by Helena Lovick | Aug 28, 2025 | Democrats, Politics, Republicans
Let’s talk about “moderate” Republicans. I’ve been hearing about this perspective for years. Some political “experts” think we should support moderate Republicans when they run for districts that are an uphill battle for Democrats. This is different from the calls for voting in a Republican primary to help ensure a more reasonable politician is elected as the blog previously discussed here. Instead, the moderate Republican strategy I’m talking about includes: not investing in Democrats, not supporting Democrats in general elections, not endorsing Democratic candidates, even all the way up to voting for a Republican in a general election.
Rather than recruiting a strong Democrat and trying to put it all on the field, some people believe it is a winning strategy to not even put up a fight, roll over and give the win to a moderate. “At least we can elect someone that is easy to work with!” So….does that strategy payoff? Do these Republicans vote more moderately? Is it preferable to throw support behind a moderate Republican rather than trying to help a Democrat in a lop-sided race?
I’m going to have to say HELL NO. There’s a reason why Wayne Gretzky said, “you miss 100 percent of the shots you don’t take.” If you want to make in-roads in a district, you actually have to work on building relationships with the voters in that district.
But another aspect of “at least we elected a moderate” is that THEY AREN’T MODERATE. Over and over again we have seen that the people who are willing to run for office as a Republican in these times are extremists. Sure, they might throw you a bone and help Medicaid expansion get across the finish line (as they did in 2025), but they throw working people and marginalized groups under the bus every day. We’ve written about GOP bigotry of the moderates and MAGA in 2023, but here we are again!
I mean just take a look at how our Great Falls area Republicans voted during the 2025 Legislative Session.
Great Falls Area Republican Legislators
First, here is your list of Great Falls area Republican Legislators with their moderate or MAGA label. The Moderate descriptor is based on participation in the Solutions Caucus, support by the Conservatives4MT PAC, and/or community perspective.
How did they vote? (Shocker – Against us and our future)
In the following table, some key votes of moderate Great Falls area Republicans are listed. Bill descriptions are listed on the left. State Senators Trebas and Emrich are consistently MAGA bigots, and they voted the wrong way on every one of the following bills. Their votes are not shown in the table. Votes are coded with a green color when they are bipartisan and pro-working people.
As you can see in the table, in the vast majority of cases, so-called moderate Republicans vote with the Republican caucus and against the people. If you’re looking for more data on how these clowns voted, you can check out the deeper dive by the Daily Montanan here.
Any Good News? What about the Democrats?
It’s worth noting that our lone Democratic legislator in the Great Falls area, Jane Weber, voted the kind, forward-thinking way on all of these bills. I also give some credit to Republican Senator Wendy McKamey for voting against her caucus significantly more frequently than any other Great Falls area Republican.
It was good to see that Medicaid Expansion in Montana lived another day with the 2025 legislature. But the Big Ugly Bill passed by our federal government (also run by Republicans) just made giant cuts to Medicaid. So what is the benefit to electing moderates when we expect nearly 40,000 Montanans to lose insurance? Sure doesn’t seem like the payoff for ditching Democrats to support Republican Lite is worth it.
What should I do to help turn things around?
Inform yourself when politicians ask for your vote. Is the way they vote kind to you or your neighbors? Is it kind to attack our environment and attack our freedoms to be who we are and to have bodily autonomy? Is that the future you want? I sure don’t.
It is a lot easier to sleep at night when you know that your elected representatives have your back. (Rather than have a knife in your back.) Let’s put up a left leaning candidate in every district and try to build some real momentum away from the rightward slide of Montana and our country. And whoever gets elected, let’s continue to pressure them to do the right thing.
by Ken Toole | Aug 23, 2025 | Corporations, Energy/Utilities
This editorial was sent to newspapers across Montana.
What is it about top executives in monopoly utilities that makes them want to play cowboy capitalists? Case in point is NorthWestern Energy’s plan to provide power to gigantic data centers. With great ballyhoo across the state, NorthWestern Energy announced it signed a “letter of intent” to provide as much as 1,000 megawatts of electricity to Quantica Infrastructure for its proposed data center. That’s more than their current total electric load of 760 megawatts. That amount of power would use all of NorthWestern’s existing generation capacity.
