Letters to the editor Sept. 27
Bukacek not qualified for PSC
I don’t know John Repke. I do know Dr. Annie Bukacek.
I served on the Flathead County Board of Health as a member for three appointed terms, as a member, chair of multiple committees, vice chair and chair. Dr Annie and I overlapped in my last two years. I understand that she tendered her resignation early in her third year.
During my nine years on the board, there were probably a dozen or more volunteers who were appointed by the county commissioners to serve as well. Their backgrounds ranged from medicine, nursing, public health, health-care management, veterinary medicine, fire chief, engineering, business, and elected municipal officials. The primary function of the board is to perform a semi-judicial function as a jury, or appellate panel for issues within the purview of the Flathead Health Department. In 2020-21, the primary issue was Covid and how to protect the public.
In the normal course, decision issues were presented by the health officer, staff and outside experts, including appellate representatives. Most decisions were by consensus … that is, until Dr. Annie Bukacek became a member in January 2020.
Largely limited to Covid issues, she insisted on her own views, and actively proselyted outside the boundaries of board meetings for which she was rebuked by the assigned deputy county attorney. She preached and did not listen. She opposed testimony of medical experts in immunology and virology and substituted her own anti-vax views. She organized protests and demonstrations against sound public health policy, then lied about her participation which is proven by video evidence that is available on the internet.
I believe that most members of the board during her tenure would state that Dr. Annie Bukacek was a truly disruptive influence.
The Public Service Commission requires a technical background in the issues that come before it. I do not believe that Dr. Bukacek’s education, professional experience, and performance on the board of health qualify her for a position on the Public Service Commission.
— Bill Burg, Whitefish
Supports Fallon for commissioner
Why are we afraid to elect smart people? We now have county commissioners who admit they can’t comprehend or understand the county budget they must review and approve, who don’t support the sheriff’s requests for funding, and seem to have forgotten public safety is important to this valley.
I am going to fill in the oval and write in Jack Fallon for county commissioner on my November ballot. He understands budgets and has been working with them for years as a school board member and Evergreen sewer board trustee. His background is in finance. He supports the police and Sheriff’s Office.
It was unfortunate he lost the Republican primary by 40 votes; let’s not let that happen again. Write in Jack Fallon for county commissioner on your November ballot. He not only is the most qualified candidate but he is smart.
— Karlene Khor, Kalispell
Oath of Office
The Constitution limits the federal government’s powers and specifies certain fundamental rights that no government can violate. These rights include the right to freedom of speech, the right to keep and bear arms, and the right not to be “deprived of life, liberty, or property without due process of law” and “the right to be presumed innocent until proven guilty is a fundamental element of due process.”
It’s the prosecution’s job to prove that:
• the crime happened;
• the accused person is guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
It doesn’t require to be a lawyer to understand fundamental principles of our constitutional republic, but as a lawyer, Monica Tranel must know this better than others. She should be among the first to condemn Biden for labeling half of the country, including 54% of Montanans, as “threat to American democracy.”
As a candidate to the Congress, Monica Tranel is expected to honor the Oath of Office and protect the Constitution. She is expected to represent all Montanans, not only those who prove their loyalty to the Democratic party and its leadership. Her refusal to condemn Biden’s rhetoric and campaign messages prove she is not qualified for the job she wants.
— Anna Shchemelinin, Bozeman
Waterman offers solutions
Over the past few years, I’ve gotten to know Kyle Waterman. I have deep respect for his compassion for all and his solution-oriented thinking about problems affecting all of us in Montana.
Recently, I asked Kyle how he might address workforce and affordable housing issues, if he is elected to the Montana Senate. Some of his ideas include making more child care available, improved public transportation, ending Montana’s tax on Social Security and, the use of school trust lands as possible sites for affordable housing.
I also asked Kyle how he would address mental health issues in the Flathead Valley. He would start locally, making sure that local funding for mental health is on par with the remainder of Montana. He would work to develop more community behavioral health care below the level of physicians. He also advocated that 100% of marijuana taxes be applied to behavioral health care.
I am voting for Kyle in November and I hope that you too will vote for Kyle Waterman. Thank you.
— Gail Downey Steele, Kalispell