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Letters to the editor May 28

| May 28, 2020 1:00 AM

It has been an honor to serve the people of House District 6 for the last four terms in the Montana legislature. I would like to thank the people of the district for trusting me to represent them in Helena.

As I am now termed out and can’t run any longer for this seat, I would like to give my support to Amy Regier. I truly believe that the people of House District 6 would be best served by electing Amy Regier for their representative. I know that unlike her opponent, Amy is against the previous and current CSKT water compact, she is pro-life and she didn’t carry the legislation that changed the property tax reappraisal, from six years to every two years. Her values are Montanan values. I encourage you to vote for Amy Regier for House District 6!

— Rep. Carl Glimm, Kila

In these times of political discourse, pandemic and economic downturn, it is more important than ever to elect conservative representatives with the leadership skills and abilities to take our state forward. We have all seen the results when elected officials choose to point fingers, lay blame and throw tantrum instead of doing the hard work for those they represent. Representatives should always put the needs of their citizens first, to understand the benefit of hard work, and the importance of service to their community.

Doug Mahlum is a successful businessman with a wonderful and supportive family, and is passionate about the Flathead and his community. Whether providing jobs, supporting schools and athletics in Bigfork, hosting fundraisers at his athletic clubs, or volunteering at community events, Doug always has the best interest of his community at the top of his priorities. Doug will set the example of how a conservative can succeed and lead in Helena. Doug will represent you well, please cast your vote to send him to Helena as your representative for House District 10.

—Rep. Ed Buttrey, Great Falls

Melissa Romano’s leadership and promotion of quality public education for all students makes her an excellent candidate for State Superintendent of Public Instruction. We need her to defend public education in Montana, especially during this period of health crisis and school closures.

Education Secretary Betsy DeVos is diverting millions of federal dollars in pandemic funds intended for public schools and colleges to private colleges and religious schools. This action is unconstitutional and blurs the separation of church and state.

Senator Chuck Schumer, Democrat of New York, reported DeVos is augmenting her voucher-like programs by using emergency COVID-19 funding. These actions strip money from high-need areas like most of Montana schools.

Current Montana Superintendent of Public Instruction, Elsie Arntzen, refused to support the governor’s K-12 school funding bill and opposed state funding of pre-K education. Arntzen favors income tax credits funding student scholarship for children attending private, unaccredited schools. Like DeVos, she has also spoken in favor of school privatization.

Melissa Romano was selected Montana’s state Teacher of the Year and receive a National Science Foundation award for mathematics education. She is a defendant of all children and will promote public education across our state. Vote YES for Romano.

—Betty Kuffel, Whitefish

If you are reading this, chances are you peruse these pages regularly and so have read up on the many candidates for governor. The good, the bad, and the ugly. Well just in case you are on the fence as to who to vote for, along with Dr. Al’s many strong and constitutional beliefs, I just want to repeat one most important item and one that only he has to his credit, and that is that life begins at conception. He is 100% against the taking of the life of the pre-born for any reason. I have not heard other candidates discuss this most important subject.

—John O’Neil, Kalispell

I am proud to endorse my friend Representative Mark Noland for re-election of House District 10. I have personally known Mark for over 20 years and consider him one of my dearest friends. Mark is an honorable man.

Mark has honorably served the people of district 10 for the past 6 years and has represented them well. Mark is a fiscal and social conservative and votes accordingly.

Please join me in supporting Mark Noland for House District 10.

—Former Rep. Scott Reichner, Kalispell

I have known Tony Brockman since 2012 and have also had the pleasure of working with him. Tony has earned my respect, support, and vote as our next Flathead County Commissioner.

As a Kalispell native, Tony has shown that he has a sincere commitment to serve our valley and its residents through his volunteerism as a Flathead County Economic Development Authority board member, Evergreen Rural Fire District trustee, and member of Sheriff Brian Heino’s Citizens’ Advisory Board.

Tony is an excellent listener and makes sound, educated decisions. Brockman will assure that the Commissioners’ Office is operated with fiscal responsibility with full transparency to the taxpayer, and manage the longterm growth of the county while preserving private property rights and assuring our public safety.

Please join me in supporting and voting for Tony Brockman for Flathead County Commissioner.

—Doug Bolender, Kalispell

It’s a fundamental race in the Republican primary between Amy Regier and Bruce Tutvedt for House District 6 which defines the Republican political division lines in profound ways. Besides the obvious generational differences, it is a contest between individual freedom versus security through government control. As well it is about the old “solutions” governmental factory verses new and innovative ideas.

Bruce has been at the Legislature before and he desires to go back to join his friends lead by Lew Jones as part of the “solutions” contingent which is a euphemism for voting for government involvement to solve any problem on the horizon. In that respect Bruce will frequently vote with the Democrats who fundamentally believe government is the “solution” to just about every social or economic problem. His support of Medicaid allowed more people to get on a free health care system but he ignores the huge problems governmental programs have and are creating in our health care system. In addition, he supports the new CSKT water compact which, in essence, turns Montanan’s water over to a separate, sovereign nation, controlled by, you guessed it, the federal government. Such ideas are old and uncreative driven by politics usually without regard to ultimate cost and/or efficiency.

Amy Regier injects a fresh light into this old, tired “solutions” workshop without always relying on the inefficient bureaucracies that go along with governmental programs. She understands the effect of property taxes on our citizen and she knows the value of clean, pure water and air which necessitates more scientific logging inside the management of our forests. New ideas like working to have the lodging tax go directly to the counties where it is produced reflects her ability to see into the future. She intelligently supports our entire educational system and she will work to keep Montanan’s water under our State’s control.

She has an extensive background in the medical community (she’s a RN) so she intimately knows the needs of patients, doctors and particularly the nurses who have been so drowned in paperwork and statistics produced by governmental administrations which are so unresponsive to the true needs of the medical community. She is highly educated, Christian, well spoken, and intimately aware of the legislative process. Finally, she won’t be automatically attuned to turn to the government for “solutions” to our states’ problems looking to find creative answers to problems which preserve individual freedoms and property rights as well.

Tired of the old “solutions factory? Vote for a fresh voice, Amy Regier.

—Mark Agather, Kalispell

In past elections, I have usually just voted my ballot, knowing that my vote for representation is out of my hands. Most politicians are out of touch with their constituents and for House District 11, this could not be truer.

The voters in House District 11 never hear from the current legislator unless it is campaign season, then you can find him at one of the local distilleries attempting to be “one of us.”

I have known Dee Kirk-Boon for some 20 years, and we trusted her as our executive director of the Lakeside/Somers Chamber, an employee at both our local bank and family dental office. She held these jobs as she supported her husband who was attending MSU Northern to complete his diesel degree of four years. I know Dee as a hard worker and she will do the same at the Legislature.

Don’t you think it is time that we elect an individual who wants to represent us? Our community has a lot of new residents and I encourage you to call both candidates and see who best represents your Montana values. Who will be our voice at the Legislature for stronger families, limited government, transparency and abiding by the Constitution?

—James Spaulding, Lakeside