By Carlotta Grandstaff
J.C. McDowell, a relatively recent newcomer to Darby, owner of the nano microbrewery Bandit Brewery and the man with the compelling personal story well known to most, if not all, Darby residents, is Darby’s new mayor.
McDowell defeated interim mayor and long-time Darby civic leader Evelyn Savochka by a vote of 116-100.
A Darby resident for three-and-a-half years, McDowell may have well surprised Darby’s political establishment – to the extent Darby has a political establishment – with his victory. His campaign was simple – a few yard signs here and there – and his message equally as simple, if also painfully honest: Logging is gone, folks, but Darby’s western culture and tradition lives on and should be celebrated to the benefit of everyone in Darby and its far-flung East Fork, West Fork, Sula and Conner neighbors.
“We can celebrate our history,” he said recently over one of his own crafted beers, “but we can’t pretend it’s still there. We can recognize the heritage of the families and the lives they forged in this neck of the Bitterroot Valley.” To hang on to their culture, and to maintain their heritage, Darby needs to present a more welcoming face to those who pass through, said McDowell. Build on the culture the pioneers created and make it work for business owners and families.
To that end, McDowell envisions a Darby where perception and reality merge; where empty storefronts are filled with dynamic new businesses owned and operated by families as vibrant as their own mom-and-pop shops; where homeowners take pride in their homes and yards. Where visitors want to stay awhile, shop, spend money. Where growth is not a bad word but something valuable and aspirational and beneficial.
If that sounds like political campaign talk, well, maybe so, but McDowell tempers his idealism with the reality of those things candidates don’t run on, but elected officials have to deal with. In McDowell’s view, one of those problems would be the very pedestrian issue of water bills. McDowell thinks they’re too high – higher than Hamilton’s – and that high cost of water is what keeps properties in Darby looking hot, dusty and run-down. Making water more affordable will allow residents to water their yards. Well-cared for yards increase value. Increased value benefits everyone.
Job One, however, is an audit of the town’s finances as a way of informing himself of taxes assessed, collected, spent and invested. “That’s just being responsible,” he said.
He also wants to see Darby Town Hall take a leadership role in promoting civic pride and providing businesses with “an opportunity to succeed.” That calls for making Main Street look inviting and welcoming with flowers, watering, weeding, and working with the state department of transportation on highway maintenance through town.
He also aims to fulfill a few programs and projects spearheaded by Savochka that he says are good ideas that need to be brought to fruition, like her plan for a stop sign at the school.
In short, he says, he doesn’t want to change Darby. He wants to keep it a one-square mile community, but one that thrives.
Like many a candidate, McDowell came to politics after a few run-ins with town hall that most everyone experiences somewhere in America everyday – those small, but aggravating disagreements that finally force one to either shut up or step up. McDowell stepped up.
“I’m a reluctant participant in politics,” he said. “But you can either complain or be an active participant in your community.”
He ran for mayor, rather than town council, he says, because he has management experience, and he’d rather manage a staff.
His personal story is practically legend by now: He was a real estate developer in Atlanta, building homes until the economy went bust in 2008 and took his business with it. Following that, McDowell and his wife Hilary spent the next five years sailing, six months onboard, six months off, until they began their family and life forced them to chart a new course. Two daughters later, the McDowells settled in Darby, which had the smallness they were seeking, specifically, it had less than 1,000 souls. Just right. He built Bandit Brewery himself, a nanobrewery that brews five kegs of beer per batch. Small, yes, but the bigger goal was to create a community meeting spot – and to do it with his own hands and without debt.
He’s done all that. And now he’s mayor. Is he excited? He pauses thoughtfully for long seconds, which is a kind of answer in itself.
“Interested,” he says, finally.
It’s a slow and measured response that may predict his governing style and should reassure the citizens of Darby.