Letters: More from the election mailbag
No on Rosendale
Matt Rosendale has just barely been elected state insurance commissioner, and now he thinks he deserves to be a U.S. senator. But if he makes it any further in this race, Montanans will soon realize that Rosendale doesn’t stand for anyone but himself.
Here in Montana, we help each other out. It doesn’t matter if you’re a Republican or a Democrat — if it’s below-zero and your neighbor’s car won’t start, you give them a jump. But Rosendale hasn’t seemed to pick up on that yet in his scramble from political office to political office in Montana. Instead, Rosendale has played political games with the health care of the people he was elected to represent, voted to make it easier to take public lands out of public hands, and is sitting firmly in the pockets of outside interests who have pledged to buy this election.
We don’t call him Maryland Matt because he was born in Maryland. We call him Maryland Matt because despite running for office in Montana, he is throwing away all the values Montanans hold dear. We are all public-lands owners, but Matt has tried to transfer them away from us. Instead of his campaign being fueled by grassroots Montanans, his campaign is being propped up by millionaires like Mitch McConnell, Steve Bannon, and billionaires from Chicago. Matt even voted against protections for children who were victims of human trafficking in Montana — who does that?
Matt has shown us his true colors, and they don’t belong in Big Sky Country. This November, I’m voting for a true Montanan at the ballot box: Sen. Jon Tester, the trumpet player, not the “Trumpster.” —Edd Blackler, Bigfork
Protect our water
The Egan Slough ballot initiative will come to a vote quite soon. A quick recapitulation seems warranted at this time.
There are several implications here, including zoning for specific purposes and the concerns regarding the proposed water bottling plant. One hopes our local citizens take into account several of the basic concerns. Among these are the obvious long-term worries about the most important resource on Earth, namely, water. It is estimated that approximately 4.4 billion people on Earth have daily concerns regarding access. Water is needed in so many ways beyond just consumption, including agriculture, energy, temperature controls, product development and production to name but a few. It has been postulated that by the end of this century the way we (throughout the world) consume and use, the shortage will be catastrophic.
Secondly, recently the garbage plastic vortex in the Pacific Ocean has been assessed as bigger than the state of Texas. The largest non-biodegradable substance in our landfills is primarily plastic. Do we need to overwhelm our environment beyond our present neglect?
Finally, this is a beautiful valley, composed of mountains, waterways/lakes and farming. It is uniquely magnificent. Do we wish to alter one of these components, perhaps all, in the hopes of individual and group profits? Generally, humans do not make changes without crisis occurring. Likewise, extraction businesses generally are catabolic, destructive, harmful. A business venture that could lead to environmental change and damage should be closely studied based on other ventures and their implications in other areas of this country. There are many stories, most with horrible outcomes. Therefore, the advantages of not permitting this to occur far outweigh any elements of personal freedom and free enterprise. Please vote! —Jack Hornby, Kalispell
Re-elect Garner
We are supporting Frank Garner for House District 7 again this year. As longtime Republicans we are grateful that someone with Frank’s extensive experience as a business owner, public safety administrator and public servant is willing to continue to serve.
We know how hard it is to try and meet the needs of the community and we’ve spent much of our lives trying to meet the high expectations that come with public service. Watching Frank gives us hope for the future because we know he is willing to solve problems and make the hard decisions that his office requires and that this state desperately needs. We know he could spend his time in other pursuits and we respect and admire that he chooses to spend this part of his life in service to our area.
We need people like Frank who are willing to stand up to the critics and who realize how important investing in infrastructure, jobs and education is while still recognizing the importance of producing and managing balanced budgets. We hope you’ll join us in supporting Frank’s continued service to Kalispell and to Montana by voting for him in the upcoming election. —Dale and Lois Lauman, Lakeside
Scott for county commissioner
With elections coming up in June we would like to take this opportunity to throw our two cents’ worth in for Jay Scott who is running for county commissioner.
