Category: Election 2024

Editors note: Candidates on the November 5 ballot for Great Falls/Cascade County HD21 are Republican Ed Buttrey and Democrat Lela Graham. Graham did not respond to our request for a candidate profile.

Personal Bio:

I am a 4^th generation Montanan, born in Helena and raised in Great Falls.  I have a degree in Electrical Engineering, and formerly worked out of State as a weapon’s systems designer.  Thankfully, I was able to return to Montana, where I get to live, work, raise my family and realize the beauty of Montana every day. 

I have served in the Montana State House since 2019, and formerly served in the Montana Senate (2011-2018) where I have held leadership positions in each of my legislative sessions.  I served as a two-term Majority Whip in the Montana Senate and currently serve as the Chairman of the Senate Business, Labor and Economic Affairs Committee as well as a member of the House Rules Committee, the House Health and Human Services Committee and the State Broadband Committee.

I have also served as a member of many community boards, as a Fire Department Captain, Emergency Medical Technician, Search and Rescue Diver, Chairman of the Great Falls International Airport Authority, and as a varsity football coach and radio announcer.  This service is only due to the amazing support of my wife Jessica, daughters Kenzy, Macy, TayLee and mother Joan, all living locally in Great Falls. 

Reasons for Running for Office:

As an advocate for public service, I continually strive to find unique solutions and ways to help the people in our community and HD21.  Becoming a member of the Montana Legislature has been a great honor and has allowed me to learn more about the issues and needs of our State and the people who call it home.  The Legislature has offered a unique opportunity to enact policies in Economic Development, Healthcare, protecting our Military assets and families, and to promote for the well-being of Montana families.  I thoroughly enjoy finding solutions to help people and this is why I have run and continue to run for public office.   

Top Challenges:

In these trying political times, there are a number of challenges faced by our community and State that I hope to address in the upcoming Legislative session.  First of all, we are facing an economic crisis nationwide and statewide where the costs of living (food, fuel, housing, taxes) are providing challenges for everyone.  Through responsible budgeting, regulation relief, and tax reform we can ensure that Montanans are able to keep more of their hard-earned money.  I am working hard with others on a plan to finally implement a property tax system that is affordable, responsible and fair. 

We must also keep State and local government responsible and efficient, getting out of the way of business innovation and success, promoting housing development with regulation relief, and ensuring that we have a healthy and reliable workforce for our businesses.  Government can be part of the solution, and should help when needed, but more importantly should get out of the way to allow for individual responsibility and innovation, and to let our families and businesses succeed. 

Finally, we have critical issues with drug related crime and physical/mental health.  While some may choose to bury their heads in the sand and hope these issues go away, the truth is that these issues are impacting everyone in our Montana communities.  If re-elected, I will continue to work to ensure that resources are available to provide help for those that need it, want it and are willing to do the work.  Everyone deserves a chance to succeed, to be respected and to contribute to the success of our great State. 

Editors note: Candidates on the November 5 ballot for Great Falls/Cascade County HD20 are Republican Melissa Nikolakakos and Democrat Rina Moore. Moore did not respond to our request for a candidate profile.

Name: Melissa Nikolakakos
Office Sought: House District 20
Occupation: Teacher
Age: 41
Family: Husband (George) Daughters (Story, Reagan, Melody, Abigail)
Education: BA, University of Montana (Education)
Organizational affiliations: Girl Scouts (Unit Service Leader) Raising Readers (Board Member)

As an educator, 4th generation Montanan, mom of four, twenty-year military spouse, and involved community member I pride myself in serving others. I’m running for office to bring common-sense conservative solutions to Helena and create a better community for our kids and families. Born and raised in small-town Montana I want to ensure those time-tested values are at the front and center of our legislative process.

A quality education for our children with deep parental involvement is my passion. I’ve served as a pre-school president, led with the “Raising Readers” Program (since merged by First Lady Susan Gianforte with the Dolly Parton Imagination Library) serve as a Girl Scout Service Unit Leader, and have served countless times as a PTA president. I’m committed to giving back and serving our community and kids and will work tirelessly every day in Helena to that end. 

