Crews, Brown withdraw applications for Stevi mayor, remaining two interviewed
By Michael Howell
Council member Jim Crews and his wife Cindy Brown both withdrew their applications for the position of mayor on the day that interviews of the candidates were scheduled. Neither one gave any reasons, according to Mayor Gene Mim Mack, whose resignation led to the application process.
Mim Mack said that Crews did send a second email to the town which stated simply, “I will not be present at the meeting you folks are having tonight.”
The two remaining candidates for the position, Paul Ludington and Jerry Phillips, were interviewed that evening.
Asked why he wanted to be mayor, Ludington said, “I was on the Council from 2000 to 2008 and learned a lot about town politics and town government. Since that time, I’ve seen the town moving in a positive direction. Based on my experience on the Council, I think it is pretty easy for them to go awry. I aim to be positive.”
Asked about the duties and responsibilities of mayor, Ludington said the mayor is the chief executive and responsible for all the town’s personnel and signs all the checks. He also runs the Council meetings. He said it was also important for the mayor to be accessible to the public and attend significant public events.
Ludington said that he had the skills and the qualities to make a good mayor. He said he has been involved in management since 1983 and believes that’s where his strength lies.
“Leading people,” he said, “being as fair as I can, but not being afraid to make decisions.” He said it was important to show people who was in charge and who was responsible.
“I’ve spent a lot of time evaluating people who work for me and who I work for,” he said.
He said another characteristic of his is being able to hear both sides, to be empathetic and to help reach compromise.
Ludington said the mayor was responsible for presenting a budget to the Council and had the responsibility to include the department heads and staff in doing it.
“The mayor evaluates the needs of the departments and the need for personnel, investigates costs, questions all expenditures and watches the cash flow,” said Ludington. “He also does some work on administering grants.”
Once the budget is set, Ludington said, “Then you’ve got to keep up with it and see that it is being implemented. You need to recognize the difference between the General Fund and the Enterprise Funds.”
Asked to describe his management “philosophy” and his “experience,” Ludington said, “I’m a firm believer in leading by example. I’m not afraid of hard work and I expect people who work for the town to work hard.” He said he thought 50% of the job was just showing up.
“Show up and I can show you what to do,” he said.
In college he got management training as part of a job clerking in a retail store. He went on to manage two stores and supervised up to 36 employees. He is also in a supervisory position over bus drivers at the Stevensville School District.
Asked how he would deal with divisiveness and conflict, he said it was important to substantiate our feelings and ask why we feel the way we do about things.
“You can never ask why too many times,” he said.
Ludington recited in detail the history of the town’s two big enterprise fund projects, the water and sewer improvement projects completed and on the way. He said he had some experience with a grant-funded project at the airport when the gas line had to be relocated. He worked with NorthWestern Energy and with the FAA on the project.
Ludington said he would have to do some catch-up on the latest in the water and sewer projects and some catch-up with the Treasurer to get up to speed on the details of the town’s finances.
“The Town is in a good place fiscally,” he said. “My aim would be to keep an even keel. As to which way we turn the keel at this point, I’m open.”
Ludington said that he thought the current budget was adequate for the general fund and the other funds.
“We are getting much better at tracking everything as far as finances go,” said Ludington. “This makes for a more accurate budget. It’s not a crapshoot. It’s generally pretty close. But you need to keep track and Stephanie (Mapelli, Treasurer) has brought us leaps and bounds since I was last on the Council.”
Mayoral candidate Jerry Phillips said he wants to be mayor “to give back to the community of Stevensville. My ancestors settled here in the 1870s and 1880s. My family has been around for a long time.” He said he graduated from Stevensville High School “and one thing I’ve learned is that the community has given me a good education and I’d like to give back to the community at this time.”
Phillips said that he always believed in volunteering. He said he worked in Missoula County as a Reserve Deputy in search and rescue and other work. He is currently a volunteer at the Lee Metcalf National Wildlife Refuge and hopes to keep doing that even if appointed mayor.
Asked about the duties of the mayor, he said, “First and foremost to lead the Council meetings, also supervising staff at City Hall. First and foremost, being a leader of the community and being able to work with other individuals and help the community.”
Phillips said, “Throughout my work history I have supervised employees and dictated what duties are supposed to be taking place on those jobs. He said at one point he supervised 25 people at a pretty “industrialized” job in Idaho. He said he was also lead operator and ran equipment as well as supervising, and got training in management. He also worked as a salesman creating work orders, greeting customers and describing products. He said on his last job he was in charge of customer service. He also worked in a volunteer position as water supervisor of a subdivision he lived in.
Asked about the mayor’s duties in the budget process and afterward, Phillips said that the mayor works with the Clerk and the department heads and boards, such as the Airport Board, to assess needs and submits it to the Council for determination.
“I would assume that once the budget is set you go back and verify that’s what was needed,” said Phillips. “Not being familiar with this, I assume that’s what would happen.”
Asked about his “philosophy” and “experience” of management, Phillips said he knew most of the Town’s staff and was fairly certain they know their jobs. But he would look at job descriptions and make sure they were operating according to the job description. He said he had some experience occasionally with disciplinary action. He said it was probably a good idea to get legal advice before terminating anyone.
Asked how he would build consensus and resolve conflict, Phillips said that his experience as a salesman helped form his management philosophy. He mentioned a time where he just walked away from an irate customer and then returned to find he had cooled off.
“If you have an explosive situation it’s best to walk off and just let it go. It’s the same with the Council. The best policy would be to adjourn and take care of that situation,” he said.
Phillips said that he had no experience in administering any grants but he understands the requirements involved and that either the mayor or an appointee would have to keep on top of it.
Phillips recounted in some detail the ongoing water and sewer projects. He said it is a hard thing for some people to understand how and why it all happened but, “this will be an ongoing thing for decades and people need to get used to it.”
Phillips said he was retired and had time for looking at projects and got along well with the current town employees. He said he would probably begin by getting familiar with office procedures and studying the handbook. He said it was a lot to review and he might need some sort of advisor to get started, but didn’t know who that would be.
He said one of his greatest concerns was the “infighting” that’s been going on.
“I would like to see unity in the government and the community,” said Phillips. He said it would be helpful if the Council and the Mayor went out and knocked on doors and found out people’s real needs and expectations. He said being prepared for a real emergency and doing something about the sidewalks in town also concerned him.
Phillips also said he believed that current funding for the town was adequate in all the funds.
The Town Council is scheduled to make the selection for mayor at this Thursday’s regular meeting, which starts at 7 p.m.