by Ken Toole | Sep 27, 2024 | Elections
Well, the long sad saga of Rae Grulkowski just keeps getting more and more bizarre.
Conspiracy On The High Plains
Grulkowski first appeared on the public’s radar when the New York Times published a long story (some might call it an expose) about the falsehoods she circulated opposing the Big Sky National Heritage Area designation in October of 2021. She was thoroughly exposed as a purveyor of phony conspiracy theories. https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/24/us/politics/montana-misinformation-national-heritage.html
Grulkowski And Merchant Take Over County Offices
In 2022, she appeared as a candidate for the Cascade County Commission. Relying heavily on the same bag of tricks she used opposing the Heritage Area, she defeated incumbent Democrat Don Ryan for the District 3 county commission seat. Very quickly she established herself as difficult to work with. She also pursued her personal agenda for elections with her comrade in arms, Clerk and Recorder Sandra Merchant. Grulkowski and Merchant immediately began making hard right conspiracy theories the basis of changes in the elections office, filling numerous vacant positions with their pals from the “election denier conspiracy” ranks. The county human resource office never addressed the hiring of elected officials’ political cronies
Election Protection Committee Forms
Seeing the emerging mess in the elections office, a group of Great Falls citizens formed the Election Protection Committee to monitor the elections office and to demand professional administration of elections. Throughout the fall of 2023, the Election Protection Committee exposed problems in Merchant’s office. They advocated removing election duties from Merchant’s supervision and placing them under the county commission. https://wtf406.com/?s=Election+Protection+Committee/
Grulkowski Removed As Commission Chair
After several lawsuits and a district court ordering an outside monitor to supervise the library mill levy election, County Commissioners Briggs and Larson had enough. They drafted a resolution removing the election functions from Merchant’s office. After a six hour public hearing held on December 12th, 2023,the commission voted two to one to move the election functions to the commission’s office. Included in that resolution was a specific provision which prohibited a commissioner who was on the ballot in the next election (Grulkowski) from participating in supervision of the election office. They also removed Grulkowski from the chair position she held since her election. https://theelectricgf.com/2023/12/12/county-commission-votes-to-strip-election-duties-from-clerk-and-recorders-office/
Grulkowski Continues Screwing Up The Elections Office
The commission advertised for an election administrator. The applicant pool included former clerk and recorder, Rina Moore. Despite the fact that she had 16 years experience successfully administering elections in Cascade County, they offered the position to Terry Thompson, who had no experience or training in administering elections. Thompson had worked for the local realtors association and had assisted Grulkowski in opposing the Big Sky National Heritage Area. Grulkowski fully participated in the hiring decision despite wording of the resolution prohibiting her from managing functions of the election office. Briggs and Larson rated Moore as their top choice. Grulkowski rated her fourth and gave her a low enough score to remove her from the top position. Formal legal action is now pending over the county’s decision to offer the position to Thompson.
https://wtf406.com/2024/03/grulkowski-plays-dirty-did-we-really-expect-anything-else/
Grulkowski Loses The Republican Primary. Now Running As A Write-in
As the next primary election approached, Grulkowski filed in the Republican primary to retain the county commission seat she now holds. Local businessman, Eric Hinebauch, filed against her. Hinebauch ran as a centrist Republican and Grulkowski made her conspiracy based ideas the center of her campaign. In the election held on June 4th, Hinebauch roundly defeated Grulkowski by more than 1500 votes. Instead of calling and congratulating her opponent, Grulkowski announced her intention to run a write-in campaign. She made her announcement at the local Pachyderm Club, the home of the far-right faction of the local Republican party.
Grulkowski Continues Playing Dirty Pool In Her Write-in Campaign
True to form, Grulkowski is fabricating facts in her write-in campaign. Perhaps the most glaring is claiming that she is the only candidate “Endorsed by the Great Falls Election Protection Committee,” which worked hard to expose her and her actions relating to the county election office. (See copy of the flier above) Grulkowski also has a video circulating on Rumble (a right-wing media platform) which lifts liberally from a Tik Tok produced by Jasmine Taylor, which urged Democrats to cross over and vote in the Republican primary against Grulkowski. Without explanation, Grulkowski claims that 11% percent of the voters in her Republican Primary race were Democrats.https://rumble.com/v5fhb8t-democrat-plot-to-subvert-elections-discovered-in-cascade-county-montana.html
But wait. . . .there’s more. On September 25th, the county commission held a meeting to address a concern raised by the current election administrator, Terry Thompson, that write-in candidates who used name stickers for their supporters to place on their ballots to assure proper spelling, would clog vote counting machines. Grulkowski participated in the discussion, specifically arguing that ballots with stickers would be counted by hand. While her position is reasonable, she did not disclose her self interest at any point in the discussion.
