3 Questions For Great Falls City Commission Candidates

ECB Staff on September 20, 2019


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Earlier this week E-City Beat sent the following email to all six of the Great Falls city commission candidates.

Greetings candidates,

Thank you to those who submitted candidate profiles last month. E-City Beat would like to give each of the candidates another opportunity to let the community know a few details about your positions on three specific issues.

If you’re interested in having your answers to these question published by E-City Beat, unedited and without editorial comment, please respond in MS Word format by Tuesday, October 1st. Please keep your response to 600 words or less.

Thank you and good luck.

Philip Faccenda
Editor/Publisher E-City Beat

  1. What do you consider to be the most important issue for Great Falls right now and if elected how would you respond to it. Please be as specific as possible by describing why you consider the issue to be the most important and the action you feel is necessary to address it?
  2. Do you or any of your immediate family members, business partners, employer, or employees hold any positions, professional or volunteer, recent past or present, that would constitute a conflict of interest, or appearance thereof, for you while conducting city business as a commissioner? If so how would you deal with the potential conflict?
  3. Do you consider the current relationship between the city commission and the citizens of Great Falls to reflect an adequate level of mutual trust, respect and engagement and how would you improve that relationship?

Last month we requested candidate profiles from each of the candidates and published the four that returned submissions. Jasmine Taylor and Tracy Houck didn’t respond.

We hope all of the candidates will answer the three questions asked here so that our readers and the public at large can become more fully informed voters in this November’s municipal election.

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Bruce Pollington, Candidate For Great Falls City Commission

ECB Staff on September 16, 2019

Editors note – last month we asked each of the six candidates running for the Great Falls city commission to submit a profile for publication (exactly as submitted and without editorial comment) including the reasons they are running and what they want to accomplish if elected.

Kim Rodriguez, Terry Thompson, and Rick Tryon responded with submissions. Bruce Pollington responded after the August 21st deadline. However since Pollington only missed the deadline by one day we will publish his profile as well.

Tracy Houck, Jasmine Taylor, did not respond.

Bruce Pollington

I moved to Great Falls in 1969 after receiving my bachelor’s degree from Montana State University. Since then I have worked in broadcast television, commercial video production, commercial photography, healthcare and at non-profit organizations. Although I occasionally served as a community volunteer for most of my time here, I began to increase my volunteer commitments as I got older. By 2019, I was heavily involved as a member (and President) of River’s Edge Trail Foundation Board of Directors. In addition, I was a member (and Chair) of the Technical Advisory Group (TAG) for the EPA Superfund project in Black Eagle and the former copper smelter site. Last Fall, I was elected as the sole Member at Large of Missouri-Madison River Fund Board of Directors: a foundation that awards access, recreation and maintenance grants along the river corridor from Fort Benton to the headwaters of the Missouri.

I decided to run for Great Falls City Commissioner soon after I learned that Bill Bronson had chosen not to run for re-election. I have known Bill and his wife, Carol, for several years and was sad to hear that he was ending his service as Commissioner. I always appreciated his well considered and thoughtfully presented comments and perspectives. While I previously had not considered running for the Commission, the prospect struck me as an opportunity to utilize my experience working with various City Departments and the City Commission to help make our community a better place to live, work and play.

Soon after I decided to run for City Commission, I opted to resign as a member of River’s Edge Trial Foundation and as a member of the EPA TAG to avoid conflict of interest concerns that might arise from those memberships. Conversely, I have chosen to remain a member of the Missouri-Madison River Fund Board based on assurances from our City Attorney’s Office and from the River Fund group that my continued service on that board poses no conflict of interest concerns while serving as a City Commissioner.

