by Ed Sperry, Col USAF (ret), Stevensville
I am supporting Wayne Rusk for the Montana House race for District 88. That’s mostly around Stevensville. I just got a letter from our State Senator urging that I vote for Wayne’s opponent. Until I read the postmark I thought the letter was formal State of Montana correspondence. No, it was her personal opinion and mailed from Missoula. Gotta say, it sure looked official!
Both candidates are good and capable citizens. You’ve seen his opponent’s nearly countless campaign signs along the road. Be aware there is a great difference in what they offer the voter. Apparently Wayne’s opponent’s single claim to fame is that he stands for ‘nullification’. I think to most of us that means— don’t obey a law you don’t agree with. It’s easy to “legalize” this with all sorts of legal crap; but that is what it really means. Hello chaos!
Fellow voter, please remember that the laws his supporters are seeking to nullify are almost entirely national laws. Laws written, for better or worse, by the crowd in Washington. Our selectee for District 88 ain’t gonna change a damned one of them. He will be serving in Helena; not Washington! Actually, he hardly, if ever, mentions the issues needing attention in our beloved Montana.
I suggest we vote for someone ready to work on Montana’s problems. Actually, Wayne is already focused on an issue vital to Montana. He is Co Chair of the Ravalli County Collaborative Board which is the active liaison between the people of our county and the Forest Service. Folks, we have serious tax issues at stake with this Board!
If you listen or talk with Wayne Rusk you will encounter knowledge of the needs for better management of our natural resources, concerns for Montana veterans, better schools, support of local law enforcement, roads and the plethora of Montana’s problems. He has lived here for thirty years. He runs a successful business here. He doesn’t urge nullification. He would rather change and improve the legislation coming out of Helena. Isn’t that the job?
There are already enough other politicians screwing up laws in Washington so vote to help get our Montana house in order. We need to elect Montanans like Wayne Rusk. He stands for a rational approach to good state government. In fact he has been busy locally, voluntarily advancing these issues for years.