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When James Andrews saw no one running for the Powell City Council Ward I position, he said he tried to find someone who could speak more eloquently or looked better than him. Several phone calls …
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When James Andrews saw no one running for the Powell City Council Ward I position, he said he tried to find someone who could speak more eloquently or looked better than him. Several phone calls couldn’t get someone to do it, so he filed two days before the deadline.
Geoff Hovivian ultimately threw his name into the race as well, being someone Andrews has known since he was a kid.
“He’s a great guy,” Andrews said of Hovivian. “If I thought he’d do a better job than me, I’d back down. But I think we need a voice like mine in there.”
Andrews, 52, wants to bring to the council a voice for business by someone with experience owning a business. He said that voice is lacking now.
“I think [the council is] listening too much to the [Powell] Chamber of Commerce. And I don’t think the Chamber of Commerce necessarily has what’s best for Powell in mind,” Andrews said. “They have what’s best for the chamber in mind.”
Andrews is the owner of Red Zone Sports Bar and Grill. He opened the business seven years ago. Prior to that, he ran LaVina’s, where he said he and the owner had a disagreement over how things should be run.
“He said if you think you can do better, buy your own effing bar. So, I bought my own effing bar,” Andrews said.
He said until Powell does more to bring in industry, commerce is going to suffer. The area has everything needed to make it happen, Andrews said, including raw materials, low taxes and a railroad. The only thing lacking is people.
With high paying jobs, Andrews said Powell could draw people away from Billings or other cities. Until we have that kind of industry, he said we’re just circulating the same dollars again, — and “you can only circulate money so long before it leaves.”
Industry, Andrews said, would bring the dollars into town.
This is not the first time he’s run for a city office. Two years ago, he ran for mayor, but he said he only did that because incumbent Mayor Don Hillman had told him he wasn’t going to run for re-election. After Hillman jumped into the race, Andrews stayed on the ballot but stopped campaigning.
