Curtiss Brings Experience and Common Sense to Commissioner Race

I am running for Missoula County Commissioner because my experience and common sense leadership are needed now more than ever.

I have a passion for Missoula County.  I was born in Missoula and raised on a farm in the Swan.

I graduated from Seeley-Swan High School. When I say I am going ‘up home’ - I am coming to this valley.  When I drop down the hill to Salmon Lake, I am home.

Seeley Lake is unique as it is unincorporated and yet has a sewer board, water board, fire board, cemetery board, hospital district and a volunteer fire department. I worked with members of your community to look at whether incorporation or a resort tax made sense for Seeley Lake.  At this time, those two ideas have not come to pass, so I continue to support the county services we bring to you. These include:

• Branch library at the high school

• Partnership Health Center

• Resident deputies

• County road crew

• Search and rescue

• Part-time office hours for treasurer, building code and others

• Public Health

• Air quality monitoring

• Relationship violence education in schools and support in community

• Missoula Aging Service has a new presence

• Refuse district transfer site

• Elections polling place

• Enhanced 9-1-1 towers for dispatch of emergency responders

• Restaurants, grocery stores and bars food safety inspections

Well-paying jobs and attainable housing are both essential to a strong economy. Pyramid Mountain Lumber continues to be the anchor for this town. Recreation and tourism are growing but a healthy economy needs more diversity and working families need homes they can afford. By working together we will be able to support the timber jobs, manage the growth in recreation, create new jobs and protect what we love about this place.

I am a strong supporter of the Blackfoot Clearwater Stewardship Project. This collaborative, home-grown project brought together loggers, mountain bikers, snowmobilers and wilderness advocates to find a solution that works.  Let’s hope Congress let’s us decide what’s best for our backyard.

One of the most important issues we face today is the impact of state and federal budget cuts to critical human service programs. My work in this arena will be an advantage as we work with established partners and create new partnerships to take a leadership role for the state to solve this issue. We must find new innovative ways to meet the needs of infants, children with developmental delays, people struggling with mental health issues, those who count on places like Opportunity Resources and our senior citizens.   

I have a proven track record of bringing people together and getting things done. I am experienced in economic development, stewardship and conservation, rural advocacy, public health and human services.  Whether it is bringing new jobs to Missoula County, bringing people together to be a voice for the voiceless or finding common sense solutions to protect what we love about Missoula County, I am honored to serve you and respectfully ask for your support.

Jean Curtiss