Rick Tryon

Tryon Addresses GF Crime Task Force Questions

Rick Tryon on April 9, 2021

At our Tuesday April 6 regular meeting the Great Falls City Commission unanimously passed Resolution 10395 establishing the Great Falls Crime Task Force.

As I’ve spoken to many groups and individuals in the weeks since the concept was first raised at the commission goal setting session earlier this year I have found that there’s overwhelming public support for the formation of the task force and it’s goals and purpose which are laid out briefly in the first section of the resolution:

WHEREAS, the protection of life and property is amongst the highest priorities of the City of Great Falls; and

WHEREAS, the Great Falls City Commission is aware of mounting community concerns about the City’s increasing crime rates; and

WHEREAS, the City of Great Falls would like to empanel a Task Force to make
recommendations on how to more effectively address crime in Great Falls.

Here I would like to address two of the concerns I’ve heard about the task force.

First is the question of how much extra cost to Great Falls taxpayers will be incurred by putting together and conducting a crime task force. The answer is simple. None. Zero. Nada. Zilch.

SECTION 2: Members of the Task Force shall be recommended by the City Manager to the City Commission. The City Commission shall confirm the appointments. Task Force members shall receive no compensation. Expectations for attendance and conduct of individual members and the Task Force as a whole shall be the same as those for members of other committees appointed by the City Commission.

“Task Force members shall receive no compensation…” means exactly what it says. So, what about City employees time and City resources being used for conducting meetings?

The use of City resources for the task force is not an extra cost for two reasons.

“…the protection of life and property is amongst the highest priorities of the City of Great Falls“. In other words, the very mission of government at every level is to protect the citizens. Any resources or personnel deployed to help achieve the core purpose of an organization is not an “extra cost”. It is the reason employees are paid and resources are acquired. Claiming that the task force is an unnecessary extra cost for the City is like saying beer is an unnecessary extra cost for an Irish pub, which is absurd.

The City is operating under a budget which was approved last year. There will be no additional taxes of any kind for even one Great Falls resident because of the establishment of the task force. Not one dime. Not one penny.

“Claiming that the task force is an unnecessary extra cost for the City is like saying beer is an unnecessary extra cost for an Irish pub, which is absurd.”

Another concern that has come up is whether the public will have enough opportunity for input and whether ‘regular’ citizens will be adequately represented on the task force.

While I think it’s important that the Great Falls Crime Task Force members have some expertise and experience in our local criminal justice system, including law enforcement, courts, and corrections, I am also certain that the task force will include citizens from the community at large.

In addition, there will be abundant opportunity for the public to participate fully every step of the way. The task force will be holding public forums and the regular task force meetings will be totally transparent and open to public participation and comment.

Tryon: What’s The Mission Of Local Police And Justice System?

Rick Tryon on March 2, 2021

The responsibility of government isn’t to solve all of our problems but rather to ensure our safety in the free exercise of our individual God-given, natural rights.

Now think about that in light of our local crime problem.

The primary job of Great Falls law-enforcement and our local criminal justice system is to protect and serve the law abiding citizenry and to help ensure that we are safe in our persons and in our property, NOT to ‘help’ criminals or to solve all of the problems of addiction, mental health, poverty and homelessness.

We seem to have lost sight of that to some degree here in Great Falls and we need to refocus.

Our local law-enforcement and criminal justice folks work their tails off to serve this community and do the right thing.

Unfortunately, too many citizens are becoming frustrated and losing faith in local LE because of rampant crime in Great Falls.

We have to change that. Together.

Over the past several weeks I’ve been meeting with law-enforcement personnel at several levels, including Federal, to discuss appropriate membership and work scope for a proposed Great Falls Crime Task Force.

Last week I met with the three Division Captains from the Great Falls Police Department, Chief Bowen, and a couple of folks on the front line fighting serious crime and drug issues in our hometown.

And I can tell you that those who say that our crime problems in Great Falls aren’t that big of a deal because “it happens everywhere” are dead wrong. We have serious and unique challenges here and I think anyone who is paying attention understands that.

“It happens everywhere” is nothing more than a lame excuse which leads to doing nothing. We don’t live “everywhere” – we live in Great Falls/Cascade County.

Everyone I talk to, including local LE, says they’re sick and tired of doing nothing but talking around the issue of crime in Great Falls.

It’s time to get something done. And that starts with an honest community conversation and a focused effort designed to produce specific and targeted action.

We need to know what the solutions are, how much they cost, and their effectiveness in protecting the law abiding folks and their property in this community.