You would think that this monopoly business and its top brass would be satisfied with its current situation. In exchange for providing power to its current customer base (that’s us), they receive a virtual guarantee they will not lose their investment for any reason. They also get a guaranteed rate of return on their investments that hovers around 10%. That is for the entire life of the facility regardless of economic conditions or competition.
In exchange for running this sleepy little monopoly, which is headquartered in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, their current CEO, Brian Bird, received $4.8 million in 2024. The 2023 corporate proxy statement lists Board Chair Linda Sullivan receiving an annual retainer of $150,000 plus 3,750 shares of stock. Current price per share is around $55. For comparison, the manager of Flathead Electric Cooperative, the largest public power provider in Montana, receives just under $550,000 per year.
But now NorthWestern wants to take on a lot of risk building new facilities and making investments betting on the latest fashion trend to come down the pike: data centers. And if they miss their bet, we all suffer the consequences. Maybe the business booster crowd needs a history lesson.
In 1971, the Bureau of Reclamation released the North Central Power Study. The plan called for massive coal development on the northern plains. In Montana alone, they envisioned 17 coal plants roughly the size of the Colstrip plants. Of course, the Montana Power Company (NorthWestern Energy’s predecessor) and other corporate interests in Montana were all for it. For them, the environmental degradation and negative impact on existing ag producers and others were worth the cost.
But ranchers, Native tribes, and many others were not convinced. They organized to oppose the massive development being proposed by the coal and utility industries. In the end, only four plants were built and owned by a consortium of utilities. It also spawned two of the most powerful citizen groups in the state: The Montana Environmental Information Center and Northern Plains Resource Council. To this day, they remain actively engaged in protecting Montana’s people and environment from corporate interests seeking a quick dollar.
Fast forward to 1997 and the electric deregulation fiasco. Management of the Montana Power Company became bored with the stodgy old regulated utility business. So they decided to sell off the power plants and power lines they owned. They took all of that money and dumped it into Touch America, a fledgling telecommunications company. In short order, Touch America went bankrupt and all of that money evaporated. Montana suffered through years of economic chaos. We went from some of the lowest customer rates in the country to some of the highest rates in the Northwest. NorthWestern is now proposing significant rate increases on a regular basis, while still trying to acquire worn out, expensive coal plants in the Colstrip complex.
In the emerging world of huge data centers serving everything from artificial intelligence to cryptocurrency ponzi schemes, NorthWestern sees a new shiny object on the horizon: huge electric loads required by data centers. Unfortunately, this confronts us when the national government is run by delusional ideologues. Here in Montana, billionaire tech moguls and far-right legislators are running state government. The Public Service Commission, which should be protecting us from the greed of corporate CEOs, looks more like the clown show in a three-ring circus.
Strap in and hold onto your wallets, folks. It’s gonna be a wild ride.
Ken Toole served on the Public Service Commission from 2007 to 2011. He was a member of the Senate Energy and Telecommunications Committee, serving as its chairman in 2005. He served as the vice chair of the Senate Taxation Committee in 2005. He was also the President of The Policy Institute, a private group which conducted research on economic issues including energy and taxation.
by Helena Lovick | Aug 20, 2025 | City, Elections, Mayor
Disclaimer: Jasmine Taylor has stepped away from the blog during her campaign for Mayor. Jasmine was not consulted nor informed about this post about her candidacy. It was all me. – Helena Lovick
We’ve all heard the quote, “well-behaved women seldom make history.” It’s been in my mind a lot as Jasmine Taylor runs for mayor of Great Falls. She is the breath of fresh air that we need. So why don’t we elect our own not so well-behaved woman this year?
Right Wing Attacks
Ever since Jasmine Taylor entered the public sphere, she has taken up space and the City Commissioner Rick Tryon and his like-minded cronies CANNOT STAND IT. If you’re looking for a history refresher, we’ve talked before about some of the unhinged attacks on Jasmine here.
