Be sure to watch U.S. House debate
The U.S. House debate last Sunday between Ryan Zinke, John Lewis and Mike Fellows proved to be a very successful event by the most important measure — educating the voters about the views of the candidates.
There was limited seating for 300 people at the events, which was also streamed live, but the debate is now available online. Check it out on the homepage at www.dailyinterlake.com or onYoutube at http://youtu.be/yLcL-3AGn9A
The Inter Lake is proud to have hosted this event for Northwest Montana voters, and we encourage everyone to watch before voting. It also reinforces our belief that early voting should be avoided except under dire necessity. Voters often claim that they vote for the candidate and not the party, but if that is the case, they should wait until the campaigns have played out in order to make a fully informed vote.
Fortunately, voters have now had the opportunity to see or read about several debates in both the U.S. House and Senate races, and some of the lines are clearly drawn.
We do wish there had also been a full-throated debate between Stacey Schnebel and Phil Mitchell, the two candidates for Flathead County commissioner, instead of just an exchange of letters in the local newspapers. It’s probably not necessary to have a debate every week, but at least one or two can help undecided voters make up their minds.
Don’t forget timber industry
A special Timber Tour on Thursday and other events this week underscore the importance of the timber industry in Northwest Montana.
The tour was part of Montana Forest Products Week, a time designed to recognize forest products and manufacturing.
It’s also a time to truly appreciate the value of our wood-products industry, which provides 7,000 jobs in Montana and is a critical foundation to the manufacturing sector in Flathead County.
We should not forget that timber is not only a most abundant renewable local resource, but the industry based on our forests also has been a vital cog in the economy of Northwest Montana for decades.
Editorials represent the majority opinion of the Daily Inter Lake’s editorial board.