I am well aware that this opportunity also brings a great deal of responsibility. City Commissioners are first and foremost charged with ensuring the safety and wellbeing of our citizens. To that end, the Commission must continue to work toward addressing chronic staffing shortfalls as well as equipment upgrade and maintenance needs in both the City Police Department and Fire Department. In addition, the Commission is charged with ensuring that City Government functions properly and meets the needs of our community, that it raises and spends our tax dollars conservatively and efficiently, that it encourages healthy growth and support for tourism and our business community, and that it protects and maintains publicly owned assets.

City assets are not static. If they are not properly protected, maintained, improved or replaced as needed, they will decline.  For example, long term deferred maintenance forced permanent closure of the Natatorium. Without extensive repair and maintenance work, our Civic Center is headed for the same fate. That is a fate we cannot afford. Yes, repairing it will be unavoidably expensive. However, continuing to postpone essential repairs while damage continues to accumulate and accelerate will prove to be considerably more expensive.

I believe that fifty years of work experience in this community combined with almost that many years volunteering on community improvement projects such as River’s Edge Trail and EPA TAG has helped prepare me for service as a City Commissioner. I am looking forward to representing and serving the people of Great Falls as their Commissioner.

Houck Out At Paris Gibson Square

ECB Staff on September 12, 2019


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E-City Beat can confirm that Great Falls city commissioner Tracy Houck is no longer Executive Director at Paris Gibson Square Museum of Art. According to the PGSMA web site Houck is no longer employed there in any capacity.

It is unclear whether she was fired or she resigned.

We first started receiving messages from local citizens two weeks ago that the PGSMA web site abruptly listed an interim Director, Sarah Justice, with no other announcements or information about the change.

E-City Beat Editor/Publisher Phil Faccenda contacted Ms. Justice who confirmed that Houck was out, that it happened suddenly, and that all other inquiries should be directed to the PGMSA Board of Directors.

We checked Houck’s public Facebook page and discovered that although she has updated her profile picture as recently as today, she still has “Executive director at Paris Gibson Square Museum of Art” on her page.

Houck’s dual role as a city commissioner and executive director of a local non-profit raised serious ethical and conflict of interest issues during her tenure.

Last year Houck was named by the Federal Department of Housing and Urban Development as being one of three Great Falls city commissioners who engaged in conflicts of interest or the appearance thereof. Houck directly intervened as a city commissioner in the Community Development Block Grant funding process in an attempt to direct taxpayer funds to PGSMA. Both she and her daughter were employed by the Square at the time.

We will be further investigating the reasons for Houcks departure from the Square and will report our findings. If you have any information please contact us.

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Rick Tryon, Candidate For Great Falls City Commission

ECB Staff on September 10, 2019


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Editors note – last month we asked each of the six candidates running for the Great Falls city commission to submit a profile for publication (exactly as submitted and without editorial comment) including the reasons they are running and what they want to accomplish if elected.

Kim Rodriguez, Terry Thompson, and Rick Tryon responded with submissions. Bruce Pollington responded after the August 21st deadline. However since Pollington only missed the deadline by one day we will publish his profile as well.

Tracy Houck, Jasmine Taylor, did not respond. 

 

Rick Tryon

Great Falls is my hometown. I was raised here. Phyllis and I were married here 36 years ago and we raised our own two daughters and started helping to raise our grand-kids right here. My 87 year old mom still lives here.

I love Great Falls and I love the people that live here and make this community special.

But something is wrong and we all know it. We’re not living up to our potential and we know it. We need change, for a greater Great Falls.

I remember when Great Falls was the envy of Montana’s cities – a bustling, thriving community with plenty of opportunity for everyone. It seems we’ve lost our way. I know we can’t, and shouldn’t, return to the ‘glory days’ of 50 years ago, but we can fix what’s wrong while celebrating what’s right in our Great Falls.

Here are the three concerns I hear repeatedly from local folks and a general outline of what we can do to start addressing these issues:

  • Jobs and Opportunity – through a streamlined development process and an unmistakable “open for business” attitude.
  • Safe Kids and Neighborhoods – as a candidate for Great Falls city commission I am calling for 4-6 new GFPD sworn police officers and tougher law enforcement and justice system policies.
  • Transparency and Honesty – zero tolerance for conflicted, dishonest, self serving public officials and an end to backroom deals for special interests.

