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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMike LongJohn Michael Long 1640 Kenyon Drive Bozeman, Montana 59715 (406) 989-0246 jmikel@me.com RE: Statement of qualifica3ons for, and interest, in the office of city commissioner. I have been a resident of the City of Bozeman for 9 years, of Galla3n County for 18 years and of Montana for 70 years. • B.S. Degree in Microbiology (MSU ’75) • Re3red clinical laboratory manager at Bozeman Health. • Work experience as a deputy sheriff in both Sweet Grass and Missoula coun3es. • Experience as a firefighter (13 years) • Experience as an EMT (14 years) • 42 years’ experience in various Montana hospitals. • Experience on a County Library Board (Dawson County) • Experience as a Coroner (Sweet Grass County) I may be uniquely qualified in that I come to you with neither an agenda nor windmills to 3lt. I am able to listen to the many sides of a given issue before forming an opinion, knowing that few issues are defini3vely binary but rather are mul3-dimensional. I can appreciate nuance. I am a superb communicator who knows that effec3ve communica3on is vastly more dependent upon listening than talking. And, I’m capable of effec3ve extemporaneous speech including, and especially, in public. I read voraciously with both speed and content reten3on. I believe the purpose of the City Commission is to provide service to the community, mee3ng its needs with an eye towards fiscal restraint. I want to help the city to provide both the best tax- and enterprise-based services, to our mutual benefit, while maintaining financial accountability. I have personally experienced homelessness and food insecurity in the distant past and know the trials of familial alcoholism and mental health issues – and especially the lack of resources for treatment for both. I also know the joys and rewards of now living at the top of Burke Park (albeit with a city water tank in our backyard). I especially know the twisted road I navigated to get here. I understand the current housing concerns of Bozeman residents. Our son and his fiancé each have Doctorates in Physical Therapy and work full-3me (one at Bozeman Health, the other at Billings Clinic – it’s a mixed marriage.) I’ve watched as they’ve struggled and, so far, failed to purchase a home in Bozeman. We have a fully-approved ADU at our residence which we have rented to 4 different renters over 9 years. Because of the housing insecurity our tenants were facing, we have always rented at a-below-market rate, with no increases over that 3me. However, growing taxes and infla3on may soon require us to raise that rent (a fiscal reality). I enjoy close associa3ons and friendships with a vast spectrum of the city – all ages, all poli3cal persuasions, all economic circumstances. I believe that to be func3onal and effec3ve, government leadership requires on- going compromise – agreements reached by mutual concessions. I can serve the residents of Bozeman in an equitable manner, beholden to none, with an open mind to all. With apprecia3on for your considera3on, Mike Long