Hello Monday – here are a few topics that caught my attention:
- Great Falls Mayor
- Great Falls Crime Problem
- One More Thing
GREAT FALLS MAYOR:
According to reporting from KRTV, Mayor Bob Kelly will not seek reelection, and City Commissioner Joe McKenney will run for Mayor. As previously reported, former Cascade County undersheriff Cory Reeves is running for Mayor.
I’m sure there will others who decide to run. It will probably be a free-for-all.
I hope someone runs who say they will not vote to raise taxes or fees during their term. I want someone who is on the taxpayer’s side 100%.
We are going to be taxed to death very soon – with the county safety levy that passed in November adding to our taxes and a proposed city public safety levy going to voters that would cost taxpayers an additional $280 per year on a $200,000 home. I also hear there is going to be a fee increase for sanitation. Supposedly, they increased it last year.
This silliness has got to stop.
Read the complete report from KRTV HERE.
GREAT FALLS CRIME PROBLEM:
BOLO – (Be On the Lookout) – With the recent uptick of crimes that received attention in Great Falls, this is a great opportunity for those who want to raise our taxes to promote the passage of the Great Falls public safety levy.
Don’t get me wrong, I am totally against the Great Falls Public Safety Levy.
There will be an all-out blitz to tell us how unsafe our community is, and every crime committed until election day will be highlighted with, “if only we had the resources, it could have been prevented.”
It appears the city will even use taxpayer money to promote raising our taxes to get this safety levy passed. That just seems shady.
I don’t think taxing the hell of people will make that much of a difference. Is it the taxpayer’s fault that the leadership of Great Falls has put us in this situation? I don’t think so. Throwing dollars at the mess and claiming we need to provide them with the “resources they need to do their job” is a non-starter in my book.
Isn’t it ironic that we have all these legal guns on the streets, and we still have a crime problem?
You can bet I will be following this issue closely.
ONE MORE THING:
This was the forecast for the Trump rally in Waco, Texas:
Temperatures in the 70s, IQs much lower…
The Western Word 
I hope neither mayor candidate is in any way, shape or form considering supporting the McLean (sp) Cameron Animal Shelter with tax dollars.
Once I determine where they stand on that – I’ll look at other issues.
But, I most likely will support Joe, having known & liked him for many. I was disappointed with Cory’s response to a previous issue when he was Under Sheriff.
I wonder what it is in Cory’s background as a cop that makes him think he has the skill set to be mayor? I’ve been booted from many public meetings by cops for simply trying to testify publicly. If the powers that be don’t like what you have to say, out you go! Is that what Cory brings, another authoritarian mindset? If that’s the case, no thanks.
But beyond qualifications, we need to know where Cory stands. Since he was an acolyte of Jesse’s, I assume that he too adheres to the Constitutionalist beliefs, major tenets of which are racism and bigotry. And the last thing we need in Montana are more politicians who are ugly racists and bigots. We’ve got enough in our current Legislature. Will he lie like Jesse did to get elected and then suddenly come out after being elected? These are questions he must answer.
And finally, will he adopt Jesse’s policy of trying to influence our school kids in the extreme right wing philosophies of Hillsdale College. Here is an ad I stole from the ECB site about Hillsdale. Perhaps folks in Great Falls want their children indoctrinated in extreme fascist beliefs. If so, fine. But at least folks deserve to know what they’re getting into.
Is this what you want your kids taught instead of actual history? Better ask Cory!
https://lp.hillsdale.edu/imprimis-critical-race-theory/?sc=MK421DA2&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIkM2O66j8_QIVijkBCh2CyQwmEAEYASAAEgL_HPD_BwE
Commissioner McKenney would probably make an okay mayor. The reality of city government has been an eye opener for him. Of all the current commissioners he also seems to be the one who has really done his homework before meetings.
Still have not made up my mind on that safety levy. It’s a 60% increase in City general fund! I’m sold on adding extra firefighters, and at least one more station. Judicial staff also probably needed. But I’m not yet sold on the half the levy amount for extra police.
Will any number of extra police have much impact on the violence with a legislature that’s determined to make guns easier to obtain and carry as well as preventing state or local cops from doing anything to help enforce Federal gun laws? (Add certain local law enforcement to that push). Plus that law they passed a few sessions back, the one the cops are always complaining about, that puts offenders back on the street.
Would be nice to know ahead of time exactly what we could expect to see for that money out of our pockets aside from “and then a miracle occurs”. There’s little if anything in it targeted to preventing crimes in the first place. And no money for more jail space.
I see Billings just had a run of gun incidents too, so it isn’t just us. Before long it’s gonna be like Chicago here in MT and all those guns our legislators are pushing out on city streets will be injuring and killing bystanders as well as the targets. Tell us exactly how that public safety levy is going to head that off.
Will probably just wait and see the new “city services” hikes, new property taxable valuations in June, and the new tax bill in the Fall with everything they’ve already piled on. If there’s already a big hike from last year it’s gonna be tough to vote for piling on more.
Great comments. I like McKenney. I have known him for years. -JmB
I have had similar thoughts about levies when I consider what Ms. Merchant is proposing – turning elections into “at-the-polls” only (which she cannot do legally) at double the cost of mail-in elections. I have wondered what she is going to “defund” in order to do that. I’ll be at the Commissioner’s meeting tomorrow to find out.
That should be an interesting meeting! Thanks, JmB