No headline

Tester steps up to defend veterans

When I heard Sen. Tester being quoted on several media outlets the other day in regards to him doing his duty as Democratic leader of the Veterans Affairs Committee, I was a proud Montanan. Sen. Tester has an obligation to uphold the reports of over 20 military service members that came forward with disturbing issues related to “Doc Ronny”, Admiral Ronny Jackson, and his consideration for director of the Department of Veterans Affairs.

I was dismayed to hear Mr. Trump comment that Montana loves him and the fact that Sen. Tester was doing his job would cause problems in Montana. While Trump bragged how he may have won by 20 points last election, Montana is a purple state, and Montanans will not vote for a morally defunct Republican party. In Montana, we hold high our values of transparency, hard work and honesty. We respect the word of our military members and we honor their service.

Thank you, Sen. Tester, for representing Montana and the United States so well. —Joan Vetter Ehrenberg, Whitefish

Why are Koch Bros. afraid of Frank Garner?

Why are the Koch brothers terrified of Rep. Frank Garner?

First there was the mailing in November from their Americans for Prosperity organization telling me what a terrible person Garner was for backing an increase in the gas tax. Then there was the fake phone survey from AFP asking me if I was in favor of higher taxes. And last month a squad of paid solicitors from the same tax-exempt “educational” organization appeared in my neighborhood and gave me a flyer with the same message.

Now it’s possible that the Koch brothers flew up from Wichita, Kansas, drove Montana’s highways and, after careful consideration, decided that an inflationary tax increase wasn’t needed, and pending state and local road projects could remain on hold. But more likely it was a knee-jerk response that placed a popular candidate in Flathead County in their cross hairs.

The issue becomes crucial with Garner now facing a Republican opponent. If money from Americans for Prosperity succeeds in knocking Garner out in the primary, there isn’t a legislator who won’t be looking over his or her shoulder wondering how their vote is going to play in Wichita.

We will see a big-money war on both sides in Montana’s coming national Senate and representative races. But we need to ask why the Koch brothers are throwing their resources into a piddly little statehouse election in Northwest Montana that instead should be decided locally, through local contributions. —Richard Hull, Kalispell

Coffman for Lake Co. sheriff

My name is Chuck Lewis (U.S. Marine Corps veteran and Lake County resident). I am proudly serving as treasurer for the “David Coffman for Lake County Sheriff” campaign. My support for David is based not only my personal interactions with him but also on his extensive law enforcement leadership experience. David is genuine and friendly; he is approachable and wisely listens intently. David welcomes tough questions and thoughtfully answers with clear and distinct plans. He is an honest man whose integrity and reputation for excellence has followed him throughout his life.

David entered the Marine Corps at the age of 17 and distinguished himself as a leader, graduating with honors. He also graduated at the top of his law enforcement academy class. He became one of the most well-respected leaders at the Sheriff’s Office, having served in the courtroom, as a jailer, patrol deputy, SWAT and Internal Affairs investigator. David was promoted to sergeant, then lieutenant, supervised well over 100 employees as patrol assistant commander and jail operations commander, ending his career as the assistant to the chief. He has an A.A. in social sciences, a B.A. in intelligence studies and has 15 units towards his Master’s in strategic leadership. Lt. Coffman retired with distinction having earned numerous accolades, and incident ribbons including two Bronze Stars for bravery.

David Coffman has been called an “outsider,” a label he embraces. He looks at Lake County with fresh eyes, fresh ideas and fresh plans. David is a fiscally and socially conservative Republican who fully supports the Second Amendment. He is a leader by nature and experience.

As sheriff, David will serve his community with pride, honesty and transparency. He is clearly the more qualified candidate and it is for this reason that I fully endorse David Coffman for Lake County sheriff. —Chuck Lewis, Ronan

Scott for county commissioner

Having known Jay Scott and his family for many years has provided us with the opportunity to deal with Jay in both professional and non-professional situations. Jay’s down-to-earth attitude makes him very approachable and easy to deal with in many situations.

We have known Jay to spend countless hours volunteering with the 4-H programs and other non-profit organizations within our community.

With Jay’s strong leadership skills and common sense approach to dealing with the many questions and problems being dealt with by a local county government, we feel he is a great candidate to lead our county into the future.

Jay’s desire to bring a conservative, common-sense approach to the commissioner position in Flathead County is a direction we strongly support. We hope that others will see the honesty and leadership skills that Jay has to bring to this position. —Mark and Debbie Newman, Kalispell

Desperate Fagg is wrong guy to take on Tester

Russ Fagg’s aggression toward Matt Rosendale at the recent forum in Missoula appeared to be a desperate attempt to wrest his own campaign from the jaws of obscurity.

Remember this: Dogs only bark at moving trains.

The polls are showing Mr. Rosendale to be, by far, the best candidate positioned to defeat Tester in an election that is already bolstering Tester with the mother lode of out-of-state cash.

Tester’s liberal voting record may have enabled him to score a boat-load of cash from the out-of-state liberal crowd but Montana voters will see right through Tester’s sell-votes-for-cash record. That liberal, sellout voting record can’t be erased and I think we’ll have a new flattop in Washington.—Gene Dziza, Bigfork