Thursday Thoughts

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Greetings! Here are the topics for today’s column:

  • Municipal Election
  • SNAP Benefits Rally
  • GOP Election Losses
  • One More Thing

Today is Thursday, November 6, 2025, which is Day #37 of the Trump Shutdown—the longest federal government shutdown in U.S. history. 

MUNICIPAL ELECTION:

The votes in the Great Falls Municipal Election took forever to be counted by the Cascade County Elections Department. The Electric reported that Terry Thompson, Cascade County elections supervisor, said she implemented a new process for this election for greater tracking and accountability of ballots that rankled some since it took more time.

Good grief. Just count the freaking votes. Stop experimenting. As far as I could tell, the votes for the Great Falls municipal election came in last in the state. The Electric announced that the last batch of ballots was counted at around 9:20 a.m. Wednesday morning. (Source) 

There were only about 16,500 ballots to be counted. I think Thompson should look for another line of work. 

As for the results, I have mixed feelings. It kind of reminds me of Groundhog Day, when the groundhog sees his shadow and we get six more weeks of winter. 

Cory Reeves was reelected mayor, which is a two-year term. That means we’ll get to see two more years of higher taxes, rates, and fees. 

Joe McKenney was reelected commissioner, which is a four-year term. That means we’ll get to see four more years of higher taxes, rates, and fees. 

I was happy that Casey Schreiner was elected to the commission. Maybe he can bring some common sense to the commission that is so desperately needed. 

I want to applaud Jasmine Taylor and her run for mayor. She was relentlessly attacked by the MAGAs in the area and still pulled in about 27% of the vote. I hope she stays active. Great Falls needs her views, and she has a strong following. 

There will be a ban on certain fireworks in the city. It will be interesting to see how it works. 

Finally, thanks to all the people who ran for office. Also, thanks to those who voted. 

You can read the election coverage from The Electric HERE. 

SNAP BENEFITS RALLY:

On Saturday, Nov. 8, from 10-10:30 AM, there will be a rally in support of SNAP benefit recipients at Helping Hands at the former First English Lutheran Church, 726 2nd Ave. N. in Great Falls. 

According to the press release, organizers request: 

Please arrive promptly, wear comfortable shoes and warm clothing. A free-will offering in support of Helping Hands will be collected.

The goal is to visually represent the people in our community adversely affected by SNAP reductions. 

The photos and videos collected will be sent to elected officials at the national and state levels, as well as to other community leaders.  

The Rally is being co-sponsored by: Citizens 4 Government Transparency, Helping Hands, Housed Great Falls, and Great Falls Rising. 

More information can be found HERE. 

GOP ELECTION LOSSES:

The Hill and other sources reported that President Trump, on Wednesday, acknowledged Republicans’ poor Election Day results, suggesting the ongoing government shutdown was part of the reason Democrats secured major victories in New Jersey, Virginia, and elsewhere.

As I have mentioned in previous columns, many polls show that people think the Republicans are mostly at fault for the shutdown. 

These victories may give Democrats the guts to stay the course, and they may make Republicans want to compromise. 

ONE MORE THING:

Being offended does not make you right. 

## THE END ## 

4 thoughts on “Thursday Thoughts”

  1. Thank you for mentioning the Rally to support SNAP. The SNAP program serves almost 9,000 people in Cascade County. When promises are broken, we must act.

  2. Last election Ms. Thompson took a good deal of criticism because very tired senior citizen election volunteers placed a few uncounted ballots in wrong trays at some point during that long night. Can’t blame her one bit for putting in place double-checking procedures to prevent that happening again. Unfortunately it added time to the process.

    As for the new fireworks ban, just visit Billings on the 4th of July and see how well the ban works there. At least maybe the new law will allow police to hand out $25 fines to super egregious offenders. If our commissioners are smart maybe they can create a fine structure that will take in enough money every year to fund more than 7 cops on the streets at any given time, to ride close herd on all the fireworks criminals.

    • Thanks for your comments. I still have doubts about Thompson’s leadership in the Election department. Seems like Cascade County is always last in getting the results posted.
      As for fireworks, maybe the city can make money off the tickets, like they have with the cellphone ban! 😂-JmB

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