Over the next couple of weeks I will be meeting with community groups and with local justice system professionals to continue the prep work for the task force. It is my goal to have the task force in place by April to begin the process of producing a set of actionable recommendations to be presented to the community by late summer, early fall.

The Magic And Wonder Of Presidents Day

Rick Tryon on February 15, 2021

This is a special time of year for me and my family. Presidents Day holds so much meaning and so many great memories for me even now as an adult.

When I was a kid, every year my brothers and I, with barely contained excitement and anticipation, would count down the days until that magical, magical day – Presidents Day!

And now that I have children and even grandchildren of my own, the wonder and excitement is still there.

Of course almost as great as Presidents Day was Presidents Day Eve for my brothers and me.

It was a treasured tradition in my family that every Presidents Day Eve my dad would dress up like Lincoln and my mom would put on her George Washington nose and wig and we would fill a thermos with sugared hot tea and drive through town looking for all the streets named after presidents so we could gaze at the street signs all lit up by the glittering street lights.

Then, after we came home, us kids would get ready for bed.

But we could barely sleep. Because the next day was Presidents Day and we knew that while we slept the current President, LBJ or Nixon at the time, would come to our house and hide one and five dollar bills for all good children.

And oh what a glorious morning every Presidents Day morning was! We’d get up at 5:00 AM and search for the bills with Washington and Lincoln pictures on them.

Yeah, we knew we were just lower middle class kids and that some rich kids were probably finding Jeffersons and even Franklins (even though he was never a President). But it didn’t matter, we were just thrilled that another Presidents Day was finally here!

We’d spend the day enjoying our ones and fives while mom and dad lounged around in their pajamas drinking more sugared tea and preparing the big Presidents Day dinner, usually followed up with a dessert consisting of a chocolate cake shaped like the Whitehouse.

To cap off the evening dad would read the Gettysburg Address or Washington’s Second Inaugural Address. Then to bed we’d go and start the countdown for next year.

On this Presidents Day, as I think back on those happy days, I can’t help but be a little sad. Presidents Day has become so commercial and shallow.

It’s just a paid government holiday and excuse to have a Presidents Day Sale at mattress stores.

So I guess my biggest wish this Presidents Day is that we all take a moment to reflect and try to keep ‘President’ in Presidents Day. I know that doesn’t make any sense, but it feels good and sounds sincere.

Oh, and I’m sure that many folks are relieved, and many disappointed as well, knowing that it’s Biden, not Trump, who will be sneaking into your house on Presidents Day Eve and hiding Lincolns and Washingtons for the next four years…maybe.

Tryon’s GF City Commisison Update: Animal Shelter, Voyagers, COVID-19

Rick Tryon on December 17, 2020

Here are a few Great Falls City Commission updates and answers to questions and comments I’ve received from folks recently.

COVID-19

City County Health Officer Trisha Gardiner provided an update at Tuesday’s city commission meeting and there’s some good news: the numbers in Cascade County are heading in the right direction over the past week or so with fewer positive tests, hospitalizations and COVID-19 deaths.

Add that to the news that Cascade County/Great Falls received our first shipment of vaccines this week and it looks like we’re finally seeing the beginning of the end of the pandemic.

I asked Gardiner about citizen concerns over the CCHD anonymous tip line for reporting local business non-compliance with mask and other mandates.

Her response was that both the State and County have tip lines but that the County asks for, but does not require, names and contact info for those reporting non-compliance issues.

She further added that the County contacts any business that has been reported for non-compliance to get their side of story and that so far the County has not levied any fines for non-compliance.

You can find City Commission meeting details and info here.

Animal Shelter

At the City Commission work session we heard from Deputy City Manager Chuck Anderson concerning the Animal Shelter Request for Proposal (RFP) response from the Maclean-Cameron Animal Adoption Center and City staff’s final analysis and recommendations as well as response from MCACC Board members.

You can view all of the presented materials here.

Great Falls Voyagers

The Commission voted 4-1 to deny a request from Great Falls Baseball Club, Inc. for 2020 rent forgiveness in the amount of $10,648 for Centene Stadium, home of the Great Falls Voyagers. I voted with Mayor Kelly and Commissioners Moe and Houck to deny the request. Commissioner Robinson voted in favor of the rent forgiveness.

Mayor Kelly proposed deferring the payments over ten years with no interest charge, so the GFBC Inc. will pay about extra $1000 per year for rent on the stadium for the next ten years. I will support that proposal if it comes to the Commission.

