missoula city council election

An Interview with Don Nicholson, Ward 2

By NewWest.Net Editor, 10-30-07

	Don Nicholson, Missoula City Council incumbent.

NewWest.Net/Missoula: Tell us your life story, in 150 words or less.

Don Nicholson: I was born in Missoula in 1934. I went through grade school and high school here and to the University of Montana. I majored in chemistry and was in the ROTC (serving in the U.S. Army as a tank commander in Korea). After I was discharged, I worked in the paper industry and spent the last 30 years of my career in management. I ran plants in Kentucky and Connecticut, and also ran several international divisions and was involved in building and managing an entirely “green” paper plant. I own a body shop now, Mountain States Collision Repair. We paint, pound out dents and make people happy. I’m active in UM Alumni Association. I’ve always been interested in building things.

What drives you to continue being a city council member?

I’m interested in Missoula. I think the council is not well run business-wise, not spending money well. We’re spending too much time trying to figure out how to get more out of people and not enough on how to spend less.

When out-of-towners ask you about Missoula, what do you tell them?

It’s a great place to live, particularly if you like outdoor activities. It’s a backwater, not a lot of big city stuff. If you like small towns with a lot of opportunities for activities, it’s a great place.

What do you see as your Ward’s greatest asset? Its greatest challenge?

It’s the same answer for both questions: Ward 2 is very diverse. It reflects the city better than anywhere else in town.

What are some tools you think Missoula should use to manage its growth?

We’re not going to manage it. The problem is badly over-exaggerated. We’re not growing too fast. We’re close to one or two percent (annual growth). We’ve overbuilt apartments badly. We need to let the market do its thing. Growth is not unmanageable, not out of hand.

Several issues, including infill and planned neighborhood clusters, have created what some call “armed camps” within the city that make it difficult to draw even a hint of consensus. As a city council member, how do you or how would you, work to overcome some of the gridlock that develops within the city council on such contentious topics?

I’m not very interested in infill. I think we should let developers develop however they can.

If you had your druthers, how would West Broadway be designed?

It needs to be five lanes, with a turn lane in the middle.

Do you support urban chickens, or are you too chicken?

No. On grounds of disease and health.

What’s the best book you’ve read in the last year?

David Halberstam’s The Coldest Winter: America and the Korean War.

What do you see yourself doing in 10 years?

I don’t think about that. I’ll be 83.

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