Phil Mitchell says he will be a budget watchdog if he’s elected Flathead County commissioner.

“If you wanted to understand the budget, I was known as the one who understood it and questioned it each month,” Mitchell said about his time on the Whitefish City Council. “I like numbers and budgets. It’s been extremely important in my private life, my work and my volunteer work. It’s about needs over wants.”

Mitchell, 61, faces incumbent Cal Scott for the District 1 commissioner seat in the June 3 primary election. The winner proceeds to the Nov. 4 general election to square off against the winner of the Democratic race between Jack Garlitz and Stacey Schnebel.

Early voting begins Monday for the primary election.

The District 1 commissioner represents the northern tier of Flathead County.

Mitchell said his 10 years of public service on the Whitefish council and school board give him the ability to seamlessly step into the commissioner job. And he doesn’t mince words when he describes the current commissioners’ responsiveness to the public as “poor.”

“Flathead voters expect the commissioners to be open and public about the way they do business. They should treat the public with respect,” he said. “And in terms of being transparent, they’re not transparent. You don’t deal with someone for two years and then pull the rug out from them.”

Mitchell was referring to the commissioners’ recent decision to back out of being the pass-through government entity for a federal grant homeowners won to stabilize a slope off Whitefish Stage Road.

“That’s not how I would have treated the taxpayers,” he added.

Mitchell said he’s running for commissioner to offer better leadership to county residents.

“I have a heart for all people who want to live in the Flathead Valley,” he said. “We have people from all walks of life and by keeping government to a reasonable level we can have a wide range of people, which I think is important.”

Mitchell readily takes stands on controversial issues such as the jurisdiction battle over the two-mile planning “doughnut” around Whitefish. He said he believes the 2010 interlocal agreement, forged as a compromise between the city of Whitefish and Flathead County, was a workable solution before city voters tossed it out in a referendum.

“There’s been no suggestion or solution from the city except court,” he said about the lawsuit that is awaiting resolution before the Montana Supreme Court.

The commissioners’ recent vote to support a water compact process involving the Confederated Salish-Kootenai Tribes was made too hastily, Mitchell said.

“There were too many questions not answered. Why was this passed so quickly by two of our commissioners?” Mitchell asked. “We need a compact, but water is the next oil, and I want Montana citizens to control it. We need to protect Flathead County citizens and their rights.”

Mitchell said the doughnut and water compact issues are two examples of citizens not being able to do what is reasonable on their property “because the government can’t even get along enough to allow this.”

While Mitchell believes in private property rights, he said he also sees the need for reasonable water-quality and zoning oversight.

“People need to be left alone to oversee their property without Big Brother there all the time,” he said.

He’s spent time during his campaign getting up to speed on a wide range of issues facing the county, from the cleanup of the Columbia Falls Aluminum Co. site to the proposed construction of a new facility for the Agency on Aging.

Regarding the CFAC site, Mitchell said he wants testing done to know what kind of contamination there might be.

“If there are tainted wells, we go after it,” he said.

Mitchell said it would behoove the county to further study the needs of the aging population before determining facility needs.

“Is there a building that fits their needs?” he asked, noting that the county is spending $50,000 a year to rent a building that “doesn’t seem to fit the need now or in the long term.”

Mitchell said he questions whether building a facility on an expanded courthouse campus, where real estate costs a premium, is the best idea.

“I need a picture of what we’re doing and I don’t have it,” he said. “You just don’t go buy property to buy it. It’s taxpayer money.”

Mitchell said he urges county residents to look into his background and voting records on both the Whitefish council and school board to get a sense of his personal integrity versus that of his opponent.

“We are different and I’m proud of my walk, my truthfulness and my character,” he said.

Features editor Lynnette Hintze may be reached at 758-4421 or by email at lhintze@dailyinterlake.com.