by Jasmine Taylor | Jun 6, 2024 | Elections
Great Falls voted in the primary election, determining which candidates will go on to the general election in November, and it was a bad day for MAGA Republicans. As official results rolled in, far-right ringleaders started falling like dominoes. For the past two legislative sessions, Republicans have held a strong majority. They’ve used this muscle to attack reproductive rights and raise our property taxes through the roof. Montana is worse for all they have done.
The tides have turned! Despite protests from folks who prefer business as usual, many Democrats crossed over and voted in the Republican primary. The strategy? Eliminate the far-right leaders, and keep them off the ballot in November. Looking at the primary results, it pays to think outside of the box.
Enjoy this list of far-right losers who will not be appearing on the ballot in November.
Rae Grulkowski
Grulkowski was the puppeteer behind the chaos and dysfunction that plagued the elections office last year. She’s been finishing out a partial term as County Commissioner. Lucky for us, Grulkowski WILL NOT BE ON THE BALLOT THIS NOVEMBER.
Lola Sheldon-Galloway
Sheldon-Galloway is a long-time legislator whose bad hats and even worse beliefs have plagued Montana for years. Nobody’s spent more time trying to control your uterus than Lola. Best known for claiming that you can’t get pregnant from rape, Lola hoped to jump from the House to the Senate. However, she had a big loss last night and WILL NOT BE ON THE BALLOT THIS NOVEMBER.
Steven Galloway
Steven served his first term in the House last session, and he used every minute of it to try and make himself richer. He focused on laws targeting renters and benefiting landlords. Slack-jawed Steven rode his wife’s coattails into one win, but this year he pissed off fellow Republican George Nikolakakos. According to local gossip, George then recruited his wife to run, and run she has. While we’ll be working hard to defeat her in November, right now we’re going to celebrate that Steven Galloway WILL NOT BE ON THE BALLOT IN NOVEMBER.
Randy Pinocci
When he’s not trying to fist-fight voters or engaging in (alleged) felony witness tampering, Pinocci is making over $100,000 per year as our Public Service Commissioner. This cycle, Pinocci was on the ticket with Tanner Smith running for Governor, and Pinocci as Lieutenant Governor. Not only did the Smith/Tanner ticket lose big, Pinocci couldn’t even win the election for local precinct person. Love that for him. After two big losses, Pinocci WILL NOT BE ON THE BALLOT IN NOVEMBER.
Sandra Merchant
It’s a really bad time to be Sandra Merchant. Late last year, the County Commision voted to remove all election duties from Merchant (the current Clerk and Recorder) due to her gross incompetence. Now, Merchant will be without her bodyguard, Grulkowski. In an embarrassing turn of events, Merchant was also unable to win her election for local precinct person. Admittedly, precinct races don’t have much weight, but it’s mighty fun to watch this particular fall. Let’s hope that with Grulkowski on her way out, Merchant will finally find the sense to resign.
Now what?
Looking ahead to November, it’s clear that Democrats have a lot of work to do. The worst Republicans have been ousted, but we don’t want to elect the ones remaining either. Despite the tantrums of Republicans bemoaning the crossover votes, what we’ve seen is that Democrats are finally ready to fight back. Now let’s go kick some ass.
by Ken Toole | May 17, 2024 | Elections
At a fundraising event on May 11, Attorney General Austin Knudsen told a crowd of potential contributors that campaign contribution limits are “ridiculous.” He went on to tell the crowd that he had recruited a person to run against him in the Republican Primary. Current contribution limits in Montana law provide that a donor can contribute the maximum amount to a candidate in a contested primary race and again in a race in the general election. Candidates are also allowed to carry unspent funds in the primary over into the general election. This shell game allows a candidate to essentially double the amount of money that can be raised from one donor.
The Daily Montanan reported that Knudsen said, “I do technically have a primary. However, he is a young man who I asked to run against me, because our campaign laws are ridiculous. So, he’s a young man from my part of the state. His name is Logan Olson. He’s not running. He filed to run against me simply because under our current campaign finance laws in Montana, it allows me to raise more money. So, he supports me and he’s going to vote for me [audience laughs].”
