Focused on addressing Flathead County’s growing pains, Whitefish resident Nathan Dugan launched his bid to unseat incumbent Commissioner Brad Abell over the weekend.  

Abell, who is wrapping up his first term on the county Board of Commissioners, made his reelection bid official on Feb. 16.  

Dugan, a 35-year-old physical therapist, spends his time visiting homes around Flathead Valley to treat elderly residents. His job has exposed him to the financial and physical barriers his patients face daily, including underfunded infrastructure, gaps in health care and the rising cost of living, he said.  

“Our valley is growing incredibly fast,” Dugan said in a Feb. 22 statement. “Too often, our local leadership gets stuck playing catch-up. We need practical, proactive and collaborative leadership that gets a handle on these complex issues before they reach a breaking point.” 

Originally from northeast Ohio, Dugan moved to Whitefish in 2015 after receiving a doctorate of physical therapy at Columbia University, and started working at Logan Health Medical Center in Kalispell. Outside of work, he has spent the last few years involved in the community, at both the local and state level.  

In 2022, Dugan was appointed by Gov. Greg Gianforte to serve on the state’s Housing Task Force, where he worked with a bipartisan group of state legislators and policy experts to address Montana’s housing crisis. He helped generate a report that provides advice to local governments on how to best approach housing affordability, Dugan told the Inter Lake. 

He and his wife, Mallory, currently work for Shelter WF, an advocacy group they helped co-found in April 2022 to address housing affordability in Whitefish. The group is involved in Whitefish’s "Vision 2045" growth policy update to ensure it reflects local housing needs.  

Dugan said he’d like to see Flathead County pursue its own land use policy update. Everything has grown more expensive, he said, especially since the Covid-19 pandemic. Last August, Dugan founded Livable Flathead, an affiliate of Shelter WF, to expand housing advocacy efforts in the valley.  

The county would also benefit from pursuing improved working relationships with city governments, Dugan added. He said the two levels of government could better confront housing affordability, traffic and infrastructure issues by pooling resources. 

DUGAN RAN unsuccessful campaigns for Whitefish City Council in 2023 and 2025. Despite the defeats, his previous runs for office taught him the mechanics of campaigning and helped him connect with people on the ground, Dugan said.  

He plans to continue building those relationships through his mobile office hours. Small listening sessions will pop up around the valley in parks, restaurants or local bars, Dugan said. His goal is to meet people where they are. 

“True leadership requires showing up,” Dugan said in a statement. “You shouldn't have to take a day off work to interact with your county government.” 

Outside of physical therapy and advocacy work, Dugan is a fan of baseball and recreational sports. In 2025, he founded the Flathead Adult Men’s Baseball League.