Missoula's Youngest City Councilor on Housing and Homelessness

Missoula, MT (KGVO-AM News) - Ward 3 Missoula City Councilor Dan Carlino appeared on KGVO's Talk Back show for the first time on Wednesday and began by sharing how his concern for the environment got him involved in city government.

“I first got into politics almost 10 years ago now, starting with the Environmental Studies Program at the University of Montana, where I was studying the effects of people on the environment and the climate,” began Carlino. “That got me into activism, of trying to see what we could do to help protect our environment, such as the air that we're all breathing and the water that we're all drinking. Through that experience, I just became very disappointed in all of our politicians, and seeing that they weren't matching up to what science demands or what it takes from the government to ensure a clean and healthy environment for the future.”

Daniel Carlino Became the Youngest City Councilor at 24

So concerned was Carlino about the environment that he said right away, he challenged the current city government on the issue.

“I started trying to challenge politicians on both sides of the aisle,” he said. “I'd go to their events and raise my hand and ask them the tough questions. Then, after doing that for a while, I thought, ‘maybe I should just run against one of them’, (he won), and since then, I've been trying to bring as much change as I can to the city council. I'm typically the one who throws out a ton of ideas out there, and sometimes some of them stick.”

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Carlino Advocates for More Affordable Housing

Carlino also advocates for more affordable housing for Missoula’s lower-income population.

“I got tired of seeing my friends and family having to move out of town due to the higher cost of living here, with rent and housing prices going up so much,” he said. “That's definitely the number one issue when I'm talking to people in Missoula, that it's just way more expensive than it used to be and wages haven't caught up, so people are having to move out of town or feel like they can't make ends meet and have to live from paycheck to paycheck, and I think that's really what's motivating me right now, too.”

Carlino admits that he sees issues in Missoula from a younger person’s perspective, having been elected when he was only 24, becoming the youngest member of the council.

Carlino said he is Impatient to See More Changes in City Government

“As a younger person, I think we have a whole different vision of what we'd like to see for the world,” he said. “I'm not happy with the status quo, and I think I'd like to see major changes in many different areas, so I think that's the main thing that separates me, is that I'm hungry for change on (the City Council). And, as a policymaker, I think we should always be introducing more policies to help the community and move us forward as a society. I think that's probably the number one issue for me.”

Another issue that Carlino has embraced is homelessness, as he openly opposed the closing of the Johnson Street Shelter.