Flathead County Commissioner Brad Abell is making his support for law enforcement and the Trump administration’s immigration policies central to his reelection campaign.  

Abell, 66, launched his bid for a second six-year term on Monday. A Republican, Abell was first elected to represent District 1 in November 2020. He currently serves as chair of the Flathead County Board of Commissioners. 

“I just feel that there's a lot left to do,” Abell told the Inter Lake on Tuesday. “Our detention center is coming online. I was very involved with getting it going, and I'd like to see that through to the end.” 

Voters last year passed a $105 million bond to construct a new public safety facility on Snowline Lane to replace the county jail, which has faced capacity issues, unsafe working conditions and structural deficiencies for years. 

Abell promised to continue supporting all law enforcement agencies if reelected, and a lot of that support will come from the new detention facility, he told the Inter Lake.  

“We don't have the capacity. A lot of times, somebody commits a crime, they come in, they get turned right back loose,” Abell said.  

In the lead up to the bond vote, detention center officials told the Inter Lake that many inmates booked into the facility are battling mental health issues. A benefit of the new detention center touted by its supporters is its expanded mental health wing.  

Asked about the possibility of the county investing in mental health programs in his second term, Abell said it is a responsibility of the state.  

“Detention officers right now are dealing with these mental health issues, and they aren't trained to deal with them,” Abell said. “I think there should be some kind of partnership between the state, so they're fulfilling their obligations. And I don't know how that looks, but I would like to see something like that.” 

IN ANNOUNCING his reelection campaign in the opinion page of the Daily Inter Lake on Feb. 17, Abell pledged to aid law enforcement agencies in enforcing federal immigration law and twice promised to prevent Flathead County from becoming a “sanctuary county.” Sanctuary laws have been enacted in localities across the country and often limit cooperation with federal immigration authorities.  

Amid the Trump administration’s ongoing mass deportation campaign, advocacy groups have recently lobbied county commissioners — and the valley’s various city councils — to cut ties with the Department of Homeland Security. 

But a state law passed in 2021 bans sanctuary cities and counties in Montana. It requires local governments to comply with federal immigration laws.  

“It is state law that we're not allowed to be sanctuary cities or counties,” Abell said. “And I think there's a lot of our citizens that want ... our immigration laws upheld.” 

Abell pointed to a proclamation expected to go before Whitefish City Council for consideration on Tuesday night as a reason for reiterating his support for federal immigration authorities. Submitted by Whitefish Mayor John Muhlfeld, the proclamation is a statement of support to the citizens of Minneapolis and reaffirms Whitefish’s commitment to equal treatment under the law.  

The proclamation also states “the city recognizes that immigration enforcement is a federal responsibility over which the city has no legal authority or control.” 

ABELL HIGHLIGHTED what he saw as his successes in his first six years as county commissioner, which included maintaining a fiscally sound budget, promoting workplace safety and building strong relationships with federal and state elected officials.  

He has worked with County Administrator Pete Melnick to implement a county-wide safety program. This includes holding regular meetings in county departments to review workplace safety concerns, rebooting the Flathead County Safety Council and taking in monthly safety-action reports from every department head.  

The county’s insurance claims frequency is down 23% in the last year, and 39.4% over the last two years. Incurred costs from insurance claims are down 85.4% and 10.25% over those same periods, according to Melnick.  

He has also advocated for the U.S. Forest Service to contribute to the county’s Dust Cost Share program, he told the Inter Lake. Landowners who live along gravel roads, including a section of North Fork Road, can apply for a 50/50 cost split with the county for magnesium chloride application, which provides dust control.  

Abell hopes to use the relationships he’s built in the last six years to advocate for future funding in Flathead County. Today, the county commissioner is on a first-name basis with state representatives and Congressman Ryan Zinke, who successfully lobbied Congress to secure $1 million in funding for the North Fork guardrail project. 

“When I won my election last time, I was pretty unknown,” Abell said. “I never knew any of those people before I got here, and I've worked hard to meet with them.” 

Housing advocate files to challenge Abell

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.