The Montana Free Press reported that the friend Knudsen recruited to “run” against him has not organized any campaign, other than filing for office. In and of itself this game Knudsen and his young friend, Logan Olson, are playing is likely illegal. But then it turns out that Olson doesn’t even meet the legal requirements for running for Attorney General. Specifically, the law requires that candidates running for Attorney General have five years of legal practice in Montana under their belt in order to run. Olson was admitted to the Montana Bar in 2020.
Montana law prohibits falsely filing for office or making a false oath or affidavit as required for candidates running for office. The law also prohibits one candidate from enticing or threatening other candidates not to run in an election. The Montana Democratic Party has filed two complaints with the Commissioner of Political Practices which have been accepted for investigation. This is just one more example of Knudsen doing as he pleases without regard for the law. He is currently charged with 41 ethics violations filed by the State Bar’s Office of Disciplinary Counsel.
by Ken Toole | May 3, 2024 | Elections
It seems like all of the old rules went out the window with the election of Donald Trump in 2016. With the resources and energy of far-right groups like the Freedom Caucus, Moms for Liberty, American for Prosperity and others, the right flank of the Republican Party has taken over most of state and local government.
Here in Cascade County there is a long standing feud between far-right Republicans, known as the Freedom Caucus, led by legislators like Steven Galloway and Lola Sheldon-Galloway, and more traditional pro-corporate Republicans like Ed Buttrey and Steve Fitzpatrick. This election almost all legislative seats have contested Republican primaries pitting these two factions against each other. In addition, there is a hotly contested County Commission primary race between far-right incumbent Rae Grulkowski and local businessman Eric Hinebauch.
At the same time there is only one contested Democratic primary, the race for the Eastern Congressional District. The unfortunate fact is, no matter which Democratic candidate wins the primary, he will have virtually no chance of winning the seat in the general election. In short, there is not much reason to vote in the Democratic Primary here in Cascade County.
That brings us to the talk around town urging Democrats in Cascade County to vote in the Republican primary for the more reasonable of those candidates. Some folks are arguing that a few votes could make the difference between more nuts and more reasonable people in public office. They may be right, and the fact is that there is really nothing to lose given the lack of contested Democratic primaries here. Advocates of Democrats voting in the Republican primary, which is perfectly legal, say, “desperate times call for desperate measures|.”
The following is a list of the contested primaries and who are the more far-right candidates.
Cascade County Commission
Rea Grulkowski- Far Right
Eric Hinebauch
Senate District 13
Lola Sheldon-Galloway- Far Right
Josh Kassmier
House District 19
Hannah Trebas- Far Right
Darren Auger
House District 20
Steven Galloway- Far Right
Melisssa Nikolakkas
House District 21
Josh Osterman- Far Right
Ed Buttrey
House District 22
James Whitaker- Far Right
George Nikolakkas
House District 23
John Proud- Far Right
Pete Anderson- Far Right
Josh Denully
Eric Tillerman
by Ken Toole | Apr 29, 2024 | Elections
Gianforte releases endorsement list of Republican Legislators. Lola is out.
In a rare flexing of political muscle, Greg Gianforte took a little time off from increasing our property taxes and kicking sick people off Medicaid to issue a list of Republican primary candidates he is endorsing. In Cascade County, Lola Sheldon-Galloway’s opponent in the race for Senate District 13, Josh Kassmier, got the nod from Gianforte. Too bad for Lola. Maybe Gianforte didn’t like her hats.
In Gallatin County, Gianforte endorsed newcomer Kyle McMurry over incumbent, Jane Gillette. He also weighed in on a three-way primary, endorsing Scott Sales over Caleb Hinkle and Jennifer Carlson. Both Hinkle and Carlson are incumbents. Sales currently is the Director of the Montana Lottery but has served in the legislature before. Equally telling is who is not on Gianforte’s endorsement list. Neither House Speaker Matt Regier nor House Speaker Pro Tempore Rhonda Knudsen received an endorsement from Gianforte. For the complete story: https://dailymontanan.com/2024/04/26/gianforte-favors-some-snubs-others-in-gop-legislative-endorsements/
Meanwhile Over at Montana Association of Conservatives PAC. . .
