Category: Election 2018

Editor’s note: This is another in our series of profiles for local Cascade County candidates. Each county office candidate was given the opportunity to submit, in their own words, a brief profile outlining why they’re running, what party they represent and why they are the best candidate for the position. 

Here are the County Commissioner profiles. Democrat and incumbent Jane Weber and Republican Joshua Eli are the other candidates for Cascade County Commisisoner and did not respond to our request for a profile.

George Anthony Schultz

1. OPPOSE THE SLAUGHTERHOUSE

2. The aggressive & vigilant maintenance & continuance of ALL private property ownership & rights

3. Defeating City Hall & corruption is accomplished with your voting ballot at the ballot box

I’m running to infuse and provide a new information stream that fosters an environment where ethics, integrity and dignity can flourish.

The G.O.P leads all other political parties in defending and continuing our Bill of Rights and Constitution, further securing our private property ownership and property rights !

I will bring troubleshooting and problem solving skills to the office with a special emphasis on remedy, relief and resolution to all conflicts and disputes concerning land, housing, property, real Estate.

These type of conflicts should be settled before the sun goes down. I will be posting writings on a variety of topics including a proposal for a “ Sunset Policy”, to resolve disputes before the sun goes down at www.thewaterbearerstribune.com

Dominick Snell

The main reason as to why I would want to run for County Commissioner is that I want to see Great Falls and Cascade County flourish and become prosperous again. I have become tired of the Status Quo with the elected officials and there needs to be change. The main change is to bring The People’s Voice back into the government. It has been long standing that the elected officials have stopped listening to The People who have voted them in. The promises that are said during campaigns are usually not fulfilled when the person is elected into office and this must change.

I am running as a Republican because I myself see this side of the political spectrum to be more in line with my views. I do believe in less government and less taxation from The People that pay those taxes. I firmly believe that The People have the say in government and that government is only there to enforce what The People want, not the other way around. I also uphold the Constitution, without change, as the full Right of The People and should not be changed or taken away. I also hold a very Conservative view on matters concerning economic and sociological standpoints. Therefore, I am running as a Republican because that is what I am in thinking and ideology.

I see myself as a solid candidate mainly because I am not a Politician and do not think like one. I was born here in Great Falls, did my higher education in Great Falls, I love Great Falls, and live in Great Falls. I want to be the Voice of the People in the government. I would like to see Great Falls become what it once was as a booming economy with great job growth as well as an influx of new people coming in. Now, we are the most boring town in Montana with stagnant growth across the board. I still see Great Falls becoming a wonderful place to stay and grow with but that is only if the elected officials would listen to what is needed by The People and not what they want.

I know that I can, with a clear and logical head, look at the budget of Cascade County and trim the excess to bring more for less. I know that by looking at the budget and seeing where the frivolous is being spent as well as the incompetent is being funded and then get rid of both to save the tax payers from another levee or even reduce the ones that we have. I know that I can be the one to turn the elected officials around to start to listen to The People again.

There’s an interesting development in the Cascade County Sheriffs race between Sheriff Bob Edwards and one of his opponents in the June 5 Democratic primary.

It first came to my attention when I saw that someone had shared Edwards’ May 4th ‘Retain Sheriff Edwards’ Facebook post following the KRTV sheriff candidates debate. In the post Sheriff Edwards alleges that sheriff candidate Jesse Slaughter, who was a Montana Public Safety Officer Standards and Training (POST) board member, “knew what they were going to do to me” (POST voted to revoke Edwards police and coroner certificates) and that was Slaughters reason for resigning from the POST board and running for sheriff.

Here is a screenshot of a portion of the post with the pertinent comments highlighted:

Here is the link to the post on the Retain Sheriff Edwards Facebook page –https://www.facebook.com/RetainEdwards/posts/1634213039949939

The post and the implications against Slaughters motives and timing in running for sheriff were widely shared on social media and, reportedly, through email and texts by Edwards supporters. Subsequently Slaughters supporters have fired back and claim that Edwards allegations are unfounded and patently false.

I reached out to Sheriff Edwards and asked him to respond to the counter-claims that Slaughters resignation from POST came before he had knowledge that Edwards certifications would be revoked and had nothing to do with his (Slaughters) decision to run for sheriff.

