Lakeside Community Council Candidates

This is a 7-person board, with 6 members being elected and the 7th being appointed by the Flathead County Commissioners. 

There are 8 candidates for the council and we've reached out to all of them to see if they'd like to share a little about themselves. 

If you are not a part of the Lakeside Somers Concerned Citizens Facebook Group, you may want to consider joining. All but 1 of the candidates use Facebook and are a part of that group. You can ask questions and interact with them on that group. 

Here are your Lakeside Community Council Candidates, in alphabetical order. 

Steve and Kathy Kamerick moved to Lakeside 5 years ago from Bigfork area Woodsbay. Having a large home with children grown up and moved on to begin their own life, we decided to sell the big house and find a small house in Lakeside.

I have been a sort of workaholic all my adult life. I have always been a mechanic in several areas of practice, also a Law Enforcement Officer as a youngster and a mechanical engineer at the same time. I worked as a Field Training Officer as a cop and I mentored several men in mechanical fields, Hydraulics, Pneumatics, Digital CNC equipment.

My second profession was musician and entertainer, 45 years. I continued that on and off and also worked for Lake County Sheriff’s Office as a Deputy for a short while. I was building a new shop for auto and truck repairs. I had 8 employees and trained some to accomplish ASE certification.

My wife of 30 years passed away and I thought it was time to retire, that didn’t work as well as I hoped. I seemed to be more active than working in different service employment and business ownership and playing music 3 or 4 nights a week. I became interested in community service and was told about the Lakeside Somers Community Council which had been dissolved 7 years ago.

I attended a community meeting to discuss a roller game business that looked like the citizens didn’t want but the Owners, did not have the permits and the County commissioners seemed to be stuck. There was a neighbor who said we need to get the Community Council back in function. I started do some investigation and became aware of the process of filing a nomination form, which I copied a dozen and posted a nonformal meeting at the Homestead restaurant and invited anyone interested in reinstating the Community Council and had 8 or 10 people arrive with positive input, and mountains of questions and desires. So I expressed the urgency for filing as February 6 was the cut off date.

I was not seeking any position or spokesperson spot, just thought we as a community need to have a say in many needs of our local neighborhoods and entire communities. I realize that the Council is governed by the Commissioners so we can start by asking the North Shore Alliance for some  directions as we make our desires known to the County Commissioners.

I’m Denise Lasalle. I’m one of the candidates for city council.  Quick bio:   I’ve lived in Lakeside  for twenty years and our family history goes back generations in Montana and Idaho.  I’m in the process of raising my third kiddo in Lakeside.   I’m a nurse at the hospital.  

My primary focus for running was to keep/make Lakeside safe.   I am concerned about more pedestrians being struck by vehicles downtown.  I would focus my energy on improved safety for everyone but most of all the kids.

Feel free to ask me any questions or tell me your thoughts

Thanks for your consideration.

The UWSA attempted to reach Tobias Liechti multiple times by email and phone to insure that he had the same opportunity to participate in the "Meet the Candidates" activities. To date, we have not heard back from him.  

Rafael Moscatel is a father of three, happily married to Abby Moscatel, and a full-time resident of Lakeside. He works at Blacktail Law Group, a constitutional rights law firm based in Lakeside. He's also the author of books about adoption and careers for young people. He has extensive experience developing strategic plans and is committed to preserving the character of Lakeside. Rafael would like to see the community continue supporting its library, parks, churches, and small businesses and balance the need for growth with a profound respect for residents at all income levels. He does not want Lakeside to turn into an Airbnb stopover. He also wants to work with the planning commission to ensure that safety along 93 is treated as one of their highest priorities. And second, that speculative building considers the needs of residents. 

Howdy yall, my name is Donald Smith. I am the administrator here of Lakeside Somers Concerned Citizens and also one of the candidates running for the Lakeside Community Council and a proud Lakeside. Firstly, I want to thank Denise for posting some information about herself on here and being open to having us ask her questions to better get to know her and what her views are. 

With that being said, I am Donald Smith. Lakeside has been my home now for about 7 years. I moved here all the way from Creston. I was raised in the south, tho. I am a God-fearing husband, a father to 3 blessings, and a proud American. I am a constitutionalist and always love to hear all sides views and ideas be they Republican or Democrat and will always ask questions of both to better understand their points of views. Neither of the two big parties are 100% right. 

I love Lakeside for the same reasons everyone else does. It is a small simple way of life. A community that is always willing to help each other when the need arises but also is a community that values their privacy and of course the canvas to the east that God uses most mornings and days to show off. 