I urge you to take a look at the nine specific action steps I’ve put forward to start tackling these areas of concern. You can find those ideas and a lot more on my website at www.tryon4commission.com.

I’m not running for city commission because I have a personal pet project I want to work on, an organization I want to “help”, or an agenda to accomplish for my professional/personal pals or family members.

I’m not running to please or to be popular with anyone or any group, or to represent some “special” neighborhood or part of town. Great Falls belongs to ALL of us, not just a few who have money and influence.

I’m running so that the average citizens in Great Falls who’ve been left out of the conversation for too long have a clear voice and a sharp pair of eyes and ears on our city commission.

I’m running because I believe we have to bring a sense of urgency to making sure our town is growing and prospering so that we have a population and tax base that can continue to support our legacy of quality public education, public safety and infrastructure, and the amenities that make for a great community.

I’m running because I believe we can turn our weaknesses into strengths and become the most family-friendly, safest community in Montana with better jobs and opportunities for all, and that we can build a reputation for having the most honest, transparent and responsive city government in the Northwest.

Let’s build some glory days together. Sound good?

Rick Tryon
ricktryon@msn.com
www.tryon4commission.com

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Terry Thompson, Candidate For Great Falls City Commission

ECB Staff on September 6, 2019

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Editors note – last month we asked each of the six candidates running for the Great Falls city commission to submit a profile for publication (exactly as submitted and without editorial comment) including the reasons they are running and what they want to accomplish if elected.

Kim Rodriguez, Terry Thompson, and Rick Tryon responded with submissions. Bruce Pollington responded after the August 21st deadline. However since Pollington only missed the deadline by one day we will publish his profile as well.

Tracy Houck, Jasmine Taylor, did not respond. 

 

Terry Thompson

My story begins growing up on a cattle ranch in Central Montana where my work ethic was instilled in me. A week after I graduated high school, I moved to Great Falls to attend Dahl’s Beauty College. While attending school, I met my first husband who had recently enlisted in the Navy. After earning my cosmetology license, we called San Diego home for 10 years and welcomed two children while we were there, Bryce and Kirsten. In 1994, I returned as a single mother to Great Falls where my children were educated in the Great Falls Public School system and I worked in the wireless cell phone industry as a Business Operations Analyst for 11 years.

In 2010, I remarried. Ken and I have a blended family of six children and have been blessed with fifteen grandchildren. The majority of our family live, work, and play in Great Falls. Tragically, my son Bryce passed away at the age of 27 in 2015 but his memory carries on in each of his two children he raised before his passing.

Since 2007, I have been the CEO of the Great Falls Association of REALTORS® serving in many leadership roles on a state and national level. I co-founded the Development Process Task Force, originally a coalition with the Home Builders Association of Great Falls and the Great Falls Area Chamber of Commerce. Its purpose is to assist the development industry to resolve issues with the planning and public works departments of both the City of Great Falls and Cascade County. I have been proactive in addressing development issues by facilitating meetings, addressing both city and county staff at public hearings and/or speaking directly with the mayor and commissioners. I have testified before legislative committees and the Board of Realty Regulation. I’ve served the community of Great Falls by being elected to two terms on Neighborhood Council 3, acting as the chairwoman of the Council in my second term. I am running for City Commission to lend my leadership skills and knowledge to be a champion for new and fresh ideas. I want to help our city develop economically in order to provide its citizens with a great quality of life.

One of the top challenges our city faces currently is the notion that Great Falls is not development friendly. The wish list for retail and restaurants is as long as the list of

developers having difficulties building in the city. Permit numbers identify the primary building taking place in the county, directly decreasing the tax base needed to bring such services to the city. The culture of the planning and public works departments must change to one that declares that our city is open for business and we are willing to work with key stakeholders in growing our community – developers, investors, and homebuilders. I believe I have what it takes to turn around the negative connotations that Great Falls has. I am a new voice for a new future!

