By Margaret Gorski, Stevensville, candidate for HD-88
This spring I attended a forum hosted by Hamilton’s Bitterroot College on the need to work together to address emerging water issues in the valley. At break, feeling optimistic, Representative Ed Greef and I were talking about the importance of the proposed multi-use trail on the Eastside Highway when Commissioner Greg Chilcott walked up. He said something like: “We shouldn’t be building any more bike trails. We won’t be able to maintain them.”
Although that certainly is something that needs to be considered, Mr. Chilcott’s immediate rejection of the idea of a new bike trail was disappointing. As I listen to constituent views about Bitterroot Valley issues, the Commissioner’s statement keeps creeping back into my ear.
I continue to hear similar pessimistic sentiments from most of our other sitting elected officials on other important Montana issues. At that same forum, Nancy Ballance indicated to me that she voted against the State’s last infrastructure bill because she feels Montana should use its cash reserves instead of using bonds to pay for rebuilding our needed infrastructure. Although being able to pay for our bills is a legitimate concern, bonding is also a legitimate and commonly accepted way for government to fund such work. However, her personal opposition to bonding took priority over the needs of Montana. Her vote helped kill a bi-partisan infrastructure bill that would have created jobs and reduced Montana’s ever-increasing infrastructure backlog.
Representative Ballance’s position is similar to the one expressed by Commissioner Chilcott and it is not surprising since most of our current sitting state and local officials in the Bitterroot Valley appear to think alike. They all seem to walk hand in hand with a negative attitude toward the future. They talk about problems and then instead of being leaders, they spend their time and energy pointing fingers of blame on issues over which they have no authority or control, such as criticizing the Forest Service for issues like fire and travel management. They think these issues can be solved by changing who is in charge, but what they are actually doing is failing to address the real problems and just passing the buck.
I find more and more examples that support what I have heard described as the Bitterroot Valley’s reputation of having a management style of “pass the buck and blame others.” It is one of the reasons I decided to run for state legislature from House District 88. Where is the vision from our representatives? I expect our elected officials to be leaders and problem solvers. Relying on “less regulation, smaller government, and lower taxes” is not a one size fits all solution. Likewise, neither is “increased regulation, bigger government, and higher taxes.” It is not the job of our elected officials to say “no” to things that invest in our future based simply on ideology or preconceived assumptions. It is the responsibility of elected officials to represent the collective views of all their constituents. They have the responsibility and the power to gather the best available information, to bring all parties together and to seek solutions to guide today’s decisions for a better tomorrow. We can no longer rely on “group think.” We need a diversity of views to craft creative and better solutions.
To say we will never be able to afford maintenance as the reason not to build infrastructure to make our roads safer, in my opinion, is achingly short sighted. Frankly, I am surprised that our representatives have such little faith in us “Bitterrooters.” We are very capable of rolling up our sleeves and solving the problems that will make our lives and those of our children better. I find this negative attitude especially alarming because, compared to other pressing issues, finding a solution to multi-use trail maintenance is relatively easy. However, coping with the complex problems of the future takes leaders with vision.
The Bitterroot Valley and our state are at a crossroads. The world is changing around us and we need to control our destiny. If we don’t, others will. As citizens and voters, we need to ask our current leaders how they plan to address the emerging issues like the effect of climate change on our agricultural community. What infrastructure do we need to attract clean industries to the valley or support “stay at home” businesses? How will we create affordable housing? How will we provide clean water as we ask our aquifers to absorb more and more septic tanks? What is our vision for transportation as more and more people live in the valley? Is our educational system up to the task of preparing our children for the world of tomorrow? These are serious questions. We need leaders with a positive vision looking to what’s ahead, not followers taking us back to the past.