BDC Members and Affiliates,

Please find below an introduction and a “Ten Questions” interview with Jennifer Madgic, candidate for Bozeman City Commissioner.

JP

JP: What is something interesting about yourself most people don’t know?

JM: I have torn both my Achilles tendons. One skiing, one playing tennis. My doctor told me this is an injury more common to middle-aged men.

JP: What keeps you up at night right now?

JM: Wow, there is so much to worry about these days – locally, across the country, worldwide. I try to stay centered and focused on the small stuff where I can possibly make a difference. Working through Bozeman’s housing challenges is what is keeping me up lately.

JP: Tell me about the most important strategies you have developed as a City Commissioner?

JM: Staying calm through the mayhem, listening to all perspectives, following the rules, and working to improve and/or change the rules when they don’t make sense.

JP: Tell me about a moment that could be described as “a fork in the road” for you?

JM: Years ago, seeing Bozeman, MT listed as one of Outdoor Magazines’ top 10 sports towns. I never looked back.

JP: What do you see as your toughest challenge, thus far, in Bozeman?

JM: Allowing Bozeman to grow in a manner that accommodates a variety of needs (different walks of life and income levels), while working to protect the things we love about this place. Housing affordability and accommodating homes close to services and jobs, must be part of every decision we make. It’s not right that people who work in Bozeman, can’t afford to live in Bozeman.

JP: Would you say you learn toward “ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country.”

JM: Definitely, as evidenced by my career path and 20 years working for federal, state, county and city government. Service and giving back to my community are like a food group to me. Call me crazy. I blame my dad, who taught US history.

JP: What is one of your favorite quotes? I have two. One by Eleanor Roosevelt: “Do one thing every day that scares you.” And one by Jon Muir that ties into planning and how I think: “When we try to pick out anything by itself, we find it hitched to everything else in the universe.”

JM: What is the key point you would like readers to take away from this interview? I’m a community planner by trade and education, and my background informs my decision-making. I am rational, solution-oriented, and very much aware that I don’t have all the answers.

JP: Thanks for taking time out of your busy campaign to engage with the Bozeman Development Consortium