I have had the privilege of knowing Jeff Burrow for some time now. I contracted him out to do some work for me and found him to be a hard worker, very honest and intelligent. We had a problem on how to feasibly make my project become a reality, but he was able to come up with the solution.
In today’s society we slowly see our freedoms eroding away. I know Jeff’s views on supporting and defending the Constitution of the United States and that he understands that any elected official’s position should be first and foremost to protect the rights of the people.
On October 16th of this year, the Bitterroot Natural Resource Recovery Committee held a debate to discuss the Ravalli County resource policy. All of the county commissioner candidates were invited. I can understand Dave Smith not wanting to show up and debate Greg Chilcott on the subject, since Dave has already expressed the fact that he does not think the county should be involved in coordinating with the federal government on plans and polices that directly affect the citizens of Ravalli County. I am very surprised on one hand, that Mr. Ormiston declined the invitation. I would think that John, being a long time forest service employee, would jump on the opportunity to debate on a subject such as natural resources, since he clearly should not debate on financial or fiscal matters after the park board property purchase he was involved in on Kurtz Lane, where the county taxpayer is now stuck with a large mortgage on vacant property.
On the other hand, I understand that he would want to keep his environmental views quiet until after the election. I believe that if his ideas (the forest service knows best/ save the wolves/ let the forest burn for bird habitat/ close the roads for wilderness and animal preservation/ and that our county should not have a seat at the federal government to have input on how to best handle our forests) were known to the general public, he would lose the election. He is pretending to be something he is not, indicating to voters that he is the common sense and rational choice. The above views of Mr. Ormiston, I believe, are not rational and do not belong here in Ravalli County. Before you vote, do the research yourself. You will find online published works written by Ormiston backing his views.
I know that Jeff, having been born and raised here in the Bitterroot understands the problems facing our community and I know without any doubt Jeff Burrows would be a great asset in our county.
As for myself, I will always choose candidates not based on party lines, but for an individual who will stand for honesty and integrity and will be the rational choice for Ravalli County.
Curtis Brown
Corvallis