Election manipulation?

by Jim Crews, Stevensville

I did not want to have to write this letter, but it seems to be the thing that has to be done. 

On July 23, 2025, I was trespassed from the Stevensville Town Hall for apparently exercising my Right to Free Speech as protected by The Constitution of the United States 1st Amendment and my Freedom of Speech as protected by the Constitution for the State of Montana, Article II, Part II, Section 7, and exercising my Right to Know Article II, Part II, Section 9.

I had stopped by Town Hall to see Chief Boe, as I came in the door, I noticed the Town Clerk at the front counter. I stopped and she asked me, “How may I help you, Mr. Crews?” 

I replied that I would like to see the Resolution regarding records requests. She immediately told me in a very forceful manner that the request had been forwarded to the Town Attorney for review. I told her that I was not there for my records request, that I would like to see the Council Resolution regarding the records request process. (That Resolution was 539). She again in a very forceful tone told me in no uncertain words that I would have to have the Town Attorney’s permission to look at that resolution. I asked her, are you saying I have to have the Town Attorney’s permission to review a resolution? The Clerk’s response was very firm that I was required to have the Town Attorney’s permission to see any resolution!

You see the problem with this is that you as a citizen have a right to see all public documents as protected by the Constitution for the State of Montana, Article II, Part II, Section 9 Right to Know. No person shall be deprived of the right to examine documents or to observe the deliberations of all public bodies or agencies of state government and its subdivisions, except in cases in which the demand of individual privacy clearly exceeds the merits of public disclosure. 

This right is also protected by state law, § 2-6-1003(1) MCA which states, (1) Except as provided in subsections (2) and (3), every person has a right to examine and obtain a copy of any public information of this state.

I was denied the right to examine Town Resolution 539 which governs the Schedule and Charges for Records Requests by the Town of Stevensville. In fact, it is my opinion that my right to examine the last 100 resolutions was denied and delayed by the sending of the records request to the Town Attorney for approval of the request.

The reason I wanted to see the document was to examine the policy regarding the processing of Records Requests. The document request that I had submitted was requesting to come to Town Hall and sit down and review the documents in Town Hall. Which would have cost the town no money. I wanted to see the actual record books which are kept in Town Hall by the Clerk. The Business License Book, the Building Permit Book and the last 100 resolutions of the council. I can understand the reluctance to see business license applications and building permit applications, but the staff could have made that determination with the mayor rather than send the request to the town’s attorney, which by the way, cost you the taxpayer $561 if my understanding of the claims is correct. I am not sure who decided to engage the town’s attorney, that is something that not even a council member can do without consulting the Council President. So how is it a clerk can spend the money so easily? Maybe the Mayor can answer that question.

Because I was trespassed from Town Hall, I can no longer go to Town Hall to look at these documents, nor can I participate in any town meeting. To this day I am not sure why I was trespassed from Town Hall, because it is not on the letter that I received trespassing me and have not done anything that should have been the cause of me to be treated in such a manner. 

So, the town had to copy each document. Another cost in manpower and materials. The quality of the copies was pretty bad. Often I could not read the resolution numbers. 

I was supplied with 133 business license applications, about 100 resolutions, mostly without attachments and 21 building permit applications. 

I am a candidate for mayor so I think it is very important that I know what is going on in town and understand how the town is operating. I cannot do that very effectively by being banned from attending all public meetings at Town Hall by the mayor. I understand that some personalities can clash, but as an elected or appointed officer of the town, you have to learn how to exercise people skills in order to understand and communicate with the various types of people you will encounter. As a public figure you have to accept that you will be criticized and critiqued by the public. As I was told, it comes with the territory. 

My review of the public documents has revealed several holes in our system. One thing, there is no policy or procedure for processing public records requests. It seems as if it is left up to whoever is processing the request. That is wrong. There needs to be a policy or procedure that guides the staff in processing these requests. It should be a council-approved process, not a process left up to an employee. There needs to be a public policy to allow the public to come into Town Hall and review documents without having to be put through the wringer. We should not have to pay to see what we have already purchased with our tax dollars. 

By the way, as I said, I was supplied with 133 business license applications but I found another 86 businesses operating in town, of which no records had been supplied. I found other things as well.