by Ken Toole | Mar 15, 2024 | Elections
Most of us who were watching the selection process for the new election administrator for Cascade County, Terry Thompson, knew it was a rotten kettle of fish. We suspected that the cause of the putrid smell was Commissioner Rae Grulkowski. Now we have the proof.
Rae Grulkowski’s biased scoring
Thanks to Ann Brust filing an information request with the county, we can see exactly what the scores of each of the county commissioners in the selection process were. It reveals a rogue county commissioner manipulating a government hiring process to hand the job to a person she worked alongside opposing the Big Sky Country National Heritage Area back in 2020. At that time Terry Thompson was CEO of the Great Falls Realtors Association and Grulkowski was one of the main organizers of the opposition, which was steeped in ridiculous conspiracy theories about people losing their property rights if the Heritage Area was established.
Where’s the oversight?
Perhaps even more disconcerting, the county entities which should be acting to curb the corrupt conduct of a local elected official have been sitting on their hands and even covering up for Grulkowski’s outrageous conduct as a county commissioner. We are referring to the county attorney’s office and the county human resource office. Even though they were both engaged in the selection process, they allowed Grulkowski to ignore the law and standard government personnel practices by manipulating her scores to guarantee that the most qualified applicant, former election administrator Democrat Rina Moore, was denied the position and gave it to her former, less qualified, political ally, Republican Terry Thompson.
We commend Commissioners Briggs and Larson for having the political courage to remove Grulkowski from the chair of the county commission and for passing County Ordinance 23-62, which took the election duties away from Grulkowski’s political crony and incompetent administrator Sandra Merchant. But we are baffled by their failure to enforce the provision of the ordinance which prohibited Grulkowski from participating in any decision dealing with the election office, which obviously included hiring new election administrator Terry Thompson. Larson has told people that the ordinance did not apply to Grulkowski, because she had not filed for re-election. Maybe he thought that, but he was mistaken. (See the language of the ordinance below.)
“WHEREAS, appointing an Election Administrator to serve at the direction of the Board of Cascade County Commissioners will eliminate the appearance of impropriety as any single Commissioner whose seat appears on the ballot in a given calendar years shall be required to abstain from all decisions concerning the operation and management of the election office during that calendar year until such time as the election for said office is finalized; and”
We have to wonder why Deputy County Attorney Carrie Anne Haight and Human Resource Officer Jeff Mora, who sat through numerous commission meetings dealing with this hiring decision including the applicant interviews, did not insist that Grulkowski follow the law. Perhaps we should not be surprised at the apparent dereliction of duties, since neither Haight nor Mora have raised objections as Sandra Merchant filled vacant positions in the Clerk and Recorder’s office with numerous individuals whose sole qualification appeared to be the fact that they had signed an election denier petition with bizarre demands that mail in balloting be eliminated, doing away with electronic vote counting machines, and requiring every Cascade County voter to come in and reregister to vote. Those who did not actually sign the petition were either in personal relationships with those who had or were family members of far right Republican officials like Randy Pinocci.
So, here we are now looking right at the smoking gun, the scoring of the individuals who applied to be the election administrator. There can be little doubt that Rae Grulkowski used this process to advance her own ally and subvert the competitive hiring process for the county which is required by state law, professional personnel practices, and the county’s own ordinance. She has done so with impunity and those who should have, and could have, raised objections have apparently remained silent.
Scoring Matrix for Hiring The Cascade County Election Administrator
Grulkowski was moving an agenda to help Terry Thompson and sink Rina Moore
For those readers who don’t like looking at tables, we point out that commissioners Larson and Briggs both ranked Rina Moore as the most qualified and Grulkowski rated her as the least qualified . . .by a large margin. On the other hand, Larson and Briggs ranked Thompson third and fourth respectively and Grulkowski rated her number one. . .again by a large margin. Obviously Grulkowski was moving an agenda which resulted in Terry Thompson getting the job.
But it is election season again!
We want to take this opportunity to remind the voters of Cascade County that it is election season. Former City Commissioner Eric Hinebauch is running against Grulkowski in the Republican primary, and Don Ryan is running on the Democratic ticket in the general election. If we can’t count on county officials to restrain this kind of impunity, we have to turn her out at the ballot box.
by Ken Toole | Mar 15, 2024 | Elections
Let’s start with a little definition of terms used in this Post.
Far-Right Republicans– Republicans who advocate ideas and policies which are coming from extreme groups like the Freedom Caucus and local Pachyderm Club. They are driven by conspiracy theories including rhetoric about the “Deep State” and stolen elections. The Galloways, Public Service Commissioner Randy Pinocci, Sheriff Jesse Slaughter and County Commissioner Rae Grulkowski are in this group. Also known as Tin Foil Hat Republicans
Corporate Republicans– Republicans who generally fit into the more traditional frame of Republicanism. They promote privatization of public services and institutions, deregulation of industry, and cutting taxes. Fitzpatrick, McKamey, Buttrey, Nikolakos, Commissioners Briggs and Larson, Republican Central Committee Chair Eric Hinebauch are in this group. Also known as Corporate Lapdog Republicans.