Because Jasmine Taylor is running for mayor against MAGA favorite Cory Reeves, attacks against her have gotten more off the rails. As accurately described by The Western Word, “Taylor is being attacked almost daily by Reeves’ supporters, who are mostly MAGAs. He seems to be afraid of her. She would destroy him in a debate,” and “[t]he comments from Reeves’ supporters were pretty vile and obscene about Taylor. Apparently, a well-educated female who stands up for what she believes scares the shit out of Reeves and his supporters.” Thank you, Mike Brown, I couldn’t agree more.
Who Jasmine Taylor Really Is
As I have gotten to know Jasmine, I got to see first hand the unhinged attacks she faces from the right wingers in this community. I hope all of you can take the opportunity during her campaign to see through the noise. Jasmine has the skill set and heart to be a mayor that we are proud of. She has demonstrated her leadership abilities and professionalism over and over again.
I first met Jasmine after the 2016 presidential election. Horrified with the direction our country had turned, I wanted to work with organizers that saw the urgency of the moment. I had heard of Jasmine through mutual friends, and we started loosely organizing rallies together. All of the work we have done together has spun out of that initial informal organizing.
Jasmine and I ran for the Montana legislature together in 2020 and that’s when I really got to know Jasmine. It was great having a core group of people that passionately shared my values and gave life to them with energy and hard work. Jasmine isn’t some weak flower that bends to the force of every wind. She is a change maker.
Elect Jasmine Taylor For Mayor
We deserve a leader that has principles and values that we agree with. A leader that will work towards a better future for everyone, not just the people that fit in their neat boxes of white conservatism. For example, Jasmine will stand up for the LGBTQ community and not encourage homophobic attacks. We know that, because Jasmine has already done that by pushing for a non-discrimination ordinance and organizing efforts to tear down homophobic and bigoted stickers graffitiing our town. And when the people vote to invest in a community resource like our public library, Jasmine has the vision to understand how that investment will pay itself back to our community ten-fold. (Rather than cutting our library off at the knees like the current city commission, you can read about the fall out of their action here). We know where Jasmine stands. And not just because she has a nice shiny spine and is outspoken. But because she has proven herself by putting the work into our community with her sustained efforts for the Election Protection Committee, the Library Levy pushback, the LGBTQ center, and more.
I really admire Jasmine for holding true to her values and her persistence in working hard to help our community. And if you get to know her, I know you will see what I see. Aren’t you ready for something better?
Let’s vote Jasmine Taylor for Mayor this November.
by Ken Toole | Aug 19, 2025 | Cascade County, City, Elections
Most of us believe we are in deep political trouble in this country. The Trump Administration with its lying, bigotry and bullying has demonstrated it is firmly on the road to unapologetic fascism. Here in Montana our statewide elected officials are a group of millionaires and billionaires in the Republican Party who either agree with Trump or are afraid of him. . . it’s hard to tell which. And here in Cascade County, local Republican Party ideologues dominate almost all local elected positions.
This is not a time for good citizens to sit back and watch the show. This is a time people need to step up and take back our government. And that is most effectively done at the local level. Take a look at the filings in this post and you can see Republicans are already mobilizing. We must do the same. There is plenty of time to file, but the sooner people get into the process the more likely it is that they will win. So, what’s stopping you? Step up and join the fight for democracy.
This WTF406 post has information on local political races. The information was taken from the Montana Commissioner of Political Practices website. There are numerous elections not included in this post. For example, there is nothing on Neighborhood Council races nor is there any information on local judicial races. In addition, it is worth noting that filing deadlines for municipal races have passed. Filing for all other races is still open and will be until spring.
