Gary Fujinami (Philipsburg Town Council At-large, Montana, candidate 2025)

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Gary Fujinami

Nonpartisan

Candidate, Philipsburg Town Council At-large

Elections and appointments

Last election

November 4, 2025

Education

High school

Gardena High School

Personal

Birthplace

Los Angeles, CA

Profession

Physician

Gary Fujinami ran for re-election to the Philipsburg Town Council At-large in Montana. He was on the ballot in the general election on November 4, 2025.^[source]

Fujinami completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2025. Click here to read the survey answers.

Biography

Gary Fujinami provided the following biographical information via Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey on October 5, 2025:

• Birth place: Los Angeles, California
• High school: Gardena High School
• Other: Western States Chiropractic College, 1990
• Gender: Male
• Religion: non-denominational
• Profession: Physician
• Prior offices held:
  • Town Council member (2021-Prsnt)
• Incumbent officeholder: Yes

Elections

General election

General election for Philipsburg Town Council At-large (3 seats)

Incumbent Gary Fujinami, incumbent Joshua Henderson, incumbent John Laigaie III, Charlie Fritz, and Sue Kelly ran in the general election for Philipsburg Town Council At-large on November 4, 2025.

		Candidate
	Submit photo	Gary Fujinami (Nonpartisan)
	Submit photo	Joshua Henderson (Nonpartisan)
	Submit photo	John Laigaie III (Nonpartisan)
	Submit photo	Charlie Fritz (Nonpartisan)
	Submit photo	Sue Kelly (Nonpartisan)

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined.
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

Endorsements

Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for Fujinami in this election.

Campaign themes

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Gary Fujinami completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2025. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Fujinami's responses.

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Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

I was born and raised in Los Angeles, California in an immigrant family. My Dad's side of the family has been here since about 1910. As such, they have seen WWI and WWII. Many of my family members were thrown into concentration camps. In doing so, they had two days to move into horse racing parks like Los Alamitos, where each family was assigned a horse stall, and the families lost everything.

My mother immigrated here from Japan in 1956 where it cost her $6,000, and she was required to have a profession (RN), and had to have a sponsor. Further, she was required to sign a document saying that she was not eligible and therefore, would not and could not take anything from our social system. If she was not successful she would be deported and the sponsor would be liable. I graduated high school in 1977 where we had fourteen gangs, so I am no stranger to street violence. However, being in LA, we were not allowed to protect ourselves and many times the police would not come when we called them for muggings, home invasions, thefts, etc. Between having my family, and by extension, all persons who had Japanese surnames stripped of their Constitutional rights and citizenships, and being in a community where I wasn't allowed to protect myself, I am a strict Constitutionalist.

Having lived all over of the inter-mountain west I have seen the effects of uncontrolled growth in small mountain communities. Though you can't stop change, my hope is to guide it.

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

• Maintain Montana values by stopping unconstitutional mandates either from federal or international sources
• Manage the Town's resources in an efficient and transparent manner to uphold the uniqueness of our Town and to attract clean industries.
• Continue to bring the Town's operations and management out of the 19th century and into the 21st century

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

Keep radical leftist policies out of Montana.

What qualities does this office possess that makes it a unique and important part of the state government and legal system?

I am not sure of the uniqueness, but allowing the public to come to the meetings to observe or voice their opinions.

Who do you look up to? Whose example would you like to follow, and why?

My father. He worked six days a week for decades. I never heard him complain once.

What characteristics or principles are most important for an elected official?

Hard work and transparency

What do you believe are the core responsibilities for someone elected to this office?

manage the Town's resources in the most efficient manner

What legacy would you like to leave?

Luckily, because of my profession, part of 'my legacy' has been achieved. Other than that, being a fare, fearless, compassionate person.

What is the first historical event that happened in your lifetime that you remember? How old were you at the time?

The assassination of Robert F Kennedy. I was 8 yo

What was your very first job? How long did you have it?

Pumping gas and detailing hot rods. I can't remember how long I had that job. I was 14 years old.

What is your favorite book? Why?

Guns, Germs, and Steel
Interesting perspective on the movement and migration of humans throughout millennia

If you could be any fictional character, who would you want to be?

Superman

What is something that has been a struggle in your life?

A struggle, or The struggle changes throughout one's life. Currently, it is maintaining health and fitness. Though I have nothing wrong with my health, at 66yo it has become almost a full time job.

Are there any little-known powers or responsibilities held by this office that you believe more people should be aware of?

Due to many comments by the public, I think a clarification of the office is in order: The Council members, besides managing the finances, decides policy. Council members do not do enforcement.

Do you believe that it's beneficial for holders of this office to have previous experience in government or politics?

Experience is always welcome. However, I was brand new to Town politics so it has been quite a learning curve. One benefit that all the schooling I have done is that it taught me how to learn and learn quickly. My experience of running my own office for 30 years was also a great source to draw from.

What kind of skills or expertise do you believe would be the most helpful for the holders of this office to possess?

Listening, financial management, varied experiences of life. Eg because of my medical background, running my own office, and my mechanic background I was able to understand the structures, and financials to help make decisions about our infrastructure in the most efficient way possible.

What qualities does this office possess that makes it a unique and important part of the local government?

A person, or a group of people need to "balance the check book" and make financial decisions for the Town. Frankly, it is definitely too much work for one or two people. Help make decisions about fixing our infrastructure.

Candidates hear many personal stories from voters. Is there a story that you’ve heard that you found particularly touching or memorable?

no

What is an accomplishment that you are proud of?

Healing thousands of people through Chiropractic, acupuncture, and clinical nutrition over 4 decades.

Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.

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