If you follow local politics in Cascade County, you are probably aware of the feuds within the local Republican Party. We’re not going to go into in much detail here, but we provide this quote from Matthew Monforton, Republican activist, former legislator, and attorney who was representing the Far-Right Republicans here in a lawsuit over control of the Republican Central Committee in 2019. “What it comes down to is, there’s a group of fake Republicans in Cascade County that are really Democrats, but they know they can’t get elected to office as Democrats. Their goals are vastly different than those of the Republican Party.”
https://www.greatfallstribune.com/story/news/2019/02/05/tensions-gop-threaten-boil-over-county-committee-fights-steve-fitzpatrick-sheridan-buck-monforton/2782214002/
A quick look at the filing for this election cycle indicates that the feud is still going. There is a contested Republican primary in every legislative district except one. Equally telling, only one current legislator and Corporate Republican, Steve Fitzpatrick, does not face a primary challenger. Also interesting that four Libertarians have filed.
To our readers who are gleefully rubbing their hands together over the discord within the Republican ranks, we have to say, “not so fast.” The truth is that contested primaries make for stronger candidates in the general election cycle. They have already been raising money, meeting voters, buying materials and garnering media attention, and they bring those assets with them to the general election.
So, we leave you with a little unverified gossip. Word is that Far-Right Republican legislator Steven Galloway recruited James Whitaker to challenge incumbent George Nikolakos in House District 22. Nikolakos was so angry that he got his wife to file against Steven Galloway at the last minute. We don’t know if this is the real story, but we do know that Melissa Nikolakos filed against Galloway on the last day to file at 3:38 p.m. Hmmm.
HD 19
Jane Weber- D
Hannah Trebas – R
Darren Auger- R
HD 20
Rina Moore – D
Steven Galloway-R
Melissa Nikolakos-R
HD 21
Lela Graham-D
ED Buttrey-R
James Osterman-R
Joshua Rosles-L
HD 22
Ronald Paulick- D
George Nikolakos-R
James Whitaker- R
HD 23
Sandor Hopkins-D
Pete Anderson- R
John Proud-R
Josh Denully- R
Kevin Leatherbarrow- L
HD 24
Steve Fitpatrick- R
Annie Leatherbarrow- L
HD 25
James Rickley- D
Darren Auger- R
Steve Gist- R
Loui Salinas- L
SD 13
Lola Galloway-R
Joshua Cashmier- R
by Ken Toole | Mar 6, 2024 | Elections
In an unprecedented move, Montana Secretary of State Christi Jacobsen weighed in on Cascade County’s hiring process to fill an open election administrator position. The move by Jacobsen casts further doubt on the selection process in the County. The action provides further evidence of the corruption and incompetence of Republicans in our state and county.
WTF406.com has written extensively on the mess in the Clerk and Recorder’s office after Sandra Merchant was elected. Due to Merchant’s incompetence, the county commission removed election duties from her office and began the process of hiring a qualified employee to administer elections. Four finalists were interviewed by the three commissioners, and Terry Thompson was selected. Two other candidates, Rina Moore and Lynn Deroche, were passed over despite having much more experience and training for the position. Each had approximately 16 years of experience administering elections. WTF406 and others objected to the process, because Merchant’s crony Commissioner Rea Grulkowski participated in the selection process despite being directed by county resolution not to participate in decisions affecting the election office.
Now, thanks to excellent reporting by The Electric, we find out that Republican Secretary of State Christi Jacobsen weighed in on the hiring decision. Specifically, in an email from a state email account dated February 14th to county commissioners, Jacobsen wrote, “please do not hire Ms. Moore or a member of her administration as Cascade County’s Election Administrator. Doing so would directly undermine the voters of Cascade County, among other reasons.”
The Electric followed up on the story after observing Merchant and Grulkowski going into the Secretary of State’s office on March 1st. The Electric requested information from Merchant and Grulkowski about the reason for the meeting and whether public funds were used in their trip to Helena. They did not respond.
County Commissioners Joe Briggs and Jim Larson both said that they were surprised by Jacobsen’s email but both added that it did not affect their decision, because it was a scored “structured” hiring process. That may or may not be true, but Grulkowski also scored the applicants and her score alone was likely enough to jimmy the system in favor of Terry Thompson. And if we know anything about Rea Grulkowski, it is that she does whatever she pleases without regard for the rules and law.
