In the normal course of an election, voters get to know candidates as they campaign for office. I was appointed Missoula’s 51st mayor last week to fill the vacancy left by Mayor John Engen’s tragic and premature death. The appointment process was short, and Missoula’s voters did not get the opportunity to meet me.
Please allow me to introduce myself.
I was born in Dickinson, N.D. My parents were small-business owners and worked hard to make a life for our family. They sold their restaurants after 17 years, and our family moved to Helena, where I spent most of my childhood. My Missoula story is like so many others — I moved to Missoula to attend the University of Montana in 2005, where I studied geography, fell in love with our beautiful city and never left. I live on Missoula’s Westside with my partner Katherine and our rescue dog.
In 2011, I went to work at UM’s Mansfield Library as a web developer in the Information Technology department, and in 2014, I became the Director of Transportation at UM. In that job, I led UM to become the first university in the country to deploy modern, fast-charging battery-electric buses. Mountain Line followed in our footsteps a few years later.
People are also reading…
Working at UM, I felt a pull toward public service, and in 2013, I ran for and was elected to the Missoula City Council. I’ve been elected — three times — by the voters of Ward 2. Ward 2 is a large diverse area that includes Missoula’s historic Westside neighborhood, Grant Creek, the airport area and many of our city’s newest neighborhoods west of Reserve Street.
On the council, I was an advocate for responsible land use and transportation decisions. I chaired the Land Use and Planning Committee, working to increase access to quality affordable housing and to promote livability and equity in new development. I’ve been a champion of the city’s zero-waste and clean energy goals, expanding Missoula’s open space network and providing diverse transportation options. I worked closely with Mayor Engen to secure public ownership of our community’s water system for future generations, and I played a key role in several transportation projects, including the Mullan BUILD Grant under construction now west of Reserve Street.
I applied to be mayor because I love Missoula. I love the people, I love the culture, I love the place.
With the cost of housing, rising interest rates, an uncertain economy, humanitarian crises at our borders, war in Ukraine, an escalating climate crisis and nationwide issues with mental health and addiction, it is easy to become demoralized about the state of our world. Even within that unsteady context, I see a bright future for Missoula.
Missoula is a great place to live because people work hard to make it a great place to live. We act with intention with our community in mind. I believe local government can be a transformative force for good in the lives of the residents we serve.
I also believe that our community works best when it works for everyone, that we benefit from robust discussions and civic dialog, that we are stronger together than we are apart, that we are so much more than the sum of our parts.
I will create opportunities for you to get to know me, my vision for Missoula and my governing philosophy. I’ll host monthly forums moving forward — Wednesdays with the City — on the fourth Wednesday of each month at the Missoula Public Library. These informal conversations will be a great chance to meet and discuss issues of importance in our community. This month, we’ll discuss housing and development and creating equitable economic opportunities in our community. We’ll also discuss some of the opportunities on the horizon with Missoula’s Midtown area.
I intend to serve our community with transparency, to be accessible, to be the leader our community needs right now. Together, we can keep building a great city.
Jordan Hess is Missoula’s mayor.
