The primaries are coming up rapidly – June 5th will be here before we know it and it’s time to support a couple of candidates that will provide the most continuity and consistency in both of their elections.
As a Montana sportsman I expect my elected officials to uphold my rights to hunt and fish, and support laws that protect my continued opportunity in the field.
Both Republican candidates – Gary MacLaren, Republican for Senate District 45 and Patrick Connell, Republican for House District 87 – are veterans in the Legislature. They both have proven track records in their voting on sportsman friendly issues and their willingness to sponsor bills and chair committees. I like the fact that these guys are accessible to the public and willing to hear us out.
They both helped defeat the wolf bill SB414 which would have most certainly ended up with the wolf relisted by US Fish & Wildlife Service. This bad bill would have rewritten our federally approved plan that provided a controlled/managed hunting season by Montana Dept. of Fish Wildlife & Parks. Defeating this bill overruled government control of our state responsibility to manage wolves and kept them from the Endangered Species List. The “ditch bill” HB309 was another stab against sportsmen’s access and by defeating this bill our fishing and duck hunting rights were upheld.
Ravalli County sportsmen and sportswomen have excellent representation in the Montana Legislature and both Gary MacLaren and Patrick Connell have my vote of confidence and they need your vote as well.
John A Farley
Hamilton