Letters to the editor Sept. 13

Dark money

As a fan of local history, I was fascinated to learn about Montana’s Corrupt Practices Act, which passed by ballot initiative in 1912 and completely banned corporate influence in our elections for 100 years. We needed this law because the Copper Kings were able to buy elections outright, from state representatives all the way up to the U.S. Senate.

But ever since the Citizens United ruling found that corporations had First Amendment rights and that money is speech, we’ve had a flood of outside, anonymous money distorting Montana elections. Instead of the copper companies we’ve got tech companies wanting to build data centers and anonymous billionaires pushing their unaccountable agendas.

Ballot Initiative I-194, also known as The Montana Plan, is one way regular people can fight back against this flood of cash. It would change Montana’s corporate law so that “artificial persons”— aka corporations, nonprofits and dark money C-4 organizations — would not have the power to spend money in elections. The state defines these entities, so it can define their powers. This is how we can get back to the principle of “one person, one vote” instead of greater influence going to those with bigger bank accounts.

As a father and a conservationist, I want to see this state’s traditions of independence and natural beauty continue into the next generation. So I’m voting yes on Ballot Initiative 194. I hope you’ll join me.

— Seth Morgan, Bigfork

Bodnar’s values

I write to endorse Seth Bodnar for election as a U.S. senator from Montana. Bodnar is running as an independent to fill the seat being vacated by Sen. Steve Daines. He is by far the best person to represent all Montanans in the Senate.

Bodnar graduated from the United States Military Academy in 2001. He was selected as a Rhodes Scholar and then served multiple combat tours with the U.S. Army in the Middle East. After serving our nation in combat, he became an executive at General Electric Corporation. At all times he has epitomized the Military Academy’s motto of “Duty, Honor, Country.” He is running as an independent and we need a senator who is not beholden to either major political party.

I met Bodnar in 2017 and, as a member of the University of Montana’s Alumni Board for the past six years, I have observed his leadership as president of the university in numerous meetings with the board. He has now chosen to serve the people of our state in Washington D. C. 

While president of UM, Bodnar was student- and university-focused. He reversed the steep decline in enrollment, he refinanced the university’s debt, saving millions of dollars, and he led a concerted effort to upgrade and fix the campus infrastructure. He oversaw a review of the academic programs at the UM to determine those which best serve the students’ needs and goals. He made hard decisions to align the faculty with the needs and interests of today’s college students. His job performance in the U.S. Army, in General Electric Corporation and at the University of Montana has been spectacular.

Bodnar is who our state and nation need as a U.S. senator, especially with the way our country’s affairs are going. Our current senators have ignored major issues such as the Iran war, the sputtering economy and the disparities in wealth. Worst of all our Republican senators have ignored the assaults made on our constitutional Bill of Rights. This situation needs to change, and Bodnar can and will stand up for our constitutional, personal and moral values. He will carry an independent voice to Washington and put the needs of the people of Montana first.

Please join me in supporting Seth Bodnar’s election for the good of our state and the nation.

— Scott Wheeler, Kalispell