Tagged: Flathead County

Posted: April 29, 2013 at 11:12 pm

TEA Partiers Vote to Keep Seniors in Barn Rather than Use Federal Funds for Senior Center

by Cowgirl

TEA Party GOP County Commissioners have voted against grant money for a home for the local senior center–even after they previously committed to apply for the funds. Their actions will force the seniors to gather in a rented barn with numerous safety hazards–and pay rent for that privilege to key campaign supporters of the Republican commissioners’ campaigns.

The ultra-conservative Flathead Daily Inter Lake‘s editorial page explains the problem–and-excoriates Pam Holmquist and Gary Krueger soundly for their “shameful” actions and for “failing to lead” and “turning [their] backs on grandma and grandpa.”

Here’s what happened.

Ten years ago, Flathead County needed a new senior center–the area is home to a large and growing senior population and their old space was terrible. This is a place where low income seniors who live alone can come for a hot meal and some company. The county moved the senior center to a rented barn. The building had multiple safety hazards, but warehousing the seniors in a barn was supposed to be a temporary thing.

Ten years later, the county has saved up almost enough money to relocate the seniors. The money comes not from local taxes. Rather, it comes from payments the federal government makes to local government entities with lots of federal land nearby (e.g. Glacier) which can’t be used as source of local tax revenue.

To make up the difference in cost between moving to a new location and the federal funds the county had in the bank, locals started looking at community development block grants. On February 21, 2013, commissioners officially voted to proceed with the grant.A local non-profit and the City of Kalispell had both planned to apply. However, when the county voted officially that it would apply, both entities stepped aside to give the county the spot in line for the money.

But at the last meeting county commission meeting, Pam Holmquist and Gary Krueger reneged and voted against the grant. Cal Scott opposed the other two Republicans, voting instead to uphold the commission’s previous promises.

Here’s the kicker. Because the county waited until the last minute to apply for the grant, its now too late for the city or local non-profits to apply. Whether this was part of a TEA Party plot to screw seniors or sheer incompetence is not known. What is known is that the senior center will remain in the barn–and paying rent to the commissioners’ campaign supporters.

This isn’t the first scandal to plague the Flathead County Commission. In the United States of America today, it is illegal to allow only wealthy property owners to vote. So in 2011 the Republican Flathead County Commissioners did the next best thing.

They sent out a survey to the ‘doughnut’ residents (people who live in a ring around the outer edge of the city of Whitefish) asking who they prefer to manage planning and zoning, the county or city of Whitefish. Instead of mailing surveys to the registered voters in the area in question, they sent the surveys only to corporations and property owners. If you resided in the area, but didn’t make enough to own property, well, you weren’t allowed to voice your opinion.

In 2012, Flathead County officials told citizens who wanted to see the public documents related to Dennis Rehberg’s boat crash that in order get an email with the documents they must pay a fee of $82.50 per email for “photocopying.”

Posted: October 8, 2012 at 6:27 pm

Republican Caught Making Up His Education

We’ve all heard of children making up lies about the dog eating their homework, but a Republican candidate in the Flathead has made up his educational background entirely, the Daily Inter Lake reported.

Cal Scott, GOP candidate for Flathead County Commissioner, told some reporters he held “several degrees, plural” from various colleges. He told others he had earned a civil engineering degree from the University of Nevada. In fact, he dropped out after just three months and has no degree from any school.

Here’s how Cal defended himself from the accusation he’d lied to four area newspapers:

“I don’t recall saying that,” he said. “I know I would’ve never said I had a bachelor’s degree; that’s not a term I would’ve used.”

If this man can’t be trusted to be honest about his own background, he probably can’t be trusted to run one of Montana’s largest counties.

Posted: July 26, 2012 at 7:43 am

Trouble for Taylor

Polson software entrepreneur Nancy Lindsey announced her run for State Senate District 6 this week after the previous candidate withdrew from the race. The District is an open seat previously held by Republican Sen. Carmine Mowbray. Mowbray was defeated in the GOP primary by the embattled TEA Party state Rep. Janna Taylor, the number one recipient of government farm subsidy cash in the Montana Legislature. With a candidate of this caliber now in the race, the seat is seen as up for grabs.

“I know first-hand what it takes to start a successful small business in this state and what it takes to create a thriving community,” continued Lindsey. “As State Senator, I will work hard every day to make sure our community’s values are well-heard and well-represented in Helena. And I won’t let partisan politics get in the way.”

After graduating from Polson High School, Lindsey studied engineering and business management. She earned a bachelor’s degree in engineering from MIT, and later, a master’s in business management. She is the co-founder of Black Mountain Software. The successful company streamlines the budgeting and billing process for their clients across Montana, and twenty- two other states. Black Mountain’s software also allows clients to cut costly waste by allowing for paperless purchase requests and tracking accurate real-time budget information. After 20 years of steady growth Black Mountain employs 34 people, 25 in the Polson office and 9 at their Helena office.

Lindsey will be a formidable opponent to Taylor, who made waves in the Montana legislature for her hypocrisy in government spending and her statement that the death penalty is needed to address prisoner spitballs.

Taylor was the gal, mind you, who said that Governor Schweitzer had “grown government” so much that “the governor’s residence needs to be fumigated when he leaves office.” And here is a peach of a response from Rep. Taylor, when confronted with the fact that she’s been on the dole to the tune of a 100 grand annually for the last decade: “I don’t control federal dollars. Talk to Senators Baucus or Tester.”

