E-City Beat Requests Info From Candidates

ECB Staff on September 16, 2024

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

Sheehy Increases Lead Over Tester, Mural For GF Slain Officer, And More

ECB Staff on September 9, 2024

Jon Tester continues to fall behind Tim Sheehy in pivotal MT U.S. Senate race, which could determine Senate majority, from MTPR:
https://www.mtpr.org/montana-news/2024-09-06/tester-trails-sheehy-in-senate-race-according-to-aarp-poll

Memorial Mural for Great Falls police officer, Shane Chadwick, is revealed, from KRTV:
https://www.krtv.com/news/great-falls-news/shane-chadwick-memorial-mural-unveiled-in-great-falls

Missing boy found safe in Great Falls, from ABC/FOX NonStop Local:
https://www.montanarightnow.com/great-falls/boy-spotted-at-great-falls-gas-station-found-sunday-evening/article_7d611fbc-6c7e-11ef-aa68-e348bff5430a.html

Anti-Corporate Blabbermouth Hypocrisy

Rick Tryon on August 28, 2024

The further we allow our country to drift towards the far left, the more apparent the hypocrisy of the American Neo Socialist movement becomes as it relates to basic economic realities.

Even right here in Great Falls it’s surprising how many times I hear and read local progressives implying, or just coming right out and saying, that corporations are at the root of all of our problems – even while those same folks continue buying, using, and consuming corporate goods and services 24/7/365.

“Corporations are rich, evil, greedy, controlling entities that are destroying our country. We should boycott all of them…”, they say – on Facebook or Twitter (corporations) from an Apple or Microsoft (corporations) computer while sipping a Starbucks (corporation) latte.

Then getting in a Subaru (foreign corporation), filling up at Town Pump (corporation), driving down a street (paid for in part by corporate taxes) while listening to EMI (foreign corporation) artist Paul McCartney on a Sony (foreign corporation) mp3 player, on their way to a job at Green Energy Corporation.

Then for lunch picking up some McDonalds (corporation) and checking their DAD (corporation) stock and US Bank (corporation) savings accounts before going home to a house built with Building Materials Corporation of America products and financed by Home Mortgage Corporation, popping a DVD into a Hitachi (foreign corporation) DVD player to watch Kung Fu Panda (DreamWorks Corporation) on an RCA (corporation) flat screen and opening a Westinghouse (corporation) refrigerator for some Ben & Jerry’s (corporation) ice cream.

Then after brushing their teeth (Colgate Palmolive Corporation) and watching a late show on CBS (corporation) they close their eyes and think, “Yeah, I sure hate those useless corporations…” before drifting off to sleep on a Sealy (corporation) mattress.

MT Property Tax Rebate, Sheehy Up 6 On Tester, And More

ECB Staff on August 19, 2024

Governors task force releases Montana property tax recommendations, from the AP:
https://apnews.com/us-news/montana-greg-gianforte-taxes-helena-general-news-9d41adc39c548dac5cb059f3e85ec894

Sheehy leads Tester by 6 points in Montana senate race, from ABC NonStop Local:
https://www.montanarightnow.com/elections/montana-political-show/new-poll-takes-a-look-at-how-montanans-feel-ahead-of-general-election/video_0ed57cf5-32b3-5a0b-b660-a9e461adb259.html

Property tax rebate available to apply for in Montana, from the Montana Free Press:
Homeowners have till Oct. 1 to apply for second Montana property tax rebate (montanafreepress.org)

Crime Stoppers Most Wanted, from the Great Falls Gazette:
CrimeStoppers Most Wanted – Coss, Dan Tanna – Great Falls Gazette ® (gfgazette.com)

Tester Doesn’t Vote For Kamala, Bozeman Trump Rally, And More

ECB Staff on August 7, 2024

This weeks news roundup

Senator Tester only one of 25 Montana Democrat delegates to not vote for Harris as Dem nominee, from MTPR:
https://www.mtpr.org/montana-news/2024-08-06/tester-withholds-vote-for-harris-highlights-republican-support

Trump rally in Bozeman to support GOP Senate candidate Tim Sheehy, from KRTV:
https://www.krtv.com/news/montana-and-regional-news/trump-supporters-excited-about-his-montana-visit

Big Lots stores closing in Great Falls and Helena, from ABC/Fox NonStop Local:
https://www.montanarightnow.com/great-falls/big-lots-to-close-two-montana-locations-in-helena-great-falls/article_c8dd718e-5342-11ef-a00a-7b1d04d09770.html

Letter To The Editor: Is it the State Fair or the State of the Fair?

ECB Staff on July 29, 2024

Editors note: the opinions expressed in “Letters to the Editor” do not necessarily reflect the opinions of E-City Beat, our volunteer staff, or contributors. All letters to the editor are welcome and will be considered for publication.

If you plan to go to the Fair this year, be prepared. As the saying goes, “This ain’t your grandfathers fair.”

Why? Where do I begin? The food vendors. More on that later. At least 3 fewer rides (and they were the most thrill ones at that.) Fewer overall vendors. Empty spaces in both food and around the park circle. Most notably absent this year is the free acts on the 3 Rivers Stage. None this year. Zero. Zilch. Nada. The Big Goose Egg. What replaced them? Free bingo at the times you would have seen shows.

So. Is it the wonderful (I say that loosely) County Commissioners or the (again loosely) Fair Board? Seems that we have people who were once kids like all of us were, and enjoyed fairs and all that, but now are overlords and can set the terms for what is fun.

