Letters to the editor Nov. 3

Fuller, a true conservative

I typically do not write to the newspaper but feel compelled to gather as many votes for our local military vet, high school teacher and polished leader: John Fuller.

Mr. Fuller is running for State Senate District 4 as a conservative and has the experience, fortitude and knowledge to represent the Flathead Valley respectfully. Our community has grown significantly and one of the main reasons is the community and culture. John Fuller embodies the values that brought my family here to the valley and I know many others, as well.

Please join me in voting for John so we can protect our community, promote public safety, reduce government overreach and care for all Montanans – from our veterans to the unborn. Our children need John to promote competitive and vigorous schools that educate students to be functional citizens, not activists. Like you, my family wants to keep Montana strong, vibrant and independent.

Enough politicking, join with me to elect a leader of vision and follow-through: John Fuller.

— Randy Flicker, Kalispell

Something stinks

How many times do the people of Montana need to get hit in the face with a skunk before they realize it stinks. Ryan Zinke is a skunk and he stinks bad.

He was removed from the Trump administration for lying, cheating, and trying to make money for himself and his friends. There were 18 investigations into his conduct while he was secretary of Interior and he was forced to leave the Trump administration. How deceitful, dishonest and untrustworthy do you have to be to get kicked out of the Trump administration, which was the most dishonest and scandalous administration in our country’s history, and Zinke was proud to be a part of it.

Citizens of Montana are sick and tired of all the lying, divisiveness, and hatred brought out by the Trump administration, and supported by Zinke. Zinke has proven he can’t be trusted, why would we want to give him another chance to slap us in the face?

— Randy Miller, Kalispell

Power of the alphabet

A few comments in this very contentious and amazing political season.

First: Finally, someone wrote a letter about the astounding race for one of the Montana Supreme Court positions. The fact that one candidate is running against the president of the United States is quite disingenuous. Why isn’t the candidate running against the opponent? Is it because the opponent is not going to take away guns; help privatize public lands; or has made decisions against some corporations in favor of the working Montanan?

Second: There is a lot of heated rhetoric around LR-131. Essentially, it is the state politicians deciding what and how a family has to cope/deal with a medical situation surrounding the birth of a child. How is it that politicians know what’s best concerning a baby’s birth and how the family has to behave? Montana already has laws in place to take care of newborns in acute situations. For the state to step in as tell the parent/s that their compromised or very compromised baby has to be removed from them and placed on one or more medical devices is definitely government overreach.

Last comment: Isn’t it amazing the power of an alphabet letter. Put the correct letter following a name while running for office and voila, the person is elected. The person elected often doesn’t know the responsibilities of the position they are seeking. In the case of the PSC, it would seem to matter that one is familiar with the responsibilities of that position. It’s nice to utter platitudes about one’s position, but the office of the PSC means public service to all. No entity that is definitely in the black (economically) should be able to fund some of their activities on the backs of the general public ratepayer. Look up the responsibilities of the PSC, and then make an informed choice. The alphabet letter can sometimes be wrong.

— Meliss Brown Clark, Kalispell

Bukacek’s principles

I am writing this letter in earnest to alert Montanans about an opportunity we have in the upcoming election for Public Service Commissioner. We have a candidate who cannot be bought and paid for as she is firmly rooted on the principles of truth and is known for her devotion to following facts from thorough and unbiased research. When she dedicates herself to a cause she commits fully, which is why she’s been voted the number one doctor four years in a row in Flathead County. We can trust she will give this same level of attention to the PSC position as she is excited to serve all Montanans.

Rising and future utility prices, potential brownouts/blackouts, and energy crises are becoming more common and severe across our country, as well as around the world. If you’ve seen any of her presentations it is clear she is already working on solutions to these problems and that she will step into office on her first day ready to go to battle to safeguard our access to the power and water we need to live. Her opposition clings on the narrative that she is “anti-green energy.” This is untrue as she is simply in favor of making informed decisions based on the complete list of pros/cons, as opposed to some who blindly pursue “green” power with no care nor considerations for the negative impacts.

