Three candidates vie for seats on Mission council

Three candidates are running for two four-year terms on the St. Ignatius City Council: incumbent James McCollum, Rikki Merchant and Janis Heffern.

All three candidates were asked to respond to a brief questionnaire, inquiring about their background and aspirations for the community.

Janis Heffern graduated from St. Ignatius High School, is married and has three adult children. She worked at Lake County Bank for 15 years, and after it sold, she opened her own business, which she was forced to close last year “due to the tough economy that we are currently experiencing.”

Heffern was appointed to the council last May to fill the remainder of the term of the late Raymond Frey, and aspires to continue serving for a full four-year term.

She believes her understanding of the local business environment will help her “make choices to keep our businesses prospering so they do not fall to the hard economy we are in.”

She has also worked with the St. Ignatius Chamber of Commerce to plan and organize many community events, including Good Ol’ Days, Easter egg hunts and the Christmas Carnival. She’s a member of the Mission Boosters and serves on the public library board. Heffern also belongs to a new group that aims to improve city parks and continue creating more events for Good Ol’ Days Park “to make it fun for all ages.”

Her goals include improving the police and fire departments by exploring other funding sources, updating the water system so it can better sustain new housing, addressing the need for child care, minimizing human encounters with the local bear population, and exploring other ways to address community needs.

She would also like to return EMS services to St. Ignatius. “Our older community members may not have the luxury of time to wait for an ambulance to arrive from a neighboring town,” she writes.

Heffern says she’s also willing “to dig deep into the funding to understand and see if there are ways to adjust and stretch our tax funds.”

She promises to listen to community concerns “with an open mind and proceed with action if needed,” and to “respect all members of the city council and the community equally and value their voices.”

“This job isn’t about what it can do for me,” she writes. “It’s what I can do for my community.”

Incumbent Steve McCollum was born and raised in St. Ignatius. He and his wife, Debi, have been married 42 years, are the parents of Riley and Wyatt, and have three grandchildren, Paige, James and Daniel.

He has 18 years of experience with St. Ignatius government, four of those as mayor. During his 14 years on the council, “I have had the privilege to work with great mayors: Sam Roullier, Ken Hurt, John Connet and Darren Incashola,” he writes.

McCollum says serving on the council allows him to “do my part to make this town a great place to live for all of us and our children and their children.”

If reelected, his goals include improving the Public Works Department “by upgrading some of our ancient equipment.” He would also like to see work enabled by a recent sewer grant through to completion.

“Our sewer infrastructure is old and needs to be relined or replaced,” he writes, and adds, “Improving public safety is always high on the list.”

Rikki Merchant says her family has lived in St. Ignatius for nearly 50 years. Her husband, Waco, is a U.S. Marine veteran and volunteer firefighter for the town of St. Ignatius and both of them work for Skinner Sights in St. Ignatius.

This race marks Merchant’s first time running for elected office. “But I am not looking for political recognition,” she writes. “I truly want to be of good service to the town I have fallen in love with.”

As a council member, she would aspire to “know the concerns of our residents and be able to help discuss and solve problems that are important to them. I realize there are many important community issues and I feel I can help find out which solutions are best for all the residents.”

Merchant says she would also strive to earn the trust and respect of business owners and residents by working hard and bringing positive results to Mission neighborhoods.

“I want our citizens to know how much I care for the quality of life that we all share and cherish in our small Montana town,” she writes.

Ballots will be mailed Oct. 18 and need to be returned by 8 p.m. Nov. 7 to the Lake County Election Office in Polson. The post office recommends mailing ballots at least five business days before the election.