We face many challenges in today’s political climate. Property taxes, inflation, and out of control housing costs are driving families from their homes and real reform is needed now. Fiscal responsibility and low regulation are the centerpieces to a strong economy, the backbone of a healthy opportunity driven society. This next legislative session we must enact significant property tax reform that offers meaningful relief to primary residence home-owners, bolster career and technical education and the Teach Act, and return a significant portion of the budget surplus to taxpayers.  

There’s much more but the simple fact is that today both political parties are failing our people. It’s time to retire out of touch self-serving politicians and elect every-day Montanans who want to civilly solve problems rather than create constant conflict and chaos. I’m ready to bring real-world experience and Montana values to Helena to do just that. I look forward to visiting and hopefully earning your vote to serve our community to the best of my ability.

Editors note: Today E-City Beat begins publishing the local candidate profiles provided by those who responded to our request.

Kevin’s life revolves around education, the outdoors and freedom. He moved his family to Great Falls later in 2016. He and his wife have a 6-year-old adopted boy.

Kevin and his wife Annie opened a family run tutoring center in 2017 where they school homeschoolers K-12, advocate for children who receiving Special Education services in public schools and after school tutoring.

Kevin has run for the State Senate 2018, State Superintendent of Public Instruction 2020 and Great Falls public School Board in 2021 and is currently running for HD23 in Great Falls.

Campaign Vision

“To establish a society where individual freedom and personal responsibility are paramount, and the role of government is strictly limited to protecting the rights and property of its citizens.”

Core Principles

• Individual Liberty: Championing the rights of individuals to live their lives as they see fit, as long as they do not harm others.
• Limited Government: Advocating for a minimal state role in personal and economic affairs, emphasizing that government’s primary function should be to protect individual rights and property. 
• Free Market Economy: Promoting unfettered capitalism, deregulation, and free trade as the best means to achieve prosperity and innovation.
• Property Rights: Asserting strong protections for private property as a cornerstone of freedom and economic development.
• Self-Reliance and Personal Responsibility: Encouraging individuals to take responsibility for their own lives and welfare, rather than relying on government assistance.
• Non-Interventionism: Opposing military interventions overseas and promoting a foreign policy based on trade and peaceful diplomacy.

Policy Platform

• Economic Policies:
• Comprehensive tax reform with significant reductions in personal and corporate tax rates.
• Elimination of subsidies and government interventions that distort the free market.
• Deregulation to remove unnecessary bureaucratic barriers to business and innovation.
• Social Policies:
• Protecting individual freedoms in personal and social matters, with minimal government interference.
• Opposing government surveillance and any infringements on privacy rights.
• Government Reform:
• Reducing the size and scope of government, including cuts to unnecessary departments and agencies.
• Implementing term limits for all elected officials to prevent career politicians.
• Promoting transparency and accountability in government operations.
• Justice and Public Safety:
• Reforming the criminal justice system to focus on rehabilitation and reducing recidivism.
• Protecting the right to bear arms is a fundamental individual liberty.
• Prioritizing community-based approaches to public safety over federal intervention.

School Freedom

“Empower families and educators to create and choose the best educational opportunities for their children, fostering innovation, excellence, and diversity in education.”

Core Principles

• Educational Choice: Supporting the right of parents and guardians to choose the best educational setting for their children, whether it’s public, private, charter, homeschooling, or alternative learning models.
• Decentralization: Advocating for the decentralization of educational governance, giving more control to local communities and reducing federal and state oversight.
• Market-Based Solutions: Promoting competition among schools to improve quality and efficiency, using market principles to drive innovation and responsiveness to student and parent needs.
• Deregulation: Reducing bureaucratic regulations that stifle educational innovation and creativity, enabling educators to tailor learning experiences to their students’ needs.
• Funding Flexibility: Supporting funding mechanisms such as education savings accounts (ESAs), vouchers, and tax credits that allow public education funds to follow students to the schools or services that best meet their needs.

Here are the local Great Falls candidates running for state legislature. Below the list is the email E-City Beat sent to all of the candidates requesting a profile, their reasons for running, and their priorities if elected. We’ll be publishing their responses in the coming weeks.