Public Service Commission
District 1, Randy Pinocci, Republican, Incumbent
Pinocci is term limited
Jeremy Trebas, Republican, Treasurer, Jeremy Trebas
Jeff Pattison, Republican, Treasurer, Katie Wenetta
House Of Representatives
HD 19 Jane Weber, Democrat, Incumbent
Jane Weber, Democrat, Filed for 2026, Treasurer Pam Guschausky
HD 20 Melanie Nikolakakos, Republican, Incumbent
No filings as of 8-18
HD 21 Ed Buttrey, Republican, Incumbent
Lela Graham, Democrat, Treasurer, Charlene Graham
Trevor Fundseth, Republican, Treasurer, Trevor Fundseth
Eric Peterson, Republican, Treasurer, Patti Levesey
HD 22 George Nikolakakos, Republican, Incumbent
Kevin Leatherbarrow, Republican, Treasurer, Tony Rosales
HD 23 Eric Tilleman, Republican, Incumbent
Eric Tilleman, Republican, Treasurer, Waylon Finley
HD 24 Steve Fitzpatrick, Republican, Incumbent
Steve Fitzpatrick, Republican, Treasurer, Steve Fitzpatrick
HD 25 Steve Gist, Republican, Incumbent
No Filing as of 8-18
HD 26 Russ Miner, Republican, Incumbent
Russ Miner, Republican, Treasurer, Russ Miner
Senate
SD 10 Jeremy Trebas, Republican, Incumbent
Melissa Nikolakakos, Republican, Treasurer, George Nikolakakos
Jessica Dyrdahl, Republican, Treasurer, Tony Roslaes
Margaret Mitchel, Democrat, Treasurer, Lew Opollito
SD 11, Daniel Emrich, Republican, Incumbent
George Nikolakakaos, Republican, Treasurer, Melissa Nikolakakas
SD 12, Wendy Mckamey, Republican, Incumbent
No filing as of 8-18
County
County Commission, District 1, Jim Larson, Republican, Incumbent
Tom Lynch, Republican, Treasurer, Eric Tilleman
County Sheriff, Jesse Slaughter, Republican, Incumbent
No Filings as of 8-18
County Attorney, Josh Racki, Democrat, Incumbent
No Filings as of 8-18
Clerk and Recorder, Sandra Merchant, Republican, Incumbent
No Filings as of 8-18
County Treasurer, Diane Heikkila, Republican, Incumbent
No Filings as of 8-18
City of Great Falls (non-partisan election)
Mayor
Filing Deadline has passed
Cory Reeves, Incumbent, Treasurer, Cory Reeves
Jasmine Taylor, Treasurer, Desirae Starling
Council (two positions)
Matt Pippinich, Treasurer,Barbara Bassette
Joe McKenney, Treasurer, Greg Smith
Casey Schreiner, Treasurer, Erin Merchant
Pete Anderson, not available
by Ken Toole | Aug 12, 2025 | Cascade County, Politics, Travel
Pishkun Reservoir sits eighteen miles west of Choteau nestled along the Rocky Mountain Front. The 1500 acre reservoir is part of the Bureau of Reclamation’s Sun River Project which provides water to farms and municipalities all along the Front and out onto the prairie. The area is subject to high winds and extreme temperatures. Because it is an irrigation project water levels change dramatically throughout the year There is a small developed camping area which is run by the Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks.
Like almost all camp sites, the Pishkun campground has a reader board at each entry with information about the rules, maps and contact information. Most of the information on the reader board is put up and maintained by the Montana Department Fish Wildlife and Parks. But at Pishkun there is a new posting from the Federal Bureau of Reclamation soliciting information from those using the camp ground.
The Bureau of Reclamation wants to know if you have identified;
-any areas that need repair or;
-any services that need improvement or;
-any signs or other information that are negative about either past or living Americans or that fail to emphasize the beauty, grandeur and abundance of landscapes and other natural features.
The post script at the bottom of the page reads; This effort is in accordance with implementing DOI Secretarial Order 3431; Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History.
Clearly, Donald Trump’s war on factual history has arrived in a far corner of Montana. Are we really expected to notify the Bureau of Reclamation of “signs or other information that are negative about either past or living Americans”? Does that include songs around a camp fire or even bumper stickers on vehicles?
Read Trump’s executive order here: https://www.doi.gov/document-library/secretary-order/so-3431-restoring-truth-and-sanity-american-history