For me the issue wasn’t about getting money in the City’s general fund. It was about the message that we would be sending to the many local businesses and their employees who also had to shut down and lose incomes because of COVID-19 without a subsidy from the City or ‘forgiveness’ of their City utility bills or other expenses.

To my mind those employees and businesses are no less valuable to the community than the Great Falls Voyagers.

In fact many of our suffering local businesses don’t come anywhere near to the luxury of having a business relationship with a billion dollar industry like Major League Baseball.

I love baseball and I love our local farm club but for me this was a simple issue of fairness and equity. The Voyagers will be fine.

Stay tuned for more regular City Commission updates.

Mr. President, Concede The Election But Not The Fight

Rick Tryon on December 14, 2020

I suspect that those who are in favor of doing away with the Electoral College haven’t really thought it through.

Come on, man! If we abolish the Electoral College where will future generations of electricians go to learn how to fix our wiring?

All kidding aside, today state electors in all 50 states and the District of Columbia made the final determination of the 2020 election: Joe Biden is now officially the President-elect.

That doesn’t mean that everyone has to personally like, or even accept, the result.

We all know that there are still some folks who still haven’t accepted the fact that Donald Trump is currently the duly elected POTUS – and President Trump will continue to be President Trump until January 20, 2021.

It also doesn’t mean that there wasn’t election malfeasance and fraud. There was. No doubt.

What the decision by the Electoral College today means is that the Constitutional process for deciding who our nation’s President will be for the next four years (starting January 20, 2021) is now over.

President Trump should begin the transition period and he should do so with grace and respect for our system of governance, even though the ‘other side’ refused to do that when Trump was elected.

The President has an opportunity here to be an example of how to do it right, something the Democrats and the previous administration did not do and have not done.

He fought the good fight and exercised his rights to contest the election results. He lost.

Now it’s time for the President and his supporters to focus on the next chapter, which is going to be monumentally important for the future of our country, from outside the White House and the Office of President.

Trump should use his remaining days in office to do everything he can to continue helping our country move forward.

He should concede the election.

But he should never concede the battle to expose corruption and fight the forces that are trying to “fundamentally change America”. And neither should any of us.

Great Falls Citizens Complaint Form Now Online

Rick Tryon on November 20, 2020

As a Great Falls City Commissioner I am always open to and interested in hearing suggestions, criticisms, and plain ol’ complaints from my fellow citizens about how City employees and officials are performing or how City policy is working, or not working.

I do my best to bring citizen’s concerns to the attention of the appropriate personnel or to bring them forward in a public forum, with the goal being to get answers and solutions.

Developing a more transparent, responsive City government is one of the top concerns I continue to hear from local folks. And it remains one of my top priorities, along with crime reduction and economic development, as a City Commissioner.

That’s why I was happy to see the following press release this week from the City’s Communications Specialist, Lanni Klasner, announcing an online complaint and request form.

This helps make your local government more accessible, responsive, and accountable. I encourage my fellow citizens to access this new tool to help build a greater Great Falls.

“The Citizen Complaint & Request Form is now available as an online form. This format will make it easier for people to submit their requests with a mobile device. For people who need or prefer the pdf/print version, it is still available.

Here are the two ways to submit the form:

Fill out and submit the Online Complaint & Request Form.
Fill out the Print/Submit Complaint & Request Form. (The form can be completed electronically with Adobe Acrobat Reader. Adobe Acrobat Reader is available free of charge from the Adobe web site.) Print and mail forms to: City of Great Falls – ATTN: Citizen Complaint/Request, PO Box 5021, Great Falls, MT 59403 OR drop off at any City Office.”

Lanni M. Klasner
Communications Specialist
City of Great Falls
2 Park Drive South
Great Falls, MT 59403
406-455-8496
lklasner@greatfallsmt.net

Montana Red Tsunami, Cascade County Red Wave

Rick Tryon on November 5, 2020

As of today, the U.S. presidential election is undecided with four states, North Carolina, Georgia, Nevada and Pennsylvania, still counting ballots and their corresponding electoral votes still up for grabs.

One thing is certain though – the oft-predicted national blue wave sweeping Republicans from office didn’t happen.

There wasn’t even a blue splash. In fact the GOP appears certain to retain control of the U.S. Senate and they even picked up 5 seats in the House after many media prognosticators expected dozens of Republicans to be sent packing.

There was a wave in Montana however. In fact it was a tsunami at the statewide level. And it was all red.

Every Republican on the statewide ballot won. Every Democrat lost. Every single one.