We have known Jay for more years than we care to remember and believe he would be a darn good county commissioner. Jay has been and is a respected and active county 4-H leader and has been so for many years. It has been our pleasure to have worked with Jay in the Flathead 4-H program over the years. In addition to his 4-H leadership Jay was also the Flathead County fair manager, and in that capacity we found Jay very easy to work with, but most importantly is that he would listen to your concerns and if there was a problem or potential problem he was on it and took care of it within the constraints of his position.
Just because he was a good 4-H leader and fair manager doesn’t automatically make him a good commissioner. To be a good and effective county commissioner one must have the ability to not just listen to the residents of Flathead County but listen effectively and then take that information and work and deal with people respectably. I’m not so sure we’ve gotten our money’s worth from our commissioners these past few years. We feel that Jay Scott has these qualities and abilities.
Because of Jay’s past experience he already knows how the county system works or should work. Jay is just a down-to-earth common-sense sort of guy and it appears that we have very little of that in the current commissioners’ office, but I guess you’ll have to make that call. Having raised a family and being actively involved in the community, we feel Jay would keep the interests and welfare of the residents of Flathead County at the forefront while striving to make the commissioners’ office more transparent and accountable to the citizens of Flathead County. Thanks for listening and get out there and vote, and vote for Jay Scott. —Bill and Linda Stewart, Bigfork
Support KPS levy
As a parent of two daughters, the program director at the Flathead Youth Home, and a school trustee, I urge you to support the Kalispell Public Schools’ levy request. My personal experience is that KPS is meeting its core purpose of providing diverse educational opportunities and challenges that engage students, meet the unique needs of all students and prepare students for the future. As a parent, I appreciate how engaging the teachers, paraeducators, tutors, and IT specialists coupled with the understanding of the administrators to our children’s changing needs create an environment where children feel safe and ready to learn. My kids also talk about the maintenance personnel, counselors, librarians, lunchroom workers, bus drivers, and office staff who have a positive impact on their school day and make our schools a special place to learn.
As a trustee, I have come to appreciate what KPS has accomplished from year to year on tightening budgets and ever increasing enrollment. KPS is able to attract and retain excellent educators, keep up with technology in the classroom, address the emotional and behavioral needs of many students, and achieve test scores well above the Montana average. Kalispell should be proud of our schools.
KPS has been proactive in reviewing the budget, line by line, to cut expenses as much as possible. The reality is that costs continue to increase with less funding from the state and federal levels. We take pride in making due, but know that our children’s education is too important not to ask for help when needed. Our dedicated school staff deserve our respect and the community’s support in the education of our children. —Lance Isaak, Kalispell
Changing property rights after the fact is un-American
As a Marine, I appreciated the reasoning behind the recent Inter Lake editorial on the water bottling-plant controversy, but what has solidified my position on the upcoming ballot initiative was a comment that followed online. The commenter suggested that the editorial board had lost its way and needed some sort of history lesson, but it may be the commenter who needs a lesson in civics.
The commenter invoked John Adams, “we are a nation of laws, not of men,” suggesting that the county was abusing its power by rejecting this special zoning request. Adams and our co-founders were pushing back against the rule of a despotic monarchy where the law was unilaterally imposed on the people. In the case of the Egan Slough zoning issue, it is not the county wishing to impose a restriction, but ironically the commenter herself who wishes to impose the will of a special-0interest group on that of an individual property owner. he nation of laws she purports to hold in such high regard also prohibits targeted legislation.
James Madison wrote, “Bills of attainder [and] ex post facto laws are contrary to the first principles of the social compact, and to every principle of sound legislation.” Madison warned of special-interest groups formed to make “sudden changes and legislative interferences in cases affecting personal rights.”
A truly civic-minded person would recognize that singling out an individual person and attempting to zone his proposed land use out of existence, after it was proposed, is a clear violation of the principles that both Madison and Adams felt crucial to the stability of this democracy.
The anger and vitriol of Mr. Weaver’s opponents is palpable but cannot be allowed to corrode the basis of our rule of law. Vote NO on the zoning initiative. —James Lester, Kalispell