My priority list includes: effective advocacy between the city, county and state legislators; creating a positive attitude and direction; increasing transparency and accountability by city commissioners and staff; and earning the trust and respect of our citizens;

I would love to hear your ideas, concerns and answer any questions. Visit my website at www.voteterrythompson.com for my complete bio, priority list and more.

I would be honored to have your vote on November 5!

Terry Thompson
Thompson for City Commission
PO Box 165
Great Falls, MT 59403
www.voteterrythompson.com

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Kim Rodriguez, Candidate For Great Falls City Commission

ECB Staff on September 3, 2019

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Editors note – last month we asked each of the six candidates running for the Great Falls city commission to submit a profile for publication (exactly as submitted and without editorial comment) including the reasons they are running and what they want to accomplish if elected.

Kim Rodriguez, Terry Thompson, and Rick Tryon responded with submissions.

Tracy Houck, Jasmine Taylor, and Bruce Pollington did not respond. We will publish the profiles in the order we received them. First up is Kim Rodriguez.

Kim Rodriquez

I was born and raised in Great Falls, I have owned and operated a small business teaching CPR and First Aid for 25 plus years. I am married with one son who serves in the Navy as a Marine Corpsman. My decision to run for Great Falls City Commission is due to the frustration of watching politics become about the politicians and their wants, not about the citizens who voted them in. I would like the public of Great Falls involved in the decisions being made that affect us personally.

Our city is in dire need of increasing Law Enforcement and Fire Department personnel to increase the level of safety that we deserve. Public Safety needs to be a high priority. I would like to see Great Falls education system benefit our children, growth in new businesses and more access to indoor and outdoor recreation within city limits to include the Missouri River which the public has very little access to. I am not a politician, but someone who wants a positive change, less taxes, safe neighborhoods and a city government with high moral standards.

Great Falls has a crisis within our city. It’s the homeless! I volunteer for a soup kitchen and I see the faces of those who have nothing. To get to see them as human beings! We have the Rescue Mission and a few churches that do what they can on limited funds. But it’s not enough. I listened to the Budget being passed and watched as the City Commissioners voted on raising taxes on 5-6 issues in a row. But not one Police Officer was budgeted for and yet our city is growing! Our Fire Department is need of equipment and also personnel and did not get what was a minimal request. I saw firsthand how Great Falls Public Safety is NOT a priority.

I am completely against anything being done behind closed doors! As Citizens we really don’t have a voice, our needs are not an interest to those in power of passing the yearly budget! If Great Falls will vote two City Commissioners in that will stand up for what is right and put Citizens first in the upcoming November Election, and in 2 years vote two more in. Then we can make a change, a difference! I will be the voice for those that don’t have one. As a Christian I will stand up for what is honest and right. Even if I am the only one!

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Great Falls Code Of Ethics – Relevant?

Rick Tryon on August 13, 2019

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Have you ever read ‘Chapter 21 – CODE OF ETHICS’ in the City of Great Falls municipal code? If not, maybe it’s time to take a look at it.

Here are a few examples of what you’ll find there:

2.21.020 – Findings.

The City Commission of the City of Great Falls finds and declares that:

A. Public office and employment are a public trust;

B. The vitality and stability of representative democracy depends upon the public’s confidence in the integrity of its elected and appointed representatives; and

C. Governments have the duty both to provide their citizens with standards by which they may determine whether public duties are being faithfully performed, and to apprise their officers and employees of the behavior which is expected of them while conducting such duties.

2.21.030 – Purpose and authority.

