Meet John for Ward 3
John Quandt is a former business owner and current father raising his 4-year-old son and 2-year-old daughter. (Nothing stay-at-home about it — Quandt was at Bonner Park when he called.)
His wife is a Billings native, and her job brought Quandt to Missoula from Seattle three years ago. In Seattle, he watched the community change from a family-friendly place to a much less-friendly metropolis.
“You didn’t know your neighbor no matter how long you lived there,” he says.
He doesn’t want the same thing to happen in Missoula. So he wants to get citizens active in local government and said he wants the city to do a better job of bringing people into the conversations.
“I’ve been here for three years. I haven’t received any notices about public hearings or anything of that matter,” Quandt says.
He’s up against Ward 3 Councilman Bob Jaffe, who puts out a weekly committee report on his listserv. Quandt’s review?
“The city should be able to do that directly and not just rely on a single Council member to do it, although it’s great,” he says.
He used to own a plumbing business and is a fan of local shops — especially the trades and their potential to inspire students who might otherwise drop out.
“I’d like to see the City Council work more closely with local businesses,” Quandt said.
He’s a registered Republican who describes himself as fiscally conservative and socially moderate. And he became a fan of Missoula when he first visited.
“It’s kind of a nice little town and everybody seemed friendly,” Quandt says.
– Keila Szpaller
May 18th, 2009 at 2:47 pm
Am I allowed to comment yet?
May 18th, 2009 at 5:02 pm
Oh, we all have weak moments. Comment away. (Don’t be giving me gray hair, though.)
– Keila
May 19th, 2009 at 10:38 am
“I’ve been here for three years. I haven’t received any notices about public hearings or anything of that matter,” Quandt says.
Ooof. Welcome to the Missoulian’s Sunday B Section, complete with community calendar, public notice advertisements and all sorts of good stuff. And that leaves out all the news coverage. And the other news outlets. And that letter OPG sent to all property owners about the zoning rewrite. Say what you will about it, it definitely was notice of public hearing.
June 21st, 2009 at 11:49 am
“He’s a registered Republican who describes himself as fiscally conservative and socially moderate.”
After living in Montana for three years, how does Mr. Quandt come to be “a registered Republican” in a state that doesn’t have party registration?
June 22nd, 2009 at 10:24 pm
Sorry if that was misleading. He’s served as a precinct “committee man,” local GOP.
– Keila
August 19th, 2009 at 7:42 pm
John has a vision for Missoula that will be better in the future than it is today. It is easy to sit back and criticize a newcomer, but you really need to think about what is best for your neighborhood, and for your city. Then you need to think about who will fight for your vision, every day and every hour, of every year.