The upper echelons of Kalispell’s municipal government will undergo a shakeup in the coming months as the longtime city manager departs ahead of an election that will see a new mayor and possible turnover on City Council.  

City Manager Doug Russell is stepping down on Aug. 20 after more than a decade directing the municipality's daily operations. He recently accepted the position as the city manager of Lakewood, Washington. 

“While I am excited about starting this new position, I am also very appreciative to have served as the city manager in Kalispell for the last 13 years,” Russell said in an emailed statement to the Inter Lake. “I feel blessed to have been able to work for this community, current and past City Councils, and with the employees of this organization.” 

He declined to give specifics on when he began searching for a new job, what drew him to Lakewood or when he accepted the position. He will begin his new job on Aug. 25.   

Lakewood has a population of about 64,000 people, more than double that of Kalispell’s, and is located south of Tacoma and near Joint Base Lewis-McCord.  

Russell was chosen for the Lakewood job following a lengthy national search, according to a June 12 press release from that city.  

Lakewood City Council favored Russell in part because of his work on Kalispell’s downtown corridor, and his efforts to foster economic development and complete park projects.  

Kalispell city councilors said they appreciated Russell’s time in the municipality. 

“I always looked at it being very fortunate for me, lucky for me, that I was able to be on Council the whole time while he was here,” said Councilor Chad Graham. “Doug is extremely good at what he does.”  

Graham said Russell excelled at navigating Council through state laws and regulations while not encroaching on their leadership.  

“It's our job to go and create policy. It's his job to implement it,” Graham said. “He always went through and let the Council be Council.” 

Councilors Sam Nunnally and Graham said they first heard about Russell’s potential departure during an executive session that followed a Council meeting on June 16.  

“I wish Doug luck in his future endeavors and thank him for everything he’s done,” Nunnally said.  

Russell's departure comes just months before an upcoming municipal election with a contested mayoral race and four Council seats up for grabs. Incumbent Mayor Mark Johnson is not seeking reelection.  

Nunnally said he sees a big change coming as Russell departs, especially with the mayoral candidates coming from across the political spectrum.  

“It will be interesting to see how this all plays out,” he said.  

Councilor Sid Daoud, who is running for mayor in the upcoming election, anticipates a few bumps in the road with a fresh city manager coming in just as a new mayor is elected.  

“It’s a lot easier to go into an elected position and have staff there that are really familiar with the workings of the city, so there’ll be a little bit of a learning curve there,” Daoud said. 

Councilor Ryan Hunter, who is also vying to become mayor, sees the tandem turnover as a fresh start.  

“Whoever’s mayor is going to work closely with the new city manager and there’ll be an opportunity to set a new direction. Maybe it won’t vary much from the current direction. It depends on who becomes mayor and whatnot ... but I just think it’s good timing,” Hunter said.  

Hunter and Daoud volunteered to join a subcommittee spearheading the search effort for a replacement during a July 7 Council meeting.  

While the committee has not yet been formed, the mayor said at the meeting he may appoint one councilor from each ward. Russell recommended hiring an interim city manager in the meantime.  

“I anticipate Kalispell’s positive and desirable working environment will yield a competitive pool of city manager applicants when the position is posted,” Russell told the Inter Lake. 

As the hiring process progresses, Hunter said he will home in on the attributes he is looking for in a city manager, but wants someone who can work well with others and is “open to tapping the value of the existing resources we have in the community, including stakeholders and nonprofit communities and so on.” 

He is also looking for someone who can deal with contentious issues in a positive and proactive way.  

Daoud said he is looking for someone with experience in a city of similar size to Kalispell and who has a methodical approach to issues.  

“I don’t like knee-jerk reactions and people that decide things when they’re emotional,” he said.  

Johnson and councilors Kari Gabriel, Sandy Carlson, Jessica Dahlman and Jed Fisher did not respond to requests to comment before press time.  

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