HD 19 (Open seat)
Jane Weber – D
Hannah Trebas – R

HD 20 (Open seat)
Melissa Nikolakakos – R
Rina Fontana Moore – D

HD 21
Ed Buttrey – R (Incumbent)
Lela Graham – D

HD 22
George Nikolakakos – R (Incumbent)
Ron Paulick – D

HD 23
Eric Tilleman – R (Incumbent)
Sandor Hopkins – D
Kevin Leatherbarrow – L

HD 25
Steve Gist – R (Incumbent)
James Rickley – D

Cascade County Commission (Open Seat)
Don Ryan – D
Eric Hinebauch – R

Greetings, candidates,

In order to help fully inform local voters about who our local candidates are and where they stand on the issues before the upcoming election, E-City Beat is requesting a candidate profile from each of you. We’re asking for you to provide our readers with a little personal bio and your reasons for running for office in the upcoming election.

We’d like you to also include the top two or three challenges you think our state and community are facing and how you would address those issues.
Include your profile pic also, if you’d like.

Please keep your submission to 600 words or less and send it in MS Word format to ecitybeat@straymoose.com by September 24, 2024. We will publish your submissions without edits or editorial comment.

Thank you and good luck in the upcoming election.

Philip Faccenda
ECB Editor/Publisher

Editors note: All of the local Great Falls/Cascade County legislative and county commission contests in the June 4 primary election are Republican. HD21 candidate James Osterman did not submit a profile to E-City Beat. Here is the profile submitted by incumbent Ed Buttrey, unedited:

Personal Bio:

I am a 4^th generation Montanan, born in Helena and raised in Great Falls.  I have a degree in Electrical Engineering, and formerly worked out of State as a weapon’s systems designer.  Thankfully, I was able to return to Montana, where I get to live, work, raise my family and realize the beauty of Montana every day. 

I have served in the Montana State House since 2019, and formerly served in the Montana Senate (2011-2018) where I have held leadership positions in each of my legislative sessions.  I served as a two-term Majority Whip in the Montana Senate and currently serve as the Chairman of the Senate Business, Labor and Economic Affairs Committee as well as a member of the House Rules Committee, the House Health and Human Services Committee and the State Broadband Committee.

I have also served as a member of many community boards, as a Fire Department Captain, Emergency Medical Technician, Search and Rescue Diver, Chairman of the Great Falls International Airport Authority, and as a varsity football coach and radio announcer.  This service is only due to the amazing support of my wife Jessica, daughters Kenzy, Macy, TayLee and mother Joan, all living locally in Great Falls. 

Reasons for Running for Office:

As an advocate for public service, I continually strive to find unique solutions and ways to help the people in our community and HD21.  Becoming a member of the Montana Legislature has been a great honor and has allowed me to learn more about the issues and needs of our State and the people who call it home.  The Legislature has offered a unique opportunity to enact policies in Economic Development, Healthcare, protecting our Military assets and families, and to promote for the well-being of Montana families.  I thoroughly enjoy finding solutions to help people and this is why I have run and continue to run for public office.   

Top Challenges:

In these trying political times, there are a number of challenges faced by our community and State that I hope to address in the upcoming Legislative session.  First of all, we are facing an economic crisis nationwide and statewide where the costs of living (food, fuel, housing, taxes) are providing challenges for everyone.  Through responsible budgeting, regulation relief, and tax reform we can ensure that Montanans are able to keep more of their hard-earned money.  I am working hard with others on a plan to finally implement a property tax system that is affordable, responsible and fair. 

We must also keep State and local government responsible and efficient, getting out of the way of business innovation and success, promoting housing development with regulation relief, and ensuring that we have a healthy and reliable workforce for our businesses.  Government can be part of the solution, and should help when needed, but more importantly should get out of the way to allow for individual responsibility and innovation, and to let our families and businesses succeed. 

Finally, we have critical issues with drug related crime and mental health.  While some may choose to bury their heads in the sand and hope these issues go away, the truth is that these issues are impacting everyone in our Montana communities.  If re-elected, I will continue to work to ensure that resources are available to provide help for those that need it, want it and are willing to do the work.  Everyone deserves a chance to succeed, to be respected and to contribute to the success of our great State. 