A Snow Ball’s Chance In Hell
Grulkowski’s chance of actually winning her write-in campaign? About the same as a snowball’s chance in hell. It will be interesting to see where she goes next. Our bet is she will get a job in Sandra Merchant’s office. Stay tuned.
by Guest Writer | Sep 14, 2024 | Elections
In November 2023, Republican U.S.Senate candidate Tim Sheehy made disparaging and racist comments about Native Americans. His statements are not only offensive but perpetuate a harmful stereotype that I have encountered throughout my life. Native Americans comprise 6.6% of Montanans, likely higher due to significant undercounting. Now, we have a Senate candidate adding to the discrimination by making such hurtful comments about this minority group.
As an enrolled member of the Chippewa-Cree Tribe of Rocky Boy, I find Sheehy’s remarks inaccurate and deeply hurtful. They reflect a long history of racial stereotypes that justify ongoing discrimination and neglect. His comments ignore the historical context of colonization and forced assimilation that have led to the current struggles faced by many Native Americans. There is no acknowledgment of the generational trauma that these systemic issues have created.
Does Mr. Sheehy believe that substance use problems are unique to Native Americans? Does he recognize that these issues are linked to systemic inequalities that contribute to health disparities? His statements suggest a troubling lack of understanding of these fundamental issues. Substance use problems are not confined by race or ethnicity; they are public health concerns that affect people universally. Mr. Sheehy’s comments reflect a profound ignorance of the systemic factors exacerbating these problems.
Instead of disparagingly labeling Native Americans as “drunk Indians at 8:00 am,” Mr. Sheehy should find out what many of us are doing at that time. He can find me training for the New York City Marathon or working.
Mr. Sheehy must take responsibility for his words. Public figures must recognize the impact of their statements and understand that their words have real power. I urge Mr. Sheehy to educate himself about historical trauma and Native cultures. Such knowledge would enrich his perspective and contribute to a more respectful and informed discourse.
-Barbara Bessette
by Helena Lovick | Sep 2, 2024 | Elections
Great Falls, Montana
The news is spreading that the City of Great Falls has proposed removal of 7 mills over a 5 year term of city funding from the Great Falls Public Library, resulting in a 27% reduction in the library’s operating budget (approx. $842,800/year). Consequently, the voter approved, newly implemented expanded hours and services will be dramatically reduced.
People are understandably starting to get pissed at this plan to undermine the will of the voters when we just voted to fund our library more. After the Electric posted this accurate news story on the situation (here), our mayor Cory Reeves tried to jump out and derail the growing criticism. Here is the misleading post he put on his Facebook page on September 1st.
How dumb do you think we are Cory?
While the city is considering “to end the city subsidy of 7 mills and redirect those funds back to public safety”…”this does NOT mean we are considering removing or reducing the mills that voters recently passed”. OH FUCKING REALLY? ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME WITH THIS BULLSHIT? That is effectively taking away funds that the voters just allocated to the library and you fucking know it Cory.
Oh, oh it’s totally separate money and we’re going to take that money from the library but not touch the money for the library the voters just put in place. So fucking what if you don’t take the mills we *just* voted for. If you’re taking library funding from somewhere else, you are still taking library funding when the voters just voted to fund the library more! That’s some mealy-mouthed, misleading dog shit.
How did we get here?
In June 2023, Great Falls voted to pass a library levy to help fund expanded services at our public library. The library levy added about $1.2 million to the library budget and increased the annual tax on $200,000 home by approximately $40.50 (news story here). In November 2023, fewer than 40% of Great Falls voters supported a hefty public safety levy request, which would have raised property taxes on a $200,000 home by $280.11 a year, and increased funding for the city’s fire, law enforcement and municipal court system by $13.7 million annually.
And our City Commission has been freaking out ever since.
Does our City Commission “fully support” our library?