Edwards responded by sending me an email stating “Attached is the POST agenda for Feb. 7th. The day the said they were going to revoke me.” with a screenshot of the February 7, 2018 POST meeting agenda listing Slaughters resignation letter as agenda item #2.

Subsequently several Slaughter supporters have posted on social media and contacted me directly with documentation directly refuting Edwards implications about the timing and motive behind Slaughters resignation from POST and decision to run for Cascade County Sheriff.

Here is a photo showing Slaughters time-stamped POST resignation letter, dated December 4, 2017.

Here is the text of an email forwarded to me and originally sent to a local citizen from Perry Johnson, Executive Director of POST sent this morning, May 8. I’ve highlighted the portion that appears to directly refute Sheriff Edwards allegation that Slaughter knew about POST actions revoking Edwards certifications and therefore resigned POST to run for sheriff

From: Johnson, Perry <PJohnson@mt.gov>
Date: Tue, May 8, 2018 at 9:51 AM
Subject: RE: Jesse Slaughter resignation

Good morning!

Attached please find a copy of the timeline relating to POST interaction/allegation timeline. I have also attached a copy of Jesse Slaughter’s resignation letter. I also provided information about how POST processes allegations against officers and who on the Council has the information about the allegations made and when the information would be known.

Regarding your question about Jesse’s resignation being on an agenda with Bob Edwards allegations, that didn’t happen. Jesse’s resignation was on a regular POST Council meeting agenda. The resignation was on the agenda in February because Jesse resigned in December and the POST Council did not meet again until February and that was the first opportunity to advise the Council.

Bob Edwards agenda dates and times are noted in the timeline attachment above. No mention of the allegations relating to Bob Edwards was ever placed on an agenda for the full POST Council. The only agenda that would have contained information about Bob would have been for Case Status Committee meetings. The agenda for the Case Status Committee meetings did not contain information about Jesse’s resignation. Jesse was not a member of the Case Status Committee and as such, he would not have had access to any information relating to the Committee, their discussion or their decisions.

I have provided a timeline and extensive information that I hope will address the questions you presented. The timeline clearly demonstrates the efforts POST made to thoroughly investigate and obtain information relating to the allegations relating to Bob Edwards. The dates clearly show POST made no decision pertaining to allegations relating to Bob Edwards prior to Officer Slaughter’s decision to resign from the POST Council. The timeline shows that there was no conspiracy because no action/decision had been made or taken regarding Bob Edwards at the time Jesse resigned. Jesse’s resignation was unexpected and a surprise to me and the other members of the Council.

Please feel free to contact us if you have questions or if we can be of any assistance to you.

Thanks and have a great day!

Perry Johnson, Executive Director

Montana Public Safety Officer Standards and Training Council

2260 Sierra Road East

Helena, Montana 59602

(406) 444-9976 Desk

(406) 444-9978 Fax

(406) 475-5524 Cell

Finally here is the timeline that Mr. Johnson attached with the email.

Adding this all up it appears to me that Sheriff Edwards is mistaken in his assertion that Jesse Slaughters timing and motives were based on inside information and were therefore nefarious in some way. Whether Edwards was unintentionally misinformed or intentionally misleading I don’t know. I emailed him and asked for his response or a clarification and have not yet heard back.

I will keep readers updated as this matter develops.

Editor’s note: This is another in our series of profiles for local Cascade County candidates. Each county office candidate was given the opportunity to submit, in their own words, a brief profile outlining why they’re running, what party they represent and why they are the best candidate for the position. 

Here are the Sheriff profiles. Democrat and incumbent Bob Edwards and Republican Bob Rosipal are the other candidates for Cascade County Sheriff and did not respond to our request for a profile.

George Kynett

My family and I live and work in this community and I couldn’t imagine a better place to live. But, we do have some issues in Cascade County and I’m ready to take on those challenges as sheriff because I want to make our community a nicer, safer place to live. I want to ensure the youngest to the oldest of our citizens are protected. I also want to create a better work environment for all our Sheriff’s Department employees, so that those who are protecting our community are being taken care of themselves. I will use any resources available to the department to protect the people in and around the county.

