If there’s one tax credit I can claim every year, it’s the one I get for living rent-free in Commissioner Rick Tryon’s head. Tryon, like many an aging Republican, has a long history of targeting women. Women in politics. Women in leadership. Hell, even women he’s never met outside of a Facebook comments section. That’s why I know that although I am the current object of Rick’s unblinking attention, I am but the latest in his long history of targeting women who are too loud for his liking. Most of this targeting happens on his right-wing blog, E City Beat.
ECBs prior targets include former City Commissioners, former Mayors, and former legislative candidates. Although they may write a one-off article about a man they disagree with, the recurring characters on the blog are all women. Accusations have ranged from serious to spurious, one of the more comical being an article where ECB accused a Representative of being a Satanist because they didn’t like her t-shirt.
At one point ECB created a fake author. The persona was a Queer woman who “wrote” articles for the blog under an achingly bad penname. The ruse was sad and short lived. Rick was quickly called out, owing to his use of a common stock photo in his creation of what ECB assumed a lesbian would look like. (Please note: it was a kind of goth, manic pixie dream girl vibe. I think he has a type.)
Most recently, Dear Old Rick has attempted to make me sound like a danger to society. Now, to be clear, this new post itself doesn’t list Rick as the author but rather uses the umbrella of “ECB Staff.” But when you’ve had a dude hate-crushing on you for several years, its easy to recognize the voice behind the piece. Further, Rick’s frenzied promotion of the piece on his own page indicates a significant degree of investment.
But to my point, this latest article makes me sound way cooler than I am. Anyone that knows me personally knows that I’m basically a Hobbit. I’m short, prefer being left alone, but given enough pipeweed can be persuaded to go on the occasional adventure. And if ECB had simply implied I was a menace, I wouldn’t dispense any emotional labor responding to this most recent fan fiction. But alas. Despite the compliment to my image, ECB made a fatal mistake. In this re-telling, they completely ruined my joke. Not just misrepresented it, but thoroughly ruined it.
Call me dangerous. Call me a terrorist. But you will not call me Un-Funny.
Once again, ECB will be foiled by the very technology they cling to so desperately for relevance. Sadly, that means I have to explain an interaction on Twitter. I will not call it a “Twitter beef.” I am a woman in my 30s who absolutely should not be using phrases like “Twitter beef.” Please bear with me. None of us are excited to be here.
Picture it. Twitter, 2022.
A self-described gay Republican is online. And he’s saying some bigoted shit.
For background: An activist posted a picture of Democratic Senator, Ellie Boldman, taking a selfie with Republican Representative, Braxton Mitchell. Mitchell has already introduced homophobic bills for the 2023 session. Additionally, his re-surfaced tweets include him calling people “faggot” repeatedly.
You with me?
So, activist posts this picture. Activist has in their bio “they/them” pronouns. Self-described gay Republican posts this transphobic comment.
I see self-described gay Republican’s tweets. First, the transphobic tweet. Then, this tweet where dude discusses the recent cost of his dental work. (Democrats want that to be free, btw.)
I point out to self-described gay Republican that saying bigoted things is dangerous. He could get hurt. And he has just said that he can’t afford dental work.
Got that timeline?
Dude: I cant afford dental work again.
Dude: Makes fun of a Queer person.
Me: It’s dangerous to be a bigot, and you can’t afford more dental work!
That timing? I mean, come on. *chef’s kiss*
ECB’s re-telling of this entire interaction really ruins the joke. There’s no regard for context or comedic timing. Thankfully, these screenshots explain the story a little better. As seen above, far from being the victim, this gentleman was engaging in bigoted speech. He has every right to do so. Just as fellow Twitter users have every right to remind him of the dangers inherit in such bold statements.
Rick Tryon siding with a transphobe is not surprising behavior. In fact, Tryon’s own past transphobic posts were previously brought up during a commission meeting. And just last summer, Tryon tried to assert a neo-nazi flyer distributed in Great Falls didn’t contain transphobic language, when it very much did. So Rick teaming up with a man making transphobic comments on Twitter? Yeah, that checks out.
More importantly, dear readers, ECB’s articles about me often seem like a concerted attempt to deflect attention away from Tryon’s own behavior. Does Rick really think I’m dangerous? I don’t think so. The more likely explanation is that Rick is angry about this article I wrote. Read it here, because Rick doesn’t want you to. It details his recent change of heart regarding a certain safety levy.
Once again, we see that an attempt was made, but we’re none of us fooled.
I get that I’m on your mind a lot Rick, but don’t kid yourself. You’re not even my coolest nemesis.
THE RECEIPTS
ECB impersonates a Queer woman under the guise of an editorial. ECB accuses Indigenous woman of Satanism because they don’t like her t-shirt. A quick search of the name “Jasmine Taylor” brings up 3 pages of articles on ECB. Nothing to see here, folks! Just very normal Commissioner behavior.Where it all began? I’m fairly sure this was the first time I hurt lil old Rick’s feelings. Our Hurtaversary, if you will. Yes, he’s been at this for over 4 years. Also, why did he write in 3rd person?“This is disgusting” says dude who once threated to beat up an elderly man after a public forum meeting.
Commissioner Rick Tryon’s support of an upcoming “Safety Levy” seems to be wavering. In a recent article on his rightwing blog, E City Beat, Tryon attempted to downplay his prior support for the levy, which could result in a tax increase of 191% for Great Falls taxpayers. Instead, Tryon characterized the potential tax increase as a “rumor” in need of debunking.
However, the video and minutes from the Great Falls City Commission’s November 15, 2022 work session tells a very different story. At this session, the Commission was presented with three different options for the levy. These were characterized as “Good” “Better” and “Best.” The “Best” option would require a 191% tax increase, and this is the package the Commission unanimously agreed to explore further.