I see the Lakeside Community Council as a tool to make sure our wishes as a community are honored. While I may not like some of the things that have gone on in our community lately, they were only allowed to happen because we had no Council and I hope to help correct that by using this Facebook site to better communicate with more of the community. I hope to be able to post on here information from each of the meetings to keep everyone informed of what exactly is going on and to more importantly get feedback from the Citizens afterall, we the Citizens are the ones that should determine what is best for our community. I hope to keep yall informed, send out polls to see which way you want me to vote on issues that will directly effect the community, and to also let everyone know of time and dates of each meeting to encourage community attendance. 

While my religion and personal views dictate every aspect of my life, one of those views is that Lakeside Community Council members are only there to do the peoples will. The people should always be first as a Council member. If the responding majority all say they want one thing, that is what my vote will be whether I agree with it or not. I am not running on some personal agenda. I will be merely there to be a loud bull horn for the community. Not to fight for some business interest. Even tho i would love an Olive Garden in Kalispell. Ha. The politicians always say they will fight for YOU. But I will be fighting for US. Because Lakeside is my home and I will always defend my home. 

Feel free to ask questions and get to know more about me and each of the other candidates to be able to vote to put the right candidates onto the Council to make sure Lakeside is saved.

We have been residents of Lakeside since 2000, full time since 2017.  Always enjoying all season outdoor activities and hosting out-of-town friends.  More recently, dedicating time and energy to the West Shore Food Bank where my wife, Julia, is President.   

One doesn't have to look far to see that our entire valley is experiencing unprecedented growth, which is only going to accelerate.  Recently, the Lakeside Community was surprised by the actions of a self-serving developer who saw fit to plop a roller coaster park in the middle of a residential area.  Community members had NO say.  Still today, Lakeside residents have no influence in what the next self-serving developer chooses to do.  Don't get me wrong, every business owner's motivation should be to deliver a return on their investment.  But they won't naturally think about what is good for the future of Lakeside.  

I believe that all Lakeside Community members should influence how growth impacts the community opportunities and safety now and in the future.  I will work hard to listen to what community members think about our future and to fight to ensure that we are allowed a voice.

I believe in growth and have spent my career listening to diverse groups express their views, then working hard to find the right path to grow businesses.  I know that businesses and individuals can prosper while taking into account the needs of others.  In fact, I think a more broad-minded, less self-centered approach yields the highest returns.  

If I am elected, I'll work hard to listen to all the wants and needs of Lakeside community members, and I will make every effort, with team members, to translate those voices into a plan that works well for everyone.

Hi. My name is Martha Wardle. I was born in 1946 in Kansas. Graduated with a BS in nursing and served in the Army Nurse Corp in El Paso TX, with my husband, for 3 years during Vietnam.  I served 1 year in the reserves in Denver, Col. I then taught nursing at Boise, ID.  

In 1979 my husband, daughter and I moved to the West Valley in Flathead. I worked at KRH, now Logan, from 1979 to 2010 except for 3 years when I became a single mom. At that time, I worked in the Alzheimer’s unit at Lutheran Home. 

My time as a nurse in home health was valuable as I traveled the entire county, and saw rich, poor, young, and old, in very remote places, and all the communities. I worked with patients’ families and community services to help my patients. 

My desire for Lakeside is as, Ken Burns the documentary filmmaker just said, communities are the strength and foundation of our country. My goal is to help our leaders make and keep Lakeside a community for year-round families and residents. To keep Lakeside safe and help progress grow in a positive way. To make visitors feel welcome but grow by helping our community be strong for each other. Thanks for letting me share.

My name is Hollie Widdekind. My husband Clay and I have lived in Lakeside for 33 years. For 30 years off Bierney Creek and 3 years now off Stoner Loop. We have been employed in nursing for over 35 years. 

We have watched the entire Flathead Valley explode over the last few years and seen the huge impact the increased traffic and people have on small urban communities like our Lakeside. Our community has been so blessed (multiple times!) in Lakeside by the awesome downtown park and library we received from our neighbors here in Lakeside. Sadly it has greatly increased the traffic issues of parking, lack of sidewalks or curbs, poorly or not painted lanes on the highway, ill-marked or non existent  turn lanes off the Highway at either end of town, trucks and cars routinely disregard the speed limit as well as the crossing lights in the center of town. 

As a long standing volunteer at our local West Shore library and food bank, I have watched in horror as these events occur before my eyes. As an avid bike rider I cringe daily in the summer trying to safely cross the Highway. Volunteering locally I have had great opportunity to talk with folks from many walks of life that live here and are being impacted daily due to this lack of Highway safety, planning, zoning and currently not having a voice to let our officials know that enough is enough. We need to make our home town safe and be the great place to live that it is. I will work hard to let our voices be heard. I'm thrilled to get the ball rolling.