Gianforte beat Cooney in the gubernatorial race by 12 percentage points.
Knudsen beat Graybill for AG by 16 points.
Downing beat Morigeau for Auditor by 16 points.
Bennett lost to Jacobsen for SOS by 20 points.
Romano lost to Arntzen by 12 points in the state School Superintendent race.

In addition, Rosendale won Montana’s lone House seat by beating Williams by 12 points and President Trump carried the state by 16 points.

Perhaps most surprising is the margin of Governor Bullock’s loss to Steve Daines in the Senate race – 10 points.

And the red wave also washed over Cascade County, which was once considered a Democrat stronghold.

Cascade County Republican candidates for the state legislature completely swept the field and defeated every Democrat on the ballot.

The red wave in Great Falls/Cascade County even carried away three incumbent Democrat legislators including Jasmine Krotkov, Barbara Bessette, and surprisingly even Brad Hamlett. All three lost to relatively unknown local political newcomers.

This GOP sweep in Great Falls is unprecedented in the last 40 years or so.

In my opinion it can be explained, at least in part, by the extreme liberal positions of three of the Democrat local candidates: Melissa Smith, Jasmine Taylor and Helena Lovick.

These three were very outspoken and very public about items in their collective agenda, items which included defunding local police, climate change extremism, and anti-Second Amendment positions.

These ‘progressive’ positions and far-left policy ideas are well outside of the Great Falls/Cascade County political mainstream and I believe they hurt ALL of the local Democrat candidates by association.

Could that dynamic be extrapolated to the state and national election results as well? Maybe.

But I feel pretty certain that the very liberal and very public profiles of Smith, Taylor and Lovick pulled other local Democrats under with them as the red wave washed over this state and local election.

Racism Or Protecting Customers From COVID-19 In Great Falls?

Rick Tryon on October 28, 2020

This morning I received several ‘heads up’ messages concerning a Facebook post from Sharen Kickingwoman about an incident at the Great Falls Wingate by Wyndham Hotel.

Here is the part of the post which outlines the incident:

‘My mom booked his room at the Wingate Hotel here in Great Falls. When he arrived and checked in with his ID, the worker told him “we don’t serve people from Browning”. When pushed further as to why, she said it was their policy “because of Covid”…

…I asked the new hotel clerk if they served Natives and specifically people from Browning and she was so confused because she was like “of course we do, but lots of people keep calling and asking me that, do you know why?” So this has obviously been happening for some time.So if you’re in Great Falls, or honestly anywhere, don’t support Wingate Hotels! They are completely fine with racist policies that target Native folks.’

You can read Kickingwoman’s entire post here.

After reading it a couple of times I shared the post along with my own comment and reaction:

“I am at a loss for words after reading this. In fact I am shocked and angry. I will be asking some very serious questions and making some pointed inquiries.

To my Native American brothers and sisters: speaking as a community leader I can assure you that if this is as it appears to be it will not be ignored or swept under the rug. We are better than this, Great Falls. We have to be.”

Just a little while ago, Wednesday afternoon, I had a lengthy conversation with Larry Gooldy, the General Manager of the hotel and asked him to provide a statement with their side of the story. He did so promptly and here is the statement in full:

“The incident with Kickingwoman started when I saw the reservation pop up during my afternoon front desk shift. I let my afternoon employee know that we may have a stay at home notice for one of her reservations and to let me know if she had any problem.

Guest checked in at 5:12p local time and presented a Browning ID for residence. At that time my front desk employee advised that the area Kickingwoman was from was under a lock down from the Blackfeet Nation( https://blackfeetnation.com/covid19/ ) ( https://www.krtv.com/news/coronavirus/stay-at-home-order-extended-again-on-the-blackfeet-reservation )and they would not be able to stay without a Doctors note for medical procedure or travel notice as indicated for reasons to travel.

The guest was unaware and had no note with them and had a note sent to the front desk. So my employee let me know and I advised ok to stay and I would follow up in the morning with the guest when I came in on the note.

The guest stayed and checked into room 119. The guest had a pet that they wanted to stay in hotel as well and was advised of service animal only property. Guest stated that he should be allowed to have the pet stay with him due the fact he is a veteran. My desk employee advised that would not be possible. They stated they would leave dog in car overnight.

Later the guest came back to front desk and began to call the my employee a racist for not letting people from Browning stay, even though we checked said guest and was allowing them to stay since they provided paperwork for the doctor.

