City Council Endorsements

Well, the Tribune did as expected and endorsed the incumbent city commissioners. I think that Beecher, and to a lesser extent, Rosenbaum have done adequate jobs in their terms of office.

However, this is part of a crew that has been responsible for too many bad decisions, such as the Wave Rider, that have cost our town too much money. However, that is not the only reason that I am recommending the election of the two challengers in this race, Burke and Stevens.

Ryan Burke seems to be the only candidate, for commission or mayor, who is focused on the meth and crime problems we are having in Great Falls. He doesn't have any "new" ideas to solve the problems, just time tested (and expensive) answers that have proven to work.

He is suggesting a 25% increase in the staff level for the Great Falls Police Department. I think that this is a great idea. However, I would be much happier if he was proposing ways to pay for it.

Nonetheless, I think that we need the commission to do more to combat the meth problem in this city. Ryan Burke seems to me to be the man for the job, and he has my vote.

I was not expecting to endorse John Stevens. Before the commission candidate forum, I thought his resume looked too light, and that his age would keep him from being an active commissioner.

However, watching him in action changed my opinion. He is easily the most engaging and sharp candidate in the entire race, for commission or mayor. He is focused on economic development and wants to help Great Falls regain the momentum we lost 30 years ago when Anaconda went belly up. He has my vote.

However, if you are concerned about his age, and the (admittedly likely) chance that he would not be able to serve out his full term, I would recommend that you look toward Bill Beecher. Bill has been a fixture in the business community in our town for many years, and he understands that attracting well paying jobs is the only way to bring our town out of our economic doldrums. He did not earn my vote, but he came a very close third.