So the liability for the county (and us taxpayers) continues to mount thanks to the arrogance of Grulkowski and her far right allies in their effort to control elections in Cascade County. Both Rina Moore and Lynn DeRoche would have had strong political belief discrimination complaints before the Jacobsen email. Now those complaints would be even stronger, and the state of Montana can also be brought into any legal action.
by Ken Toole | Mar 2, 2024 | Elections
“Ask not what your country can do for you – ask what you can do for your country,” John F Kennedy, Inaugural Address
Did you know there are only two elected officials in Cascade County who are not Republicans? All of our legislative seats are Republican, all of the County Commissioners are Republican. The Sheriff is Republican, The Clerk and Recorder is Republican, The Treasurer is Republican,
But these Republicans are not your Grandfather’s Republicans. They are Trump’s MAGA Republicans who are seeking to impose their narrow views on the rest of us. They want to tell us what we can read. They seek to limit women’s access to abortion and other reproductive health care services. They are rolling back the civil rights gains of the 1950’and 1960’s. They are attacking LGBTQI people and opposing efforts to address climate change. They are even trying to rewrite history to reflect their narrow views.
Now is the time we can do something about it. And no, we are not talking about getting out to vote. We are talking about putting your name on the bottom line and filing to run for office. There are numerous legislative seats and one county commission seat open in the next election cycle in Cascade County. All of them are held by Republicans and most of those incumbents are filing to run for office again.
The deadline for filing for office is March 11. We want to get as many reasonable people as possible to run for office. Doesn’t matter if you file as a Democrat, Republican, Libertarian or Independent. We just need normal people who are not promoting the extreme agenda of the far right.
So here’s how to do it. Just click on this link to the Secretary of State’s Office and follow the instructions. https://prodcandidatefiling.mt.gov/candidatefiling/CandidateHomepage.aspx
If you want a little help, these folks can help you.
Cascade County Democrats, Helena Lovick, Chair
[email protected]
Cascade County Republicans, Eric Hinebauch, Chair https://www.cascadecountygop.com/contact-us
Cascade County Libertarians, Tony Rosales, Chair, https://www.facebook.com/CascadeCountyLibertarianParty/
You don’t have to live in the district you run in and running a campaign isn’t as difficult as you might think. The truth is you might not win but you can make a difference by letting these incumbent Republicans know their views don’t represent all of us. And your efforts in this campaign cycle make it easier to elect reasonable people in the future.
FILING FOR OFFICE? JUST DO IT!!
by Ken Toole | Feb 19, 2024 | Elections
Last Friday, the Election Protection Committee delivered the following letter to the Cascade County Commission.
“Commissioners,
We were surprised and disappointed to see that you offered the election administrator position to Terry Thompson. We have already notified you via a letter from Mike Meloy, this selection process is flawed and violates County Ordinance 23-62. Specifically, the ordinance states,
“WHEREAS, appointing an Election Administrator to serve at the direction of the Board of Cascade County Commissioners will eliminate the appearance of impropriety as any single Commissioner whose seat appears on the ballot in a given calendar years shall be required to abstain from all decisions concerning the operation and management of the election office during that calendar year until such time as the election for said office is finalized; and”
Clearly, this language applies to Commissioner Grulkowski. Despite the fact that we notified you and the County Attorney that Grulkowski’s continued involvement in the election decision violates Resolution 23-62, no action has been taken to enforce the above provisions of the resolution.
Though it is disturbing enough that Commissioner Grulkowski seems to believe that the rules and law simply do not apply to her, the fact that the County has allowed her to operate with impunity is highly inappropriate. Frankly, it is hard to understand why the County Attorney’s office has allowed this situation to persist.
Now it seems our greatest fears have been realized. Commissioner Grulkowski has not only participated in numerous discussions, debate, and decisions regarding operation of county elections, she also participated in the interview process and the hiring decision for the administration of elections in Cascade County. Moreover, Commissioner Briggs admitted during yesterday’s recorded Zoom session where the candidates were evaluated, that he and Commissioner Larson both rated Rina Moore as their top candidate. We can only infer from his comment that Commissioner Grulkowski is the only Commissioner who ranked any candidate above Rina Moore.
Those of us who watched the interviews were shocked at the final decision to offer the position to Ms. Thompson. Rina Moore clearly had more experience and answered the interview questions more thoroughly and accurately than any other candidate. We also saw that Commissioner Grulkowski was allowed to leave the interview room carrying all of her notes immediately following Ms. Moore’s interview and before the other applicants were interviewed. This action clearly calls the integrity of the selection process into question. We have encouraged Ms. Moore to seek appropriate remedy through the legal system. We are confident she will prevail in that arena.
Our primary concern is that Cascade County’s elections are run efficiently and effectively. Unfortunately, any legal remedy Ms. Moore, or any other applicant may be entitled to, is likely to occur after Ms.Thompson is instated as election administrator and would preclude an opportunity to offer the position to Ms. Moore.
We are writing to insist you retract your offer of employment to Terry Thompson, subtract Commissioner Grulkowski’s scores from the cumulative totals, and make the offer of employment to the applicant who scores the most points based on the ratings of Commissioners Larson and Briggs. Once Ms. Thompson is offered the position, the county will have crossed a line which is likely to result in significant time and expense. We encourage you to act responsibly and avoid this unnecessary liability.”
Stay tuned for updates on this issue.
