Republican Kevin Fadely, 47, of Stevensville, has filed to run for the commission seat from District 2, currently held by Greg Chilcott. Fadely has lived in Stevensville for 12 years. He is self-employed in his own repair business. He is a veteran who served in the Air Force until 1994 as an F-16 Crew Chief/Mechanic. He was deployed to Italy at the end of the Gulf War.
“We have had the opportunity to live in many diverse places from the Okefenokee Swamp in Georgia to Spangdahlem, Germany during my time in the Military,” Fadely said.
After the military he went back to school and received a two-year diploma in Air Conditioning and Refrigeration from Utah Valley State College. He spent two years in Las Vegas before moving his family to Montana.
“My wife was raised in Libby, and after visiting Montana several times, I fell in love with it. We decided we wanted to raise our family here. The Bitterroot Valley has a special significance because both sets of my wife’s grandparents settled in this valley in the 1950’s and her parents met here and spent their honeymoon on the Trapper Peak lookout in the summer of 1967. We feel very blessed to call Stevensville our home.”
Like many families in the Bitterroot, Fadely has had to adapt his career many times to be able to stay in the valley. “I have worked in the oil fields of Alaska, operated my own heating and air conditioning contractor business, and sold insurance.”
“I believe that public service is a privilege and a duty,” says Fadely about running for office. “Our founding fathers never intended for it to be a career. I became active in the Republican Party, organizing, fund raising, and campaigned for candidates I believed would bring us closer to the Constitution and protect us from the over-reaching federal government. After much prayer, we decided as a family that it was time for me to run for County Commissioner. I strongly believe that in opening up Montana’s treasures such as timber, mining, natural gas, coal, and oil, our state can lead the nation in job growth. No longer will families have to go to North Dakota for jobs. Our timber is a renewable resource that has been mismanaged for years. I believe that big government is not the answer, small business owners, entrepreneurs, and we the people will find the correct answers to solve our problems. I am a Christian and I believe that our country was founded on Christian principles, that all men are created equal and can govern themselves. I believe in limited government and that is how I will vote as a commissioner.”