By Craig Siphers, Stevensville
My mother and father always preached about making good choices. Many of mine have not been. Nor were my mother and father’s. Sometimes Dad more than Mom, but I digress. If you have any recollection of these two characters who, by pure chance, became my parents, you knew they were class in their own way. The big joke on election day was that they were going to cancel themselves out. This reference being the fact that Dad was Republican and Mom was a Democrat. Both grew up white on the Flathead Indian Reservation where Mom and Dad’s government put the Tribes being a combination of the Salish, the Pend d’Oreille and the Kootenai. I don’t believe they got too wrapped up in it. Joe Arlee sat with my parents at the Bass House. And Ted Schwinden was royally entertained by my father when the Governor visited Stevensville, Montana’s Oldest Community (sorry Fort Benton). They were an eclectic couple who were intimately involved in this community.
My elusive point in this is that I believe, despite enormous evidence to the contrary, that I make good choices. And in this election for House District 87, my choice is Laura Merrill. She’s smart, she has an uncanny ability to bring people together, she is passionate about fairness and equity. Both of my parents would have voted for her and I know I will. I hope you do too. It really is a good choice.