Now about the food vendors. What has worked for years is now no longer allowed. Despite a clean record, it seems we have “Der Kommissar” who found that in the Minnesota State Fair problems happened and new rules of engagement had to implemented. So a fair that is one of the largest is compared to one of the smallest. Apples to oranges anyone? Coke to Pepsi? Some vendors no longer have the little paper cups for condiments. After all, paper is flammable. All of these changes required the vendors to pay more money to have what is now ordered for the privilege of serving us at the fair.

Seems there is money to be made in the name of safety (notice money comes first?) We all know it is “All about the Benjamin’s.” On the GFFR site on July 5th, a record of the calls made on the 4th was posted. One very interesting one stands out from the others. A fire that was started by the City’s fireworks was listed. Did they fine themselves? I doubt it. So there is a double standard depending on who or what you are. Just as if a dangerous intersection exists somewhere, before a light is put up there has to be enough accidents first. So show us the record of incidents at the fair that warrants the changes. Comparing us to a large city is not enough. The number of incidents over the years in terms of percentage should count. In doing so, when a certain outcome is desired, the info to obtain that outcome is placed. So could we really trust what the overlords tell us?

Keith

Can The City Of Great Falls Reduce Spending?

Rick Tryon on July 22, 2024

Lat week the Great Falls City Commission passed the City’s Fiscal Year 2025 budget. You can view the budget details here.

This year’s budget included a marginal tax increase for local property owners – $2.25 per month for a $300,000 home.

I’ve received several general questions about how our budget works and so I’d like to briefly address those here.

First, can the City reduce spending? The answer is, yes of course it can.

But the better question is this: Can the City reduce spending and continue to maintain the level of public safety, public services, and public amenities that citizens require and expect? That is the balance that must be struck each and every budget cycle, and I am satisfied that we accomplished that difficult balance this year.

So in light of that, I’ve been asked to define in simple terms the only two ways the City can raise taxes for the general fund.

Permissive Medical Levy

Rising health insurance costs for employees have gone up again this year and if we want to attract and retain quality City employees and professional management positions we have to compete in the job market with other municipalities and private sector employers.

The permissive medical mill levy can be used by a political subdivision, like the City of Great Falls, to pay for increased costs of group health insurance benefits for its employees. This year the budget is raising the levy 1.58%, equaling $317,544, to cover the rising cost of City employee health insurance premiums.

Inflationary Factor

Inflation is a very real problem that impacts every City department – the ever-rising cost of the supplies, materials, equipment, and parts it takes to maintain a quality modern city has been, and will continue to be, a major challenge.

Per Montana Code Annotated the City can only raise property taxes via the inflationary factor by half the average rate of inflation for the previous three years. This fiscal year the factor is 2.8%, allowing the City to raise $562,520 for general fund purposes, which includes police, fire, and courts.

Melania Trump: “…every single politician is a man or a woman with a loving family.”

ECB Staff on July 15, 2024

Editors note: Here is full text of the letter Melania Trump wrote to America the day after her husband, former President Donald Trump, survived an assassination attempt in Butler, Pennsylvania.

Melania Trump
July 14, 2024

I am thinking of you, now, my fellow Americans.

We have always been a unique union. America, the fabric of our gentle nation is tattered, but our courage and common sense must ascend and bring us back together as one.

When I watched that violent bullet strike my husband, Donald, I realized my life, and Barron’s life, were on the brink of devastating change. I am grateful to the brave secret service agents and law enforcement officials who risked their own lives to protect my husband.

To the families of the innocent victims who are now suffering from this heinous act, I humbly offer my sincerest sympathy. Your need to summon your inner strength for such a terrible reason saddens me.

A monster who recognized my husband as an inhuman political machine attempted to ring out Donald’s passion – his laughter, ingenuity, love of music, and inspiration. The core facets of my husband’s life – his human side – were buried below the political machine. Donald, the generous and caring man who I have been with through the best of times and the worst of times.

Let us not forget that differing opinions, policy, and political games are inferior to love. Our personal, structural, and life commitment – until death – is at serious risk. Political concepts are simple when compared to us, human beings.

We are all humans, and fundamentally, instinctively, we want to help one another. American politics are only one vehicle that can uplift our communities. Love, compassion, kindness and empathy are necessities.

And let us remember that when the time comes to look beyond the left and the right, beyond the red and the blue, we all come from families with the passion to fight for a better life together, while we are here, in this earthly realm.

Dawn is here again. Let us reunite. Now.

This morning, ascend above the hate, the vitriol, and the simple-minded ideas that ignite violence. We all want a world where respect is paramount, family is first, and love transcends. We can realize this world again. Each of us must demand to get it back. We must insist that respect fills the cornerstone of our relationships again.

I am thinking of you, my fellow Americans.

The winds of change have arrived. For those of you who cry in support, I thank you. I commend those of you who have reached out beyond the political divide – thank you for remembering that every single politician is a man or a woman with a loving family.

Biden In Trouble, Tester Turns To Vodka, MT SOS And Abortion, And More

ECB Staff on July 10, 2024

Jon Tester told Montana voters in 2023 that Joe Biden was “absolutely 100% with it” – then came the presidential debate in June…and vodka-cran for Senator Tester, from the Daily Caller:
https://dailycaller.com/2024/07/10/jon-tester-joe-biden-bistro-cacao-vodka-cranberry

MT Secretary of State Jacobsen claims some CI-128 signatures invalid, from the Missoula Current:
https://missoulacurrent.com/abortion-petition-signatures/

Great Falls indoor recreation center/pool now open to the public, from KRTV:
https://www.krtv.com/news/great-falls-news/aim-high-big-sky-recreation-center-opens-in-great-falls