Donald Trump Jr. came to Missoula on April 28 to speak at an event to promote the campaigns of Greg Gianforte, Tim Sheehy and Ryan Zinke. The event is being “brought to you by” the Montana Association of Conservatives Political Action Committee (MAC PAC) and an organization called Public Square. A quick look at Public Square and you will see “merch” for sale with catchy phrases like, “Stop Supporting Commies” and “This Girl Loves Capitalism,” alongside other, less political products. (If you are a glutton for punishment, you can check out a Breitbart interview with Public Square CEO Michael Seifert. Among other things he says you can purchase diapers from the only pro-life diaper company in the country! The whole thing is kind of creepy) https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=1323590758326689. WTF406 has no idea how these folks are complying with campaign law. But, if the event is “public” and held in a public building like the University Center, denying certain candidates entry because of who they are running against is likely a violation of state law. https://mac-pac.com/
Regardless of the sketchy nature of the event, the other news is that Republican Governor candidate Tanner Smith (Randy Pinocci is his running mate), Gianforte’s opponent in the Republican Primary, had his $75 registration fee returned and was told he was not welcome to attend. In addition, Charles Walking Child, who is challenging Tim Sheehy in the Republican Primary for US Senate, was also disinvited from the event. Brad Johnson, who is also running against Tim Sheehy, said that he did not purchase a ticket after not being allowed to speak at a meeting of Yellowstone County Republicans.
Responding to comments from Smith, a spokesperson for Gianforte said, “The governor did not organize this event, instead, the governor was invited to and is attending Sunday’s Protecting Freedom Event with Donald Trump, Jr.” Cameo Flood, spokesperson for MAC PAC, declined to provide additional comment. Brad Johnson, long-time Republican activist, state office holder and current primary challenger to Tim Sheehy ,said, “I’ve never seen it like this, It’s just absurd,
Montanans don’t like being told what to do,” For a complete story: https://montanafreepress.org/2024/04/26/two-republican-candidates-in-montana-told-not-to-attend-trump-jr-event/
Many of us are concerned about the authoritarian turn of the Republican Party in recent years. These guys simply don’t tolerate disagreement. We are seeing how Republican leadership exercises power internally. Bad as this is, it is nothing compared to how they treat other political opponents who are not members of their own party.
by Ken Toole | Apr 12, 2024 | Elections
Republican U.S. Senate candidate Tim Sheehy has a bullet in his arm. The Washington Post broke a convoluted and confusing news story about how it got there. The story is convoluted and confusing, because Tim Sheehy has been telling a couple of different stories about how it got there.
Story number 1 according to Tim Sheehy- In 2015 he was in the parking lot at Logan Pass in Glacier Park. While putting things in his car, his Colt .45 pistol slipped and fell to the ground, causing it to discharge and hit him in the arm. He was ticketed by the Park Service and paid a fine. Now Sheehy says this story was a lie.
Story number 2 according to Tim Sheehy- In 2012 while serving in Afghanistan, he was hit by a bullet in the arm. He says that he doesn’t know where it came from. He says that he did not report the wound, as is presumably required by the military, because he did not want to prompt an investigation which could have drug his platoon mates through the mud. Tim Sheehy says this is the real story.
Jackie Brown over at the Western Word Blog here in Great Falls put it this way when calling on Sheehy to withdraw from the Senate Race: “As I said yesterday, Sheehy should do the honorable thing and drop out of the U.S. Senate race this week. These are not the actions one would expect from a Naval Officer and Navy SEAL. These are not the actions Montanans would expect from a U.S. Senator. To say the least, it’s dishonorable.”