It is the purpose of this chapter to provide a method of assuring that standards of ethical conduct for officers and employees of the City of Great Falls shall be clear, consistent, uniform in their application, enforceable, and to provide those officers or employees with advice and information concerning possible conflicts of interest which might arise in the conduct of their public duties. Such ethical standards shall inspire and stimulate each officer and employee to:…

C. Be dedicated to the highest ideals of honor and integrity in all public and personal relationships so that each public servant may merit the respect and confidence of elected officials, of other officials and employees, and of the public; and

D. Recognize that the chief function of local government at all times is to serve the best interests of all of the people.

So, do you think that all of our city commissioners have been “…dedicated to the highest ideals of honor and integrity…”?

How about “local government at all times serving the best interests of all of the people“?

2.21.050 – Ethical standards.

In addition to complying with the provisions of Mont. Code Ann. Title 2, Chapter 2, officers and employees of the City of Great Falls shall comply with the following provisions:

A. No officer or employee of the City of Great Falls shall have an interest in a business organization or engage in any business, transaction, or professional activity which is in substantial conflict with the proper discharge of his or her governmental duties;

B. No officer or employee shall use, or attempt to use, his or her official position to secure unwarranted privileges or advantages for himself, herself or others;

C. No officer or employee shall act in his or her official capacity in any matter where he or she, a member of his or her immediate family, or any business organization in which he or she has an interest, has a direct or indirect financial or personal involvement that might reasonably be expected to:

         1. impair his or her objectivity or independence or judgment, or

         2. substantially conflict with the proper discharge of officer or employee’s     governmental duties;

Have we seen any recent violations of these clear-cut standards from current and past city commissioners?

You know, the stuff about “immediate family or any business organizations in which he or she has an interest”. Here are a few handy links to help answer that question:

https://ecitybeat1.wpengine.com/3661-2/

https://ecitybeat1.wpengine.com/cronyism-great-falls-no-growth-policy/

https://ecitybeat1.wpengine.com/5040-2/

Do you think Chapter 21 in our municipal code matters, or is it just a bunch words that can be blithely ignored by our “public servants”.

Here’s a novel idea – maybe we should all read Chapter 21 (click here to do so) and demand that our “leadership” adhere to it. Which means they would have to read and understand it first.

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Is The Great Falls City Commission Irrelevant?

Rick Tryon on July 16, 2019

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I have heard several statements from folks recently such as, “the Mayor is mostly ceremonial and doesn’t really have any influence” and “the Great Falls City Commission is just a technicality, the city manager has all of the power.”

Wrong.

These kinds of misconceptions are not only wrong but they are also part of the reason that Great Falls struggles to remain stagnant, because they lead to apathy and cynicism. Why should folks give a rip about our city elections if the outcome is inconsequential?

Why vote? Why not just treat our municipal election like a popularity contest, high school prom royalty, or a vote for ‘The Nicest Smile In Town’?

If the City Commission doesn’t matter then why have an election at all?

Well, because it does matter – a lot. The City Commission is equivalent to the legislative body for Great Falls and the City Manager is equivalent to the Executive. Equivalent, but not exactly the same, because the City Commission is also responsible for hiring, evaluating and negotiating the terms of employment for the Executive, our City Manager.

In addition, the City Commission is charged with approving major expenditures, setting development and growth policy and direction, voting on city ordinances, approving a budget etc. All of that and plenty more.

None of us should be apathetic about any election, including our city election, in fact, especially our city election. If we want to see our town live up to its full potential then we need to be engaged and informed about what our local government does.

This stuff matters. It really, really matters.

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Why Won’t Bob Kelly Answer A Question From A Tax Paying Citizen?

Philip M. Faccenda on July 11, 2019

Last month, before the filing deadline for this year’s City election had elapsed, I asked Great Falls Mayor Bob Kelly if he intended to endorse embattled City Commissioner Tracy Houck in her campaign for re-election.

Kelly declined to do so.

