LETTER: Johanna Clark for a fresh start in Lake County

This election season I’ve noticed something quite interesting while driving the roads of Lake County, Montana. You can’t help but notice the large number of fancy designer John Fleming political signs standing in front of some of the larger acreages and homes in the area. Contrast that with the handmade signs standing in testimony for Johanna Clark, made with great effort, determination, and concern for the direction our state is headed.

As I pondered this dichotomy, it didn’t take me long to remember that the professional signs are for the same Fleming who lost to Dan Salomon a few years back. It seems that Mr. Fleming enjoyed spending taxpayer money just a little too much, and he subsequently was retired by the voters in his district.

In 2016, our state is faced with some serious problems, and Lake County in particular is feeling the burn of an eroding tax base and diminishing property values. The citizens of Western Montana don’t have the luxury of making up shortfalls within our county government, let alone paying for new programs created in Helena by out-of-touch politicians.

We’re in trouble, deep trouble and what is not needed is sending Fleming back to the Montana Legislature. We need a true conservative thinking person who knows how to communicate with the working families of HD 93, and has a clear understanding of the issues that concern them the most. A person who has stood in the fields, rain or shine, hot or cold and has paid their dues. That person is Johanna Clark, Republican, HD 93. —Robert L. Starks, Saint Ignatius