“The people of Lake and Flathead Counties deserve better than the partisan gridlock we’ve seen in Washington,” says Lindsey. “I’m running for the legislature because, like all Montanans, I believe creating jobs is more important than scoring political points. That’s the vision I’ll bring to the state legislature.”

Lindsey says she will focus on job creation, education, and ensuring our state remains the best place to live, work, and raise a family. Her candidacy is endorsed by Polson Mayor Pat DeVries and CSKT Council Member Steve Lozar. She will appear on the ballot this November.

Lindsey has also worked as a teacher, an early childhood educator, an aide for children with disabilities, and an assistant for the elderly. She is a child of educators and raised her three children in the public school system. Lindsey previously served on the Polson School Board from 1993 to 2001 and was elected to serve again in May of 2011.

Senate District 6 runs from Lakeside in Flathead County to Ravalli in Lake County and includes the towns of Polson, Ronan, Charlo, and St. Ignatius, and other small communities within the district.

Posted: July 4, 2012 at 10:59 am

More Hollow Gestures

Last year, the Flathead Memo caught Congressman Rehberg walking unashamedly behind a fire truck in Kalispell’s 2011 Independence Day parade. The gesture was somewhat hollow because, at the same time, he was suing the Billings firefighters who risked their lives to save his scrub brush last year. Rehberg decided to drop the lawsuit only when he realized it was tanking his campaign.

Since that time, things have only gone downhill. This year, the Flathead GOP has simply taped a picture of Rehberg directly to the firetruck.

Posted: October 28, 2010 at 7:03 pm

Slime in the Flathead

Here it is.

The biggest piece of slime that slithers across the state moving and laundering money and attacking democrats with lies.

These guys raise massive among of corporate money and funnel it into various dishonest activities. Here’s what happened when the slime slimed his money in the Flathead attacking County Commissioner Candidate Joe Brenneman without basis.

On Oct 19th, the radio ads attacking Joe Brenneman I call Slime were purchased on four of the B-98 radio stations.

The ads blames Joe Brenneman for job losses and the economy without proving its claims. Here are the facts:

The Bee Broadcasting contract lists the purchaser as the Better Government PAC 1820 N Last Chance Gulch, Helena 59601. The 112 sixty second ads cost a total of $4,132.80. The radio ads themselves carry the disclaimer listing them as being paid for by the Better Government PAC with a Kalispell Post Office box. The Better Government PAC is operated by Charles (Chuck) Denowh. Denowh is a republican political operative in Helena and former Executive Director of the Montana Republican Party.

But there’s a problem. The check purchasing the ads carries the Kalispell Glacier Bank account of the Flathead Business and Industry Association PAC and is signed in an illegible manner.

Nowhere in the ad does Flathead Business and Industry Association PAC list that they are paying for them, which appears to be illegal.

It gets worse.

The FBIA has long been known for its use of political muscle and big cash to influence local politics.

They say it’s on behalf of jobs, but there’s another problem.

In September of 2010 when a big $600,000 construction jobs project for a Bigfork storm water system came before the county, FBIA Exec Director, Denise Smith (whose biography detailed in this 7-09 Flathead Beacon article) testified against it, asking that it be delayed. The funding for this project came through a state TSEP grant and it was republican State Senator Greg Barkus who recommended Flathead County apply from the funding source. I’d be shocked if every Flathead Republican legislator didn’t vote for this.

In a letter to the FBIA in response to the delay request, all three commissioners wrote:

It is beyond our comprehension why FBIA would seek to delay a project that so clearly benefits water quality, provides jobs, and makes use of money appropriated with the full support of our legislative representatives.

It is beyond their comprehension why the FBIA wanted to delay a huge jobs project?

Say, until after the election so that current County Commissioner Joe Brennamen couldn’t share the credit for this boon for the valley with his fellow commissioners? It isn’t beyond our comprehension.

Look, the FBIA has decided they do not want to elect Brenneman and are spending a lot of money to knock him out, fine, but to speak against an already funded and decided public works project that was awarded to a local contractor that would be employing local construction workers this fall and winter when people need the jobs to deny a feather in the cap of your political opponent is as slimy as it gets.

UPDATE: Guess which mega-millionaire is the largest single donor to the Better Gov’t PAC something like $10k worth carried over from last year?

Posted: October 21, 2010 at 7:09 am

Another Flathead County Republican’s Behavior in Question

Word on the street in Whitefish is that Pam Holmquist, current Republican candidate for Flathead County Commissioner, ran for County Commissioner two years ago to represent the southwest quadrant of the valley. She and her husband, Wesley, live in that district, and have for many years. When Pam lost in the primary she thought through her next step. She put up a new mailbox beside her business on Hwy 2 East (in the southeast quadrangle that is up for election now) and changed her voting registration address.

If you have ever driven by Rocky Mountain Marine you would know she is not living there. Old phone books give the correct address and phone number, which is now unlisted. If Republicans hadn’t gone after Bill Goodman for trying to vote from his business address and not where he actually lived, this issue might not be as critical. An enterprising reporter could easily verify this information. The voters of Flathead County need to be made aware.