We wrote about the City Commission’s shitty work to install a book banner on the library board back in October 2023. Despite the vast majority of community members speaking against the appointment of Noelle Johnson, the commission proceeded to appoint her anyway. And then, despite another majority of community members requesting the commission appoint a member who actually likes public libraries and wishes them to succeed, the Great Falls City Commission appointed her for an even longer term in June 2024. All this after Noelle Johnson’s presence on the board was characterized as “a disruptive force that complicates board work.” (As reported in the Great Falls Tribune here). So much for the will of the voters.
But what about public safety?
Yes, public safety is very important. We all want our city to have the resources to balance safety and our freedoms.
But the voters rejected the City’s request for so much money for public safety. Maybe if the City repackaged it in smaller bites it would be successful. But this is about our library. Voters voted to help our library. Public safety and our public library funding are two separate issues and the voters spoke on how they want them handled for now. The Great Falls City Commission needs to stop undermining our library and look at other solutions to uphold the will of the voters.
Let your voice be heard!
If you want to do something about the situation, you can contact our City Commission. Let them know as voting city residents. How would you like the commission to approach the dilemma of city funding, while still honoring the will of the people?
by Ken Toole | Aug 25, 2024 | Elections
Rea Grulkowski announced her intention to file as a write-in candidate for Cascade County Commission at The Pachyderm Club meeting held on August 22. Back in June she lost her Republican primary race to Eric Hinebaugh by a wide margin. It seems she is unwilling to accept the primary results. Instead she is opting for organizing a write-in campaign for a seat on the County Commission.
No one should be surprised Grulkowski won’t accept the fact that she lost an election. She is a core activist in the local election denier crowd. She was also the major driver in the controversy which engulfed the Clerk and Recorder’s office after election denier Sandra Merchant took over in the last election. Ultimately, the full County Commission removed the election duties from Merchant’s control over the strenuous and often unethical objections raised by Grulkowski.
As of Friday, August 23, she had not filed a declaration of intent to be a write-in candidate with the Election Office as required by state law. She has until 5:00 September 3rd.
Write-in campaigns are rarely successful. They require strong organization and an aggressive education campaign. Most serious write-in campaigns have stickers printed to make sure the candidate’s name is spelled correctly on the ballot. With a name like Rea Grulkowski supporters who want to vote for her could easily misspell her name and have their vote thrown out.
The Secretary of State’s office has a rule on the use of stickers for write-ins. It advises candidates to consult with their local election administrator to assure the stickers can be used in the equipment local election offices use.
See Jasmine Taylor’s Tik Tok on this topic.
https://www.tiktok.com/@montana_jasmine/video/7406314192745319726?lang=en&q=jasmine%20taylor&t=1724452544645
by Helena Lovick | Aug 23, 2024 | Abortions Rights, Elections
My eyes about rolled into another dimension when I got the mailer about Jerry Lynch’s and Katherine Bidegaray’s dangerous liberal agenda. Right. If anything, that’s an endorsement based on the dark money groups that fund that nonsense. As noted by an editorial in the Daily Inter Lake, “Montanans for Fair Taxes is funded by out-of-state pharmaceutical companies, tobacco companies, uber-wealthy political extremists and Montana Chamber money. The same is true for another shady group hypocritically called Montanans for Judicial Accountability.”
But I’m sure they have everyday Montanans best interests at heart. (Great, now my eyes hurt from rolling so much).
Several of the current problems with the “Supreme” Court of the United States (SCOTUS) are due to the lifetime appointments of the justices with no real oversight. In Montana, we vote on our State Supreme Court justices which allows our court to be filled with judges accountable to the people. And that’s why dark money groups are so invested in putting their preferred picks on the court.
Why should we care about the makeup of Montana’s Supreme Court?
Welp, do you want reproductive freedom?
Nightmarish stories of American women suffering through a miscarriage and being turned away from emergency rooms have filled the news. Thankfully our State Supreme Court is currently holding back unconstitutional bans of abortion in Montana. Because of Montana’s robust State Constitution and right to privacy, abortion rights continue to be protected in Montana.
Yes! Abortion is still legal in Montana.
Let’s hang strong and keep abortion legal Montana!
Image from NYT
Because Montana continues to offer abortion services, residents of surrounding states have been traveling to our state for necessary healthcare. For example, the number of Idahoans traveling to Montana to receive abortion care has tripled in the last year. Of course, we can’t get complacent and ignore justice elections for our State Supreme Court. We know that established law can be thrown out by partisan judges with a personal agenda. Take a look at the SCOTUS with their bullshit decisions on a range of issues including Roe v. Wade.
