HomeMy WebLinkAbout11-26-23 Public Comment - S. Mitchell - Support letter - Douglas Fischer for Bozeman City CommissionFrom:Sam M
To:Agenda
Subject:[EXTERNAL]Support letter - Douglas Fischer for Bozeman City Commission
Date:Sunday, November 26, 2023 7:56:52 PM
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Dear Mayor Andrus and City Commissioners Coburn, Cunningham, and Madgic;
I do not envy your difficult task as you read through 20 applications to fill Commissioner
Pomeroy’s remaining term plus letters in support/opposition of individual candidates. Thank
you for the hard work you perform on behalf of all of us who live in Bozeman!
Rather than attempt to detail why I believe certain applicants would not be a good choice, I
simply observe that many applicants appear to have strongly vested interests because of their
occupations as city/traffic planners, lawyers involved in property negotiations, developers,
realtors, individuals strongly interested in their home as an STR/adding an ADU/modifying
their property, etc. Other applicants appear to have brief or minimal ties to the City, focusing
on a single issue that energizes them; or appear to have lived in Bozeman at some point but
primarily worked outside of Bozeman and/or retired here recently; or have no experience in
shared governance and the many hurdles of working in the public sector.
As a Bozeman resident who cares deeply about City Commission decisions, I believe there is a
candidate who does not carry any of the preceding negatives with them and instead will be a
clearly positive addition to the Commission: Douglas Fischer.
I’ve known Douglas for well over a decade and have been impressed with his ability to first
listen to various sides of an issue, then ask excellent questions to get to the heart of the
matter, to listen further, and to then make a thoughtful decision. He has had to consider many
difficult choices during his 3 terms on the BSD-7 School Board – especially the splitting of the
High Schools plus many more during the COVID-19 pandemic. Douglas's willingness to hear
opinions that don’t always align with his direction and incorporate those opposing views in
making a reasonable decision are appealing at a time when our society seems quite fractured.
His work on the School Board and on multiple Bozeman citizen advisory boards means he
understands the process of government and of compromise to achieve the greater good – he
will be an immediate asset to City governance.
Douglas does not appear to have a preconceived idea of where the Commission must proceed
in a hasty manner. He has applied to join the Commission with a major goal of repairing what
appears to be increasing separation between the direction of the Commission and that
desired by the public. I believe he will be an integral leader building a consensus with city
residents, so we are all able to continue working towards Bozeman’s best possible future.
I strongly hope you appoint Douglas Fischer to the City Commission.
Thank you,
Sam Mitchell
1020 S 3rd Ave
Bozeman MT 59715