Energy problems in Montana may be hard to imagine because we haven’t experienced any serious setbacks. Let’s not allow our lack of past hardships lull us into complacency in seeing future risks. We have a big opportunity to be proactive in combatting energy problems with her at the helm so let’s not miss our chance. Join me in voting for Dr. Annie Bukacek for PSC5 in November!

— Bret Bailey, Lakeside

Like a good neighbor

Our neighbor, Kyle Waterman, is the kind of person who helps out without seeking thanks for it. Several summers ago, while we were out of town, a big windstorm knocked down one-third of a mature maple, narrowly missing our house. Kyle and several others came by with chainsaws, cut it up and hauled it off, all before we returned. We would never have known he was involved, except that another neighbor filled us in.

That is Kyle in a nutshell — the kind of person to whom service comes naturally. He sees a need, and attempts to take care of it. Vote for Kyle this November!

— Anne Biby, Kalispell

Holmquist a strong leader

Since Commissioner’s Pam Holmquist election in 2010 she has been a strong and persistent leader for Flathead County. She has always been a staunch supporter of private property rights and has been a fiscal hawk in maintaining a tight flathead county budget.

I have had the privilege to collaborate with Commissioner Pam Holmquist over the years on issues in this county and I know she has the best outlook for this county. She has always treated people fair on both sides of different issues and kept her personal interests out of the decision-making process. During all my dealings with Commissioner Pam Holmquist has listed and seriously considered all sides of the debate and discussion and I have always respected her decision even if it did not go my way from time to time.

I wholeheartedly support Commissioner Pam Holmquist for this upcoming election.

— Marc Liechti, Lakeside

Holmquist’s vote

I’m sick and tired of hearing about Pam Holmquist. My goodness, by the amount of letters to the editor singing her praises, which all sound as if they were written by the same person, you’d think she walked on water.

Speaking of water have all of you forgotten how she attempted to go against all of your votes against Lew Weaver’s water bottling plant and approve it which would have ruined the valley?

Commissioners are supposed to be public servants. Do your job for the people and you will be re-elected. Pretty simple. I’ve never seen anyone fight so hard to be a public servant.

— Rachel Rubin, Kalispell

Choices for HD3

There has been a lot of discussion in these pages about the State House District 3 race between Representative Braxton Mitchell and challenger Andrea Getts. I’ve read personal attacks and outlandish claims, particularly against the incumbent, that are a poor representation of Columbia Falls.

The reality is, having known them both when they were classmates of my daughter, Braxton and Andrea are two intelligent young people who love their community and are dedicated to making a difference. Everyone in our small town should be proud that Columbia Falls schools and their families have produced such impressive candidates.

For me, what the race comes down to is that one candidate (the incumbent) is conservative and the other (the challenger) is liberal. The values of Columbia Falls are better represented in Helena by somebody who embraces personal liberty, small government, and the Montana way of life. That’s why I’ll be voting for Braxton Mitchell.

— Cassie Hindahl, Columbia Falls

Zinke MIA

Monica Tranel and John Lamb are running for Montana’s new congressional seat. Debates are being held in every county in the western district. Tranel and Lamb are showing up for all of them.

Missing in Action? Zinke. Even in his “hometown” of Whitefish. Maybe it is too far for him to travel here from Santa Barbara?

Or maybe it is too difficult to defend against reports he lied in a deliberate attempt to deceive federal investigators examining a Native American casino proposal in Connecticut he effectively blocked.

Or maybe he does not have an explanation for the real estate project in his hometown of Whitefish with the executive of Halliburton whose oil services company stands to directly benefit from Interior Department policies.

Or maybe he does not want to respond to questions about his actions as secretary to open public lands to polluters and deny wildlife protections. Or maybe he does not want to admit such a small percentage of the money he is spending in this campaign is even coming from people in the state of Montana. Members of his own party asked him to resign.

These are the reasons Zinke is MIA. Just google it.

— Gina Benesh, Kalispell