Although Tryon may feign amnesia now, these meetings are recorded. Around the 46-minute mark, Tryon discusses the option he supports. He states, “The Best is actually, the 33-36, to me, just at first blush, appears to be the bare minimum of what we need to do here.” Tryon, and all other members of the Commission, made clear that they support the “Best” package.
And that potential 191% tax increase? It’s certainly not a myth, and it’s likely only the beginning of a huge increase in spending. Tryon states that he expects the total costs to be more than what’s estimated. In the video we hear Tryon say, “I would agree with Commissioner McKinney that we may have been a little bit low-bidding some of this and we may have to think in terms of, ya know, bringing it up a little bit here.”
Taking a page from the ol’ Republican playbook, Tryon is saying one thing in meetings, and another when he’s met with resistance from the community. Don’t be fooled by these mixed messages. Tryon is fully aware of what option the Commission is exploring moving forward, and it’s the one with the HUGE tax increase.
Don’t believe us? Take it from the meeting minutes themselves, which state, “It was the consensus of the Commission that Deputy City Manager Anderson determine definite amounts for the “Best” option.” Not a “myth.”
Last week, far-right blog E City Beat was seemingly shocked to discover that nobody considers them a legitimate news source. The blog’s history of unethical and misleading “reporting” is too numerous to list, but you can check out one recent example here.
WTF has highlighted Commissioner Tryon’s lack of journalistic ethics, and many candidates have long steered clear of promoting the hate-mongering of ECB’s authors. Now, the blog’s Republican base is realizing that aligning with extremism may not be the most electable course of action.
As pro-choice sentiment permeates the nation, Great Falls’ Republicans are afraid of losing their seats. Luckily, we already know where Republican incumbents stand on abortion. Every Great Falls’ Republican voted AGAINST choice last session, and we have no doubt they’ll do the same if elected again.
Now, the same Republicans that have benefited from ECB’s radicalism are refusing to answer a candidate questionnaire. A screenshot from ECB’s resulting temper tantrum confirms that R candidates don’t want voters to know their real stance on abortion. Luckily, we don’t need any survey from a mediocre hate blog to know where these candidates stand. A total abortion ban is a top priority for Montana’s GOP. If we want to protect privacy in Montana, we need to vote Democrat down the entire ticket.
As for ECB’s hilarious “demand” for local candidates to respond to their survey, I can’t help but enjoy the obvious sense of entitlement. I suspect were WTF to make similar demands, we’d quickly be called “snowflakes” and reminded that nobody owes us anything. I have no doubt that Democratic candidates will respond to questionnaires that come from actual journalists and news sources. In the meantime, we’ll continue to spread the word about where Republicans really stand on abortion. Truly, we never needed ECB for that.
Screenshot of Republicans’ response to ECB and resulting tantrum
Earlier this month, Great Falls held its annual 4th of July parade. As usual, Republicans, Democrats, and many individual candidates marched with signs vying for votes and support. A new message was present this year as well- a demand for Reproductive Rights. Around 50 Great Falls citizens carried Pro-Choice signs and peacefully marched to demand bodily autonomy. Unlike the graphic and misleading Pro-Life signs showing dead babies, the Democrats kept it classy. Signs did not contain graphic images or profanity.
Unsurprisingly, E-City beat took offense to this peaceful demonstration. But what exactly IS E-city beat? Wonderful question. It’s an extremist political blog that likes to pretend it’s legitimate journalism. Run by Phil Faccenda, local architect and hatemonger, and Rick Tryon. E-City Beat constantly harasses both public figures and private citizens alike. This objectionable behavior is made more concerning considering one of the extremists behind the keyboard, Rick Tryon, is also a city commissioner. In response to the parade demonstration, they published a tenuous argument that the parade was not an appropriate venue to protest. Perhaps Phil and Rick need a reminder of American history? The 4 th of July celebrates the United States’ independence from Britain. Facing unfair conditions from their government, revolutionaries first launched a protest (remember the Boston Tea Party?) before later declaring Independence. The celebration itself honors fighting back against government tyranny. Peacefully exercising our 1 st Amendment right seems a befitting tribute indeed to the ideology of Freedom.
(Please note that July 4 th itself is problematic, ignoring both Indigenous Genocide, slavery, and the alarming and outdated definition of who our Founding Fathers considered a person. But that discussion merits a much longer article. Today we’re just gonna cover the blatant hypocrisy of anti-protest sentiments).
Far more questionable than any protest is the conduct of E City Beat in both their writing and their online response to pushback. After attempting to downplay the number of participants, claiming only a dozen or so were present, E City was quick to block and delete comments from anyone that disagreed with them. In typical bully fashion, E City Beat’s authors continually target Great Falls citizens, but whine and cry when anyone calls them out on it.
These scared little men are becoming increasingly fragile. Although many comments were indeed about the content of the article, E City posted the included screenshot threatening permanent bans for those that disagree with them. Quite funny, considering the blogs history of targeting both public figures and private citizens alike and engaging in “childish” name-calling themselves.
In honor of the growing citizenry finding themselves blocked by Phil Faccenda and Rick Tryon, we’re starting a new re-occurring segment. We at WTF would never encourage the kind of bullying we see from right-wing hate blogs. However, if you’ve made a perfectly valid comment and it got you blocked, be sure to screenshot, and message for the chance to receive your own “I pissed off ECB” Club Member pin. Haven’t been blocked but would like to share your experience or opinion of E City Beat with us? Hit us up! You could be featured on “E- City Beat Watch.”