With more than 28 years in law enforcement experience, I have good understanding of how the Sheriff’s Department works. I’ve spent time as a reserve deputy, detention officer, court bailiff, civil process server, in private security and inmate transfer. I also have experience with adult and veteran treatment court, drug/alcohol monitoring, and currently work as a pre-release officer.

I’ve also spent over 20 years in the civilian sector as a warehouse supervisor, gaining experience in budgets, management, scheduling, training and workplace safety. Skills that will no doubt be extremely useful if elected Sheriff.

It’s also through all these experiences that I’ve been able to see where we have challenges and where we can make improvements. Our jail is overcrowded and we have issues with drug addiction. We need to ensure we’re attracting and retaining qualified, motivated employees. We must have a budget that works toward the protection of the community and the Sheriff’s Department. We need to make sure we’re reaching those smaller outlying communities in the county. There are no quick-fix solutions for these problems, but I have many ideas that I’d like to implement that I hope overtime will help with the issues.

Some things I’d like to see include reinvigorating the Reserve and Explorer programs. Additionally we should tap into our volunteers throughout the county such as search and rescue, medical quick response units, and volunteer fire departments to get help to individuals in rural areas quicker. Basically, the more deputies and volunteers that we can integrate into the county the safer and better protected our community will be.

Two of my biggest concerns for our community are safety for our citizens and combating drug and alcohol addiction. I feel this falls in line with the beliefs of many Democrats – to take care of each other and ensure the health and safety of all citizens. I’d also like to see better paying jobs available and more affordable healthcare. Healthcare is a big area of concern for county employees, especially those with families where the cost is extremely high.

Editor’s note: This is another in our series of profiles for local legislative candidates. Each state House and Senate candidate in the Great Falls area was given the opportunity to submit, in their own words, a brief profile outlining why they’re running, what party they represent and why they are the best candidate for the position. You can see the full list of local candidates here.

Democrat Keaton Sunchild is the other candidate in House District 20 and did not respond to our request for a profile.

I am running for re-election as the Representative for House District #20 because I believe I have the desired experience, insight and leadership to represent the constituents of House District #20 as well as the people of Montana very effectively.

I was raised on the family ranch in Central Montana where I developed a very strong work ethic and the value of integrity. I earned a Bachelor’s degree from MSU Northern (then Northern Montana College) and my Master’s and PhD degrees at Colorado State University. Throughout the years, I have owned a small business, worked construction and operated heavy equipment, as well as having served as a public school teacher and administrator for 45 years. During my lifetime, I have been privileged to serve in in many leadership positions at the local, state and national levels. I feel that this is a good opportunity to give back to my community and the State that I love.

I am running for office as a Republican because I believe in a set of principles that transcend specific policy issues. These principles derive directly from the wisdom of America’s Founders, as expressed in the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the United States. These principles have been a corner stone in the development of my values as a business owner, public servant and as a family man.

I believe that I am the best candidate for the position of Representative for House District #20 because I listen to constituent’s concerns and attempt to provide common sense solutions to address their needs; while treating everyone with the dignity and respect they deserve. My diverse experience base combined with a strong education foundation provide me the insight to quantify the challenges facing our State and develop fiscally sound solutions.

My performance during the last Legislative session earned me the “Champion for Business” award from the State Chamber of Commerce, the “Silver Windmill” award from the Montana Farm Bureau as well as commendations from the Montana Troopers and the Montana Medical Association. I am currently serving a Vice Chairman of the Interim Education Committee for the Montana State Legislature and feel that the knowledge and experience I gained, while serving during the past legislative session, can only be of benefit if re-elected to this position.

My web site for the H.D. #20 campaign is andersonforlegislature.weebly.com.

The e mail account is Anderson.for.legislature.hd20@gmail.com

If you’re considering running for local party precinct committee member positions, county offices, or state and federal offices, the deadline to file is 5:00 PM Monday, March 12.

There are also three Great Falls Public Schools Board of Trustees seats up for election on May 8. The deadline to file as a candidate for the school board is 5:00 PM Thursday, March 29.

For more information visit the Cascade County Elections office website.