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Missoula council candidates outline housing priorities, urge shelter and services for unhoused residents
Summary
At a League of Women Voters forum, four Missoula City Council candidates debated housing supply, code reform, rent control and responses to homelessness, citing the Johnson Street shelter closure, the mayor's housing sprint and community land trusts as central issues.
At a candidate forum on Oct. 29, Missoula City Council candidates for Wards 3 and 4 focused the most time on housing affordability and the city's response to people experiencing homelessness, urging expanded shelter capacity, affordable-home ownership tools and changes to land use rules.
The candidates said local government should help ensure basic needs are met and avoid criminalizing poverty. "I definitely think part of the government's job is to help make sure that everybody can get their basic needs met," said Daniel Carlino, a current Ward 3 city council member. Carlino said he had proposed an amendment years ago to require new shelter beds before the city closed the Johnson Street shelter.
Why it matters: Housing costs, limited permanent affordable units and the city's handling of shelters and public-space enforcement were repeatedly raised by candidates as immediate, large-scale problems that affect many Missoulians and require coordinated policy, funding and…
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