We can’t say it any better than conservative lawyer and Never Trumper, George Conway, “Let those among you who have not lied about lying about shooting yourselves in the arm in a national park in order to cover up not faking a combat wound—or something like that, I can’t quite figure it out—cast the first stone.”
by Ken Toole | Apr 12, 2024 | Elections
U.S. Senate candidate, Tim Sheehy, touts his experience as an entrepreneur as one of the major things that qualifies him for a seat in the Senate. We’ve already pointed out the irony of the fact that his business, Bridger Aerospace, makes the vast majority of its money on government firefighting contracts. Now The Montana Free Press is reporting that Bridger Aerospace is “deeply in the red” in a thorough story using Security Exchange Commission (SEC) reports. https://montanafreepress.org/2024/04/09/u-s-senate-hopefuls-company-reported-losses-of-more-than-77-million-in-2023/
Sheehy Wearing Rose-Colored Glasses While Pulling Wool Over Investors’ Eyes
While the filings with the SEC clearly show a company in deep financial trouble, with losses of $77 million last year, Bridger Aerospace Investor Relations issued a glowing report announcing record earnings of $67 million in 2023 (while bemoaning the lack of wildfires last year). The report went on to say it had received record contract awards in 2023, including a $60 million exclusive contract with the Department of Interior. The report also asserts that the company is poised to grow over 80% in 2024.
However, the disclaimer in the Investor Relations Report says in pertinent part, “Certain statements included in this press release are not historical facts but are forward-looking statements, including for purposes of the safe harbor provisions under the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.” We’ll save you reading the whole thing because it is quite long containing lots of wiggle words. Feel free to read it yourself at https://ir.bridgeraerospace.com/news-events/press-releases/detail/37/bridger-aerospace-announces-record-2023-results-provides
Sheehy’s Filing With the SEC Tells a Different Story
The SEC filing begins with a note from the Bridger Aerospace’s own auditors which states, “As discussed in Note 1 to the financial statements, the Company has suffered recurring losses from operations, operating cash flow deficits, debt covenant violations, and insufficient liquidity to fund its operations that raise substantial doubt about its ability to continue as a going concern.”
Montana Free Press quoted University of Montana accounting professor Terri Herron who examined the financial reports as saying, “Management concluded that they may not be around in a year.”
So Who Is On The Hook if Sheehy Goes Under? You are!
Well, actually people who live in Gallatin County. Of course stockholders stand to lose their investment but Sheehy is at risk of violating financial agreements resulting from a $160 million municipal bond agreement with Gallatin County which brought Bridger Aerospace’s long-term debt to $204.6 million. The bond came with covenants that Bridger Aerospace must have the ability to cover debt with cash in the amount of at least $8 million. If Sheehy defaults on the bond requirements, it appears Gallatin County could be on the hook.
Bridger Aerospace said in the annual filing that it is out of compliance with the required debt service amount, and that it likely won’t be in compliance in the next 12 months. At the time of the report, the company apparently had the $8 million in cash but the report stated that it probably won’t in the future, because interest payments of $18.4 million are coming due soon.
So, What Does It All Mean?
Of course all of this is complicated and confusing, so let us just boil it down a little for you. Sheehy has a business in which 88% of his total income comes from the government in the form of firefighting contracts. A big part of the way he has financed his operation comes from a Gallatin County bond offering. We assume that means a lower interest rate, because they are government issued bonds. Welcome to “entrepreneurship” Tim Sheehy style. Step right up to the public trough and proclaim your commitment to private enterprise.
Final Notes
In the short time the public microscope has been on Tim Sheehy, he has not measured up. In the last week he has admitted lying to law enforcement about an old bullet wound, and we have been treated to an inside glimpse of his business ethics. Unfortunately Montana voters don’t seem to care much about ethics, electing Ryan Zinke, Greg Gianforte, Matt Rosendale and Steve Daines, all coming from the cesspool the Republican Party has become.
This post has been written largely with the information uncovered by the Montana Free Press and reporter Arren Kimbel-Sannit. Though we did go through the SEC reports and Bridger Aerospace Investor Relations Report, the truth is we wouldn’t have understood most of it without Kimbel-Sannit’s reporting.
