Kalispell City Council on Monday night selected father and lawyer Dustin Leftridge to represent Ward 3.  

Leftridge was one of six applicants who threw their hats in the ring, a group that impressed councilors.  

“I think any one of them would have been great in the role, and I’m so happy we had such a great selection of folks to choose from,” Mayor Ryan Hunter said.    

Councilor Sid Daoud extended his appreciation for each applicant, but said his decision came down to who he thought would complement the current leadership best.   

“I had to go for the person I thought would mesh with the Council and fill in the gaps that we had,” he said.  

Leftridge has practiced law in Kalispell for 12 years and lived downtown for the same amount of time. As councilor, he said he hopes to set an example for his two children that making a difference in the community means putting in the effort.  

“Being able to work with the Council and members of the community and come up with some thoughtful and collaborative solutions to things is something that I enjoy doing,” he told the Inter Lake.  

A HANDFUL of residents urged local law enforcement not to assist U.S. Border Patrol or Immigration and Customs Enforcement in deportation efforts in the Flathead Valley.  

The request comes amid national unrest over the Trump administration’s aggressive crackdown on immigration that has resulted in clashes between protesters and federal law enforcement. 

“If ICE comes to our valley, it is your duty to not work with them and do anything you can to actually protect the citizens of Kalispell,” said Glacier High School senior Josh Lee.  

“… I believe that you ran for the purpose of helping people. And I hope you’ll remember that,” he added. 

Resident Arthur Dunn, however, urged local law enforcement to support federal authorities and called on city leaders to refrain from encouraging opposition to immigration operations.   

While living in Portland, Oregon, Dunn said he saw that when “the city itself became antagonistic toward the law of the land, just chaos reigned. And I don’t want to see that happen here.”  

Police Chief Jordan Venezio told the Inter Lake that his department does not and will not enforce immigration in any way — but will continue to support federal authorities. 

“To have blanket policies that we do not assist of help federal partners, I think, could be dangerous not only for our police officers and first responders that need help, but also for the community, which, overall, that’s my priority: To protect those here,” he said.  

Whenever Police Department personnel are unable to identify an individual involved in an investigation, an officer may contact Border Patrol to assist in identifying that person, Venezio said.  

“And they may take immigration stances on that,” he added.  

But Venezio said that Border Patrol has not been any more visible in Kalispell than in the past, and that the federal government instructed local law enforcement not to get involved in its immigration enforcement.  

“Not only has it not been requested that we help, but they clearly saw that that is our job that is not your job,” he said.  

Daoud said that any federal operations must go through the Flathead County Sheriff’s Office, warning that he would be “extremely upset and very vocal” if anything occurred without that oversight.   

He also acknowledged the community’s concerns, adding that he is “alarmed and discouraged by our bloated and unconstitutionally powerful federal government.”  

COUNCILOR SAM Nunnally extended thoughts and prayers to Ben Brown and Jim Holm, two South Kalispell firefighters who died in separate instances over the past week.  

“Emergency services mean a lot in our communities,” he said while holding back tears. “And with that, it's not just men in blue, the men in brown or tan and green, whatever color uniform they wear. But it’s also those men and women that put on a really heavy outfit with oxygen and go running into a burning building.” 

COUNCIL SELECTED Councilor Lisa Blank to represent Kalispell on the Solid Waste District Board of Directors.  

Blank expressed her interest in serving on the board, having been familiar with landfill operations.  

“My first job out of college was in Superfund mediation and we spent lots of hours in landfills. So I learned to appreciate just how important they are to the communities and in so many ways,” she said.  

The board works to provide environmentally sound and cost-effective refuse collection, disposal and recycling opportunities for Flathead County residents and businesses, according to a memo from City Clerk Aimee Brunckhorst.  

Reporter Jack Underhill can be reached at 758-4407 and [email protected].