I see that Ward 1 now has three candidates running for the city council. Yesterday, Sheena Comer Winterer filed.
She’s a realtor with Ink Realty. She got her degree from a university in Virginia, then her MBA here in Missoula. She’s been a broker here since 1995. She’s also a very hardcore Biden supporter, as seen on Facebook.
No surprise there, but I am conflicted on the realty angle. On the one hand, I can see how having realtors with information about our unaffordable housing market can be beneficial. On the other, I know that realtors haven’t really been the friend to low-income people over the years.
Mostly, realtors want to see a home sell for as much money as they can, making as much for their client, and themselves. This is their job, which doesn’t necessarily align with the interests of the larger community.
So far, we have realtors running for two seats, Ward 1 and 4. Whether they win or not, housing in this town and this state will only get more pricey, at least until the housing bubble bursts, which it eventually will.
In Ward 6, two people have filed over the past week. You’ll remember that no one had filed for this seat at first.
Now we have Kristen Jordan, who is the director of the Criminal Justice Services Division of the Missoula Justice Coordinating Council.
Last year, the state gave that outfit $125,000 for a mobile crisis management unit, with the goal of getting mental health help to people, not just law enforcement. I’m not sure how successful this program has been; in fact, I’ve heard just about nothing on it.
I can’t find anything else on her.
The other one is Tom Taylor. I can’t find much on this person. As of now, it could either be a man that works for an acupuncture business (unlikely) or the man that bought the Florence Building in 2018.
He had the money to buy the building because he owned a Texas engineering firm. He decided to move up here a few years ago because his daughter attended UM. Now he’s an expert on the town and wants to represent you.
Just what long-time residents need - another transplant telling them what to think and do.