Impartial Judges for the Win
Since I want a Montana Supreme Court that continues to function with impartial justices who adhere to the constitution, I will be voting for Jerry Lynch and Katherine Bidegaray. The fact that dark money groups have negative ads against them is just another sign that these two judges will actually be the impartial justices we need to protect our rights.
by Ken Toole | Aug 16, 2024 | Elections
According to media reports, anti-Semitic memes have been circulated in Montana communities once again. This time it appears that Tim Sheehy’s campaign circulated a meme featuring a darkened photo of Chuck Schumer (who is Jewish) superimposed over a puppet master’s hands manipulating radio, TV and a bag of money.
In May, several national news outlets covering the Schumer meme reported that the Sheehy campaign also employed a 21-year-old man named Caleb Oriet. Oriet has a history of placing bigoted posts on social media. The Daily Beast reported it this way, “The account belonging to the 21-year-old Montanan and self-proclaimed ‘Anglo-Saxon Protestant’ and ‘menace to society’ liked, for instance, a tweet that refers to Black Americans as ‘the most criminal, dependent, and socially destructive part of the population,’ and attacks GOP efforts to connect with Black voters.”
Oriet previously worked for Republican eastern district Congressman Matt Rosendale and gave speeches promoting Christian Nationalism. In 2022 Oriet was the director of a far right organization called The American Populist Union. In an interview with Great Falls Tribune he said, “You look at today’s population, 20.5% of Gen-Z says they’re gay. The political implications of this are disastrous. As people my age start taking power it’s just not going to be a good thing. Our main goal is the replacement of this very elitist American establishment with one that is willing to put America, her citizens and interests over that of foreign interests or international finance.”
The Sheehy campaign refused to respond to requests for information about the incident, instead going on the attack. The campaign said that the Daily Beast was a “trash New York tabloid,” and accused it of “tearing down a 21 year old man.” But after the article appeared, most of Oriet’s social media accounts were closed and his name no longer appeared on the campaign’s website. The Sheehy campaign continues to refuse to respond to questions about his employment status with the campaign.
Gallatin Republican Central Committee
In the middle of June, the Gallatin County Republican Central Committee circulated a similar meme featuring financier George Soros (who is also Jewish) controlling Obama, Biden and Harris. The meme featured a caption saying, “Our situation explained.” Both of these are tropes for anti-Semites promoting conspiracy theories that Jews control the media, banking industry and politics.
Perhaps more troubling is the fact that neither Sheehy’s campaign nor the Republican Central Committee have responded to leaders in the Montana Jewish community when they expressed concern about use of these memes. Nor did either respond to requests for interviews with the media.
Sheehy Has Plenty Of Company In The Republican Party
In the last legislative session, Gallatin County Democratic Legislator Ed Staffman, who is also a Rabbi, was scheduled to give the daily invocation in the Montana House of Representatives. At the last minute, he was informed that his invocation was being canceled by Republican Speaker of the House Matt Regier. Staffman said that he felt he was being shut down because he was not offering a Christian prayer. Another leader in the Jewish community said “The legislature is very single-minded right now. It’s focused on a white, male, Christian agenda.” https://wtf406.com/2023/12/the-oldest-hatred-antisemitism-visits-the-montana-legislature/
Just prior to the last legislative session, Cascade County Senator Jeremy Trebas retweeted a meme about Jewish people conducting child sacrifice. After being confronted about his tweet, Trebas took it down but refused to apologize. https://wtf406.com/2023/12/trebas-fails-to-apologize-for-anti-semitic-tweet/
There is a lot to be concerned about in all of these incidents. First, one has to wonder what kinds of things are being said about Jewish people outside the public eye and what are the beliefs of the officials who apparently tolerate and even defend these actions. The refusal of the officials in these incidents to respond to the leaders of the Jewish community who are rightfully concerned about anti-Semitism in our state and the impact it has on our Jewish citizens. Finally, ignoring inquiries from the media has become the campaign strategy of far too many politicians in our state. A functioning democracy requires an informed citizenry and denying access to public officials is fundamentally anti-democratic.
For more on this https://dailymontanan.com/2024/08/07/jewish-leaders-in-montana-concerned-about-sheehy-gallatin-co-republicans-posting
