past 20 years.

Mitchell and his wife have two grown sons.

He said he has never filed for bankruptcy.

Commission candidates filing for bankruptcy became an issue in 2012 when it was revealed that three candidates, including Scott, had filed for bankruptcy.

Scott was appointed commissioner following Jim Dupont’s death in March 2012; he was elected in November that year to serve the remaining two years of the District 1 term. District 1 generally includes the northern tier of the county.

Mitchell’s campaign co-treasurers are Su Dupont, the late Jim Dupont’s widow, and Lyle Phillips, a retired Columbia Falls Aluminum Co. manager.