Editors note: All of the local Great Falls/Cascade County legislative and county commission contests in the June 4 primary election are Republican. HD22 candidate James Whitaker did not submit a profile to E-City Beat. Here is the profile submitted by incumbent George Nikolakakos, unedited:

Name: George Nikolakakos
Office Sought: House District 22
Occupation: Businessman, U.S. Air Force (Retired)
Age: 44
Family: Wife (Melissa) Daughters (Story, Reagan, Melody, Abigail)
Education: BA, Excelsior College (U.S. History)
Military Experience: 20 years (Active USAF/Montana Air National Guard)
Organizational affiliations: NeighborWorks Montana (Director) Great Falls Development Alliance (Director) Veterans Treatment Court (Mentor)
Political Experience: Representative, House District 26 (Taxation, Human Services Committee)

It was the honor of my life to serve Montanans over the last legislative session. I’m running for re-election because I believe serving a cause greater than self is central to a well lived life and a healthy society. I was proud to pass seven bills over my first session cutting property taxes for low income seniors, boosting 2A rights and, as well as multiple bills cutting red tape for business. In the legislature I will continue to work hard at finding conservative solutions that address problems for hardworking Montanans.  

Last session was marked by conservative achievements. We met our duty to balance our budget and set the example for fiscal responsibility by bolstering our rainy day/fire funds. We paid down all existing state debt and established smart long-term trusts that will leverage and invest hundreds of millions in infrastructure, roads, firefighting, housing, and more. We shrank government and passed the largest tax relief in state history (over a billion dollars) both via long term income tax reductions as well as income/property tax rebates.

I am especially proud of the 300 million dollars we invested toward mental health infrastructure and the 40 million dollars we invested towards a health insurance trust supporting our teachers. From cutting taxes for military retiree pensions and enhancing service member spousal employment opportunities to investing in additional trades career & technical education space prohibits a full outline of the many legislative victories for Montana.

We still have work to do. Knocking doors in my district I continue to feel the pain inflicted by our broken property tax system. I am grateful to our Governor for appointing a task force of the brightest minds in our state to address the need for meaningful property tax reform. It is the most important responsibility facing our next legislature.  

We must focus on rebuilding our shrinking industrial tax base. A generation ago industry (mining, gas/oil, timber etc.) made up about 50% of our tax base. Today, as Montana has become a “scenery state” that burden has shifted to residential properties that now make up approximately 75% of the tax base. Long term solutions and pushing back against federal over-reach can resurrect our industrial base but in the meanwhile we can move on creative solutions like a homestead exemption (or something similar) for primary residences that would shift tax burden to the more than 1/5 homes in MT that are non-primary residences often owned by out of state folks. We should also boost sources of revenue that capture out of state tourist dollars as well as e-commerce and use them to pay down property taxes while boosting “circuit breaker” programs for those most in need.

Our state is also still running a surplus and we owe it to hardworking taxpayers to return it while also addressing critical mental health needs and the school funding formula.

In the legislature I will never forget that I have taken a step down to serve under people, not over them. I will work tirelessly to be of service to our community and always show up to listen and learn from people. I hope to earn the opportunity to continue serving Great Falls to the best of my ability.

Editors note: All of the local Great Falls/Cascade County legislative and county commission contests in the June 4 primary election are Republican. SD13 candidate Josh Kassmier did not submit a profile to E-City Beat. Here is the profile submitted by Lola Galloway, unedited:

What issues seem most important to your constituents during this campaign season? 

•Property taxes, thus losing assets to pay taxes

•Cost of living increasing everyday 

•Criminals illegally coming to our communities thus, squatters occupying vacant homes in our communities bringing drugs and the increase of criminal activities. 

•Medical costs, unaffordable insurance premiums and deductibles; Medical professionals’ required paperwork and not being paid by the federal program in a timely fashion, hurting their ability to pay their staff and stay in business. 

What topics need to be the Montana State Legislature’s top priorities in 2025?

•Refunding the  surplus from collected taxes and lowering future taxes, Property tax assessments

•Montana’s vulnerability to an energy shortage; what is the solution to make and keep energy made here in Montana? 

•Getting people back to work and lack of a labor force; too many don’t need to work because of government providing their basic needs if they stay below poverty level. 

My goal as a legislator is to get the citizens educated and then actively involved in the legislative process through open mic meetings, one on one training on how to electronically follow the bill process, look up and contact your legislators,  having YOUR VOICE back in government. 

I’m here to be THAT kind of a Senator for you.

Lola Galloway