Local candidates speak at Pasma-Peck

The Hill County Democratic Central Committee held its annual Pasma-Peck Dinner over the weekend, where local Democratic candidates spoke about the upcoming elections, their platforms and what they are still doing to make sure they stand a chance of being elected.

On the local level, Hill County Commission Executive Assistant Sheri Williams, who's running against incumbent Republican Diane McLean and independent Les Odegard for a seat on the Hill County Commission, talked about her ongoing campaign.

Williams said she's still going door to door, sometimes for 12 hours at a time on weekends and she wanted to thank everyone for the support they've already shown her.

She said if the county continues to let the same people stay in charge at the commission, nothing will ever change, and clearly, people want change.

"I feel I can make that change," she said.

Williams said she feels she's developed a relationship of trust with the people of the county as well as the people who work at the county and she wants to hear from all of them about what they want for Hill County, which her family has called home for generations.

She said she's in it for the long haul, to put in the time that's needed to change things for the better in the county, and she doesn't feel her opponents have that mindset, but rather are more concerned with short-term goals.

Bear Paw Development Corp. Executive Director Paul Tuss, running against incumbent Republican Ed Hill for Montana House District 28, also spoke at the dinner.

Committee Chair Lindsey Ratliff introduced Tuss, saying his race is incredibly important and that her mentor and friend Havre Public Schools Superintendent Craig Mueller, who died this past weekend, was a big supporter of Tuss for his advocacy for public education.

Ratliff said Mueller never made a show of his politics, because he was a man of integrity that strove to never let his politics intrude upon his duties as HPS superintendent, but Tuss' consistent advocacy and support for public schools made him Mueller's obvious choice.

Tuss said he knew Mueller for many years and was proud to have his support, calling him an incredible man and an amazing advocate for education and the students it benefits.

Education, k-12 and college, were a subject of discussion for Tuss, who criticized his opponent for not sufficiently supporting Montana State University-Northern.

He further criticized his opponent, not only for refusing to show up for a debate featuring all local candidates, but for not speaking to the Havre Daily News for an interview unless he was given the questions in advance.

"This race is insane, isn't it," he said.

Tuss said electing Democrats to the Montana Legislature, not just him, is critical, because the Montana GOP is now just two seats away from a supermajority, which would allow them to pass constitutional initiatives without a single vote of support from the opposition party, which must not happen.

He said the state's constitution has enshrined protections for Montanans, especially their privacy, which he said are right now threatened by Republicans, rights including women's rights to make reproductive health care decisions.

He said the government has no business in his gun safe, or his daughter's health care decisions, and it should stay that way.

Tuss thanked everyone for their support but cautioned them not to get complacent.

In the last election cycle, he said, Democrat Krystal Steinmetz, an excellent candidate, lost to Hill by an incredibly narrow margin, with less than 100 votes making the difference between victory and defeat, and that cannot happen again.

Jordan Ophus, a Democrat running for Montana House District 33, also spoke at the dinner.

Ophus mainly talked about the dangers of allowing established power structures within state politics to hold too much power for too long.

Throughout his life, he said, he's seen people run for office on the promise of representing the interests of their communities only to see their ideals fall to the wayside as they become servants of their party, not their constituents.

He said there are political organizations in the state and throughout the U.S. that exist only to enrich themselves, and many of the people who make up those organizations are interested only in money, power and establishing a legacy.

Ophus said the fact that so many candidates run unopposed is evidence of a massive problem in American politics, and he wants to make it more difficult for corporations and special interest groups to manipulate the state's politics, and he wants to protect people's basic freedoms.

Ratliff also introduced Democrat Dave Brewer, running against incumbent Republican Russ Tempel for the seat in Montana Senate District 14.

She said Brewer is an incredibly active member of the community, especially at meetings of the Havre City Council, and thanked him for everything he does.

Brewer said he's taking an alternate approach to campaigning, running it all himself, without asking for any money and not spending any money.

He said he definitely understands other candidates' ways of doing things, but he feels people are sick of traditional political campaigns and he wants to show that he's not going to ask the community to make sacrifices of money for his candidacy.

He also said blind party loyalty has been a detriment to politics in Montana and the U.S., which is his primary problem with his opponent.

Brewer said he believes Tempel to be an honorable and honest man, but the fact is he votes with his party far too often, a party that is increasingly gunning for people's basic rights, especially the rights of women.

He said Republicans in Montana are pushing hard to open up the state constitution for changes, and once they do that they won't stop at taking away a woman's right to make reproductive health care decisions This, he added, is a matter in which the state should have no say.

"They want to take our rights away from us," he said. "And they're going to do everything they can to get into that constitution."

Ratliff also made a plea to attendees to vote against Legislative Referendum 131 which states that "infants born alive, including infants born alive after an abortion, are legal persons," and that health care providers are required to "take necessary actions to preserve the life of a born-alive infant."

Republican supporters frame the policy as a way to make it clear that vulnerable infants in Montana are protected from harm.

If medical providers don't comply with the law, they could be reported to law enforcement, charged with a felony, and face up to 20 years in prison and a $50,000 fine.

Opponents argue that LR-131's language is intentionally misleading, saying living infants, no matter how they were born, already have rights under Montana state law, where infanticide is illegal and anyone who "purposely, knowingly, or negligently causes the death of a premature infant born alive, if the infant is viable" faces ciminal charges.

LR-131 would potentially criminalize doctors and parents who ask medical staff to stop performing life-sustaining measures on a newborn with a fatal prognosis - like those born severely premature, those who contract a serious infection or lack developed vital organs - when such a newborn under current law could be held and soothed by their parents until they die.

Ratliff implored attendees to vote no on the question, which she said could deprive families valuable time with their children if the child is diagnosed with a fatal prognosis, forcing doctors to take the child from their family to try to perform life-sustaining measures even if it is against the family's wishes.

She also said Montana Supreme Court candidate Ingrid Gustafson is not at the dinner, because she is doing what Supreme Court candidates are supposed to do, not get involved with partisan politics, unlike her opponent James Brown who is deeply and openly connected to Republican parties around the state.

She encouraged attendees to vote for Gustafson.