Since it was possible at the time that the mayor wanted to see a complete field of candidates before deciding to endorse anyone, I asked him the same question after the filing deadline — eight days ago, on July 3:

I have yet to receive a response.

Why is it that our elected officials simply cannot find it within breadth to respond to inquiries from us lowly taxpayers? Didn’t Kelly campaign on being a friendly and responsive mayor?

After all, Kelly did not need any solicitation or prompting to enthusiastically endorse Houck — before working with her in government — in 2015. Now, though, after three and a half years of service with Houck on the City Commission, Bob Kelly is uniquely qualified to speak to Houck’s capabilities as a Commissioner, or, perhaps, her shortcomings.

If Kelly thinks Houck has done a good job representing the voting public, then why not just say so?

Great Falls Commissioner’s ‘Nefarious’ Pet Project

Rick Tryon on July 1, 2019

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Below is more important information provided by Great Falls resident Pam Hendrickson concerning efforts by Great Falls city Commissioners Moe and Robinson to secretly negotiate a partnership between the City of Great Falls and the Maclean Animal Adoption Center.

Every concerned citizen in Great Falls should read this and share it widely. The shenanigans by our city commission that have surrounded this issue (and several others) are the polar opposite of transparency and honesty.

Thank goodness for Ms. Hendrickson and the increasing number of local citizens like her who aren’t afraid to speak up and stand up.

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“WE’RE FINALLY GETTING AN OFFICIAL UPDATE ON THE CITY SHELTER AND MACLEAN ANIMAL CENTER PROPOSED PARTNERSHIP.

Commissioners Robinson and Moe will be updating the public on the status of their private discussions with Maclean on Tuesday, July 2 during the commission work session. Whether you have a dog in this fight or not, or even if you just want to see how they supposedly will save money for the taxpayers, I hope everyone will take an hour or less to go to the meeting and just listen.

It is at 5:30 at the Civic Center and it is the first item on the agenda. There is a public comment period at the beginning of the meeting where everyone is free to offer an opinion, but we’re not sure if the public will be allowed to ask questions or comment during the actual agenda discussion which would be the ideal time to speak – after we hear what they have to say on the matter. It would be nice if the citizens of Great Falls can offer pertinent comments and questions after the commissioners fill us in (with their load of baloney).

I wish I had the time to fill you in on the nefarious dealings of commissioners Robinson and Moe in particular, and the Mayor (Kelly) and the rest of them to boot, but I just don’t. I do, however, have lots of interesting information from several FOIA requests (Freedom of Information Act), which I was told is the only way to force the city commission to answer my questions.

Suffice it to say that I have documentation that Robinson and Moe have both tried to shut down public information and input on the matter.

That Moe’s previous assertion that this partnership could potentially save the City $500,000 per year sure looks like it would cost us even more than we’re paying now.

That Robinson has failed to file a disclosure form that acknowledges his previous involvement with the Maclean center.

That John Huber of the Animal Foundation sent an email on Wednesday, March 27, to Moe, Robinson and another Maclean person to schedule a meeting for April 1.

Robinson called Huber to tell him that the city commission the following week was holding a vote “that could affect what we are doing…” On April 2 the commission voted to postpone awarding the cattery contract.

The implications here are clear. What isn’t so obvious is that Robinson called a private entity a) before that agenda item was made public; and b) seems to me that Robinson and Moe allowed a private entity to influence their recommendations to the full commission.

Let me just end my diatribe with information I obtained that indicates that Maclean’s approximate operating costs are $66,000 per month (which may or may not include personnel costs). According to commissioner Moe’s “Joining Hands” document (see below), the city would end up paying most of that. ON TOP OF OUR CURRENT SHELTER EXPENSES.

I hope I’m wrong about the expense. But since the commission will not answer my questions, and I have been told in my FOIA requests that there is no financial data to share, I can only put the pieces together best I can.

I obviously have a dog in the fight. Woof woof. Hope to see you there.

Pam Hendrickson”

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