Letters to the editor June 2

Decker will protect God-given rights

Devon Decker is my choice for House District 11. I reside in this district and do not trust someone like Ronalee Skees to protect my liberties. She has already failed to do that during her time on the Flathead County Health Board, especially when she voted to shut down restaurant and bar dining rooms on March 19, 2020. She did it before and I can’t trust she won’t do it again.

Devon has stated he must protect our God-given rights and I know he will stand up for us.

As a finish carpenter who has done some welding in the past, I appreciate Devon’s hard work as a welder and what it requires to do that type of a job well. We need people like Devon, who have a strong work ethic and common sense, to represent us. I support Devon for HD 11 and I hope you will, too.

— Stephen Martin, Lakeside

Endorses Noland for SD5

I served in the Legislature with Mark Noland. He established himself as a leader in the House by chairing the Business and Labor Committee. Representative Noland has gained the respect and rapport that only time and character can attain.

Mark is now running to represent the Bigfork area in Senate District 5. Not voting for Noland will be a step back for Bigfork. He has worked to lower taxes, promote life, protect our Second Amendment, and remove unnecessary government regulations on business without subsidizing them with your tax dollars.

Bigfork and Montana need Mark Noland in the Senate.

— Keith Regier, Kalispell

Reelect Justice Gustafson

Justice Ingrid Gustafson is the right choice to remain on the Montana Supreme Court. She is a fair, impartial, and independent jurist, and she upholds the rule of law and the independence of the Montana Judiciary. She has tremendous experience as a judge and as an attorney, and she does not allow personal views or bias to interfere with her work as a Montana Supreme Court justice.

Since being sworn in as a Montana Supreme Court justice on January 1, 2018, she has written dozens of Supreme Court decisions applying the Montana Constitution fairly, including one that upheld the conviction of a pipeline protester. Further, Justice Gustafson is well-known throughout the Montana legal community, and she worked tirelessly to combat drug abuse and increase drug treatment resources in Montana during her prior role as a district court judge in Billings.

Because of this, she is close to the people of Montana and depends on local grassroots support across the entire state. Justice Gustafson is smart, kind, and a great role model because she takes her job seriously and the role of an impartial, independent judiciary seriously. Our Montana legal system would be much less fair and equal without Justice Gustafson.

— Dan Eakin, Sidney

Sloppy work by commission

Pam Holmquist and the other county commissioners have done it again. Without doing their homework (which we pay them to do) they rubber stamped another ill-conceived project, the Whistlestop Retreat, and have cost us money that is not covered by insurance. Perhaps the county commissioners should pay the $47,000 in attorney fees from their own pockets, rather than the public coffers.

As with the “bridge to nowhere” on Flathead Lake’s north shore, the county commissioners recklessly issued permits, ignoring problems with the projects even after being put on notice by concerned citizens. Property owners near Lake Five had to band together and form Friends of Lake Five to point out to the County Commissioners that Whistlestop had no viable means of access to the resort, among other serious problems. Whistlestop just continued to develop, knowing our county could be bullied into retroactively rubber stamping just about anything.

Friends of Lake Five successfully challenged the project, and Judge Amy Eddy correctly ruled that the Whistlestop Retreat tear down all buildings and pay attorney’s fees. She has now ordered the county (you and me) to pay Friends of Lake Five’s attorney’s fees, which they never should have incurred. After the Dockstader Island debacle (the bridge also has to be torn out) our county commissioners should have learned their lesson. This sloppy work at Lake Five shows that they did not.

Pam Holmquist is a likeable person but she has proven to be a financial liability to the Flathead County taxpayers.

In contrast, Jack Fallon has a long record of fiscal competence and has demonstrated moderate, responsible leadership with his work on the Evergreen Fire District, with the School District 5 board, and the Evergreen Water and Sewer Board. Vote for Jack Fallon.

— Joseph Biby, Kalispell

Something to think about

John Fuller states that democracy is tyranny (Local boards realizing that the people are awakening, Jan. 30).

Think about that.

— Kate Shaw, Lakeside