Thankful for all-mail ballot

Voting needs to be easy, accessible and for everyone. I’m thankful the county commissioners moved Flathead to an all-mail in ballot this year. 2020 has been a year full of changes but this decision gives consistency and an opportunity to communicate the plan to all voters.

Though the Election’s Office was working hard to make in person voting possible, it was becoming inconsistent and confusing. The plans included only having half of the polling locations open. This meant changed polling locations for many voters. In Columbia Falls, for example, they were still having difficulty securing one of the polling locations. The backup plan was to move this polling site to the County Fairgrounds which would have meant half of Columbia Falls would have to drive to Kalispell for in-person voting. This could make for plenty of confusion and make voting difficult or impossible for those without transportation.

As the commissioners pointed out, we have a great Elections Office with very competent staff. And we have had no issues in Flathead of voting fraud by mail. This plan lets the Elections Office make plans for community drop-off locations and how to help voters get their votes counted. Most importantly, this is a clear plan that we all can communicate and make work. And voters should know that they take their ballots in person into the county office, hand it to elections official and still get their sticker.

Thank you county commissioners for making sure Flathead citizens can safely and confidently vote this election.

—Kyle Waterman, Kalispell

Notorious Anti-gunner

I received a pandering piece of 2nd Amendment support about Steve Bullock from some slick Wall Street marketing firm in the mail, attempting to convince me that a posed picture of a man with a shotgun over his shoulder is pro-gun. Steve Bullock is no friend of the 2nd Amendment and no friend of Montana firearm owners. In his eight years as governor, Bullock vetoed 16 pro gun bills approved by both the Montana Senate and House:

2013 - HB 304, HB 205, and HB 240; 2015 - HB 203, HB 533, HB 450, SB 295, and HB 298; 2017 - HB 280, SB 99, HB 494, HB 246, and HB 262; 2019 - HB 567, HB 325, and SB 304.

Bullock has not only virtue signaled his intentions to ban common firearms during his blip on the presidential radar, but has given us results in Montana that are easy to fact check. His vetoing of pro-gun bills shows that he is goose stepping in formation with the national anti-gun agenda as well.

The only thing a Wall Street marketing firm can do is gloss over the Notorious Anti-gunner Steve Bullock. It can’t, however, gloss over the facts.

—Rick Breckenridge, Kalispell

Debo Powers understands hard work

Debo Powers cares about people. When we elect her to return to the Montana State legislature for House District 3 (Columbia Falls, North Fork and the Canyon, she will represent not only locals, but all

Montanans as well. Debo is a smart, strong, experienced, independent woman, who we need in Helena. She taught U.S. history and government for 20 years in public high school, and was a grade school principal for another 13 years, so she knows public education, what works, what doesn’t and how to make it better.

Her father was career military, so Debo understands and empathizes with Montana veterans and active-duty service men and women.

She’s been a fire service lookout, so she knows the value of public lands in public hands, and understands the U.S. Forest Service operations in Montana.

Debo participated in the Whitefish Range Partnership that over 13 months brought a diverse group of loggers, snowmobilers, backcountry horsemen, mountain bikers and wilderness advocates together to create a unanimously approved proposal for the Whitefish Range that became part of the Flathead Forest Plan.

Her experience and wisdom shows Debo knows how to get the job done, to find collaborative solutions to problems and work with diverse interests to make good things happen for all Montanans.

Debo is real. At a recent volunteer day putting up highway signs for her campaign, at the end of the day as we finished our hard work, Debo recited the poem “To Be Of Use” by Marge Piercy, that she noted was appropriate for our effort. It reads in part:

The people I love the best jump into work head first without dallying in the shallows and swim off with sure strokes almost out of sight . . .

I love people who harness themselves, an ox to a heavy cart, who pull like water buffalo, with massive patience, who strain in the mud and the muck to move things forward, who do what has to be done, again and again.

I want to be with people who submerge in the task, who go into the fields to harvest and work in a row and pass the bags along, who are not parlor generals and field deserters but move in a common rhythm when the food must come in or the fire be put out . . .

Debo Powers understands hard work that will benefit all Montanans.

That’s what she’ll do when we send her back to represent House District 3.

—Gil Jordan, Coram

Extreme Kathleen

After running a far-left campaign in 2018 focused on having the “strongest progressive record” and being soundly rejected by Montana voters, it appears Kathleen Williams is changing her tune. Extreme Kathleen is now attempting to paint herself as a “true, independent leader” but Montanans have seen her true colors — and we aren’t so quick to forget.

Extreme Kathleen has admitted that her health-care policies are aimed at pushing our country toward the total government takeover of our health-care system proposed by socialist Bernie Sanders.

Time and again she’s supported restrictions on guns and hunting, a record so strong against our 2nd Amendment she earned a “F” rating from the NRA. Extreme Kathleen even said she was “proud” of her failing grade on gun rights calling it a “badge of honor”.

She’s led an all-out crusade against Montana’s energy industry. Extreme Kathleen supports crushing taxes and regulations on energy producers and job-killing Green New Deal policies that would decimate our economy.

Kathleen Williams is desperately trying to rewrite her extreme record, attempting to mislead Montanans and disguise herself as a moderate. It’s clear Extreme Kathleen is neither true, nor independent. Certainly not a leader, a wolf in sheep’s clothing is more accurate.

—Chase Sick, Big Sky

Clear and present danger

Why do the vast majority of people around the world find the current occupant of the Whitehouse so utterly repulsive in every respect? It has absolutely nothing to do with “fake media.”

It’s what each one of us see and hear directly from this man on a daily basis.

His sole accomplishment after three years in office has been to sow racial hate and discord among us to a degree not seen since Andrew Johnson, immediately following the Civil War 155 years ago. This man’s shocking colossal ignorance, pathological lying and an almost slavish devotion to dictators such as Vladimir Putin and the Saudi Crown Prince have created a clear and present danger to the entire world. This is a man who would eat his own young to save himself.

In November, vote like the lives of your Grandchildren depend on it, because they do.

—Jim Lockwood, Whitefish