The guest was advised of stay at home order issued by Blackfeet nation tribal council again and presented copy of Stay at home order from the nation’s website. The said guest decided to leave under their own accord. We did not ask, or force said guest to leave the hotel.

The guests then left the hotel.

Following Heath department guides to prevent the spread of COVID 19 the hotel has a policy for the protection of all guests that occupy a room, that it is safe and free of contamination spread. Guests that present a health risk/safe risk to guests or employees in the hotel would not be allowed to stay. I.e Quarantine, Stay at home, Lockdown, or indicate they are sick/Symptomatic.

In a side note while doing an interview this morning with Nora Mabie at the hotel, we had two Native American ladies with us that checked in yesterday from a different area not under a Quarantine restriction. They got breakfast from the front desk and returned to the room to eat. When asking Nora if should could account for the validity of a racist hotel claim when I have two ladies walking before you, that have just stayed in our hotel on the same day of this claim. She would not comment.”

Mr. Gooldy also informed me in our conversation that the hotel reservation was made through an online travel site and that site, as well as all of Wingate by Wyndham’s web sites, carry an explicit disclaimer informing customers to personally check with the hotel and inquire about local COVID-19 restrictions.

To be fair, it appears that the Kickingwoman family did not check with the Great Falls Wingate Hotel to ask about specific COVID restrictions prior to checking in.

So was this incident an example of racism, or a common sense health precaution? Readers can make up their own minds.

My takeaway is that we all need to do a better job of informing ourselves and communicating clearly in these confusing times.

GFPD Dealt With Two Attempted Suicides In One Afternoon In Great Falls

Rick Tryon on October 23, 2020

On Thursday, October 15 I did a ride-along in a Great Falls Police Department patrol car with Master Police Officer Pat Brinkman.

It was a real eye-opener for me to witness first-hand what our local law-enforcement officers deal with, even though I only caught a brief glimpse of what they do and see every single day, day in and day out.

In the course of my ride-along I saw how our police officers deal with white, black, and brown folks here in Great Falls, and how they maintained a level of courtesy, professionalism, awareness, and genuine human empathy in every interaction.

Also that afternoon I personally witnessed our police officers and other first responders deal with two attempted suicides. Right here in Great Falls. Two. In a span of about four hours.

In the first incident the person’s life was quite literally saved by two GFPD officers working in tandem and using their training to prevent a life from being forfeited.

In the second case I saw up close and personal how our police and other first responders worked to get an almost-successful suicide to the emergency room just in time. Thanks to Great Falls Fire Rescue, Great Falls Emergency Services and GFPD.

We can be proud of our Great Falls Police Department. Very proud, and very confident in their abilities to serve and protect ALL of our citizens.

Thanks to Captain John Schaffer for allowing me to ride along and to MPO Brinkman for showing me the ropes and giving me a fresh perspective.

As long as I am a Great Falls City Commissioner I will do everything I can to make sure that we’re not going down the road of “defunding” or “reimagining” our amazing GFPD.

Great Falls Event To Support Local Law Enforcement Called ‘KKK Rally’

Rick Tryon on October 5, 2020

This past Saturday we held a Ride and Rally to show support for local law enforcement in Great Falls.

One of the reasons that the ride and rally resonated here is because there are many local law enforcement folks and their families who feel like they’ve been left out of the conversation the last several months.

Saturday’s rally and ride was not a statement against Black Lives Matter or any other organization, but rather a way to show support for the Great Falls Police Department, MHP and the Cascade County Sheriff’s Office.

I am proud to be a part of this community because of the love, appreciation and support we show on a daily basis for our law enforcement, and all of our great first responders here.

But I am also greatly disappointed and troubled by comments on local social media about the events on Saturday. Here’s an example from the Great Falls Tribune Facebook page on a post about their story before the rally – https://www.facebook.com/greatfallstribune/posts/3340175392685603

Cops don’t deserve a parade?

Our police are ‘nothing but a bunch of murderous thugs’?

Citizens showing up to support our law enforcement is a KKK rally?

Here are a couple of more from a Tribune FB post after the rally – https://www.facebook.com/greatfallstribune/posts/3344495405586935

A White Supremacist Rally? Stupid? Creeping Authoritarianism?

Oh, and here’s one from a charming and intelligent young lady on the KFBB Facebook page – https://www.facebook.com/abcfoxmt/posts/3169340393192860

Thankfully these idiotic, hateful, and yes, evil comments and memes do not represent the majority of our citizens sentiments.

But my message to those who spew out this kind of garbage is simple – we don’t want your vile hate in our community.