by Jim Crews, Stevensville
I suppose I should be somewhat concerned about what John Dowd penned in his front page personal opinion piece. What really concerns me is the fact that he never once made an effort to ask me. You should read the Malin Stearns Johnson report if you want the truth. I am not the culprit.
Perhaps you should revisit the articles in the Bitterroot Star from August 4, 2020 regarding reports of improper influence, code of conduct violations, oath of office violations and the Stevensville Town Council preparing to try one of its members.
People seem to forget how Council Member Michalson, now Mayor Bob Michalson, harassed the town staff, was put on trial by the council, lost a lawsuit and has cost the town a large sum in insurance fees.
A typical example is the article in the Bitterroot Star from October 5, 2021 where Tribbensee was awarded $35,000 and $50,000. The Town’s Insurer spent $93,649.28 in legal fees. The Town’s insurance rate went from about $24,000 in 2019/20 to about $32,000 in 2020/21 to $73,000 in 2021/22, according to the Bitterroot Star.
None of these things were because of me. I left office in January of 2018. Any interaction I had with the town or staff was as a citizen.
The current mayor said in the past that, “I’ll stick to my job as much as I can, running by the rules that I see fit.” That was quoted in the Bitterroot Star, January 15, 2020. Looking at his current track record, we can see that he does just that, signing contracts without council consent, suing companies without even notifying the council, failing to obey council rules.
Nothing to see here… just everything that you need to be watching.
OK. I was trespassed from town hall. It is true. Mayor Michalson had me trespassed because a clerk got really upset at me when I questioned whether or not I had to get permission from the Town’s Attorney to see a public document that any citizen has the Constitutional right to see. The Town Clerk REFUSED to let me see a Council Resolution that you and I must obey.
She said I had to have the Town Attorney’s permission to see any council resolution.
That is a direct violation of my State Constitution Right to Know. It is also a violation of State Law. Imagine if you will, that you are required to obey a law. However, you are not allowed by the dictator(s) of your town to see what law you are required to obey.
The Stevensville Town Officers, members of the Town Council, Mayor, Police Chief, Finance Officer, City Attorney, Judge and the Clerk all are required to take an oath of office. That oath of office, as required in Article III, Part III, Section 3 of the Constitution of the State of Montana, is as follows: “I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support, protect and defend the constitution of the United States, and the constitution of the state of Montana, and that I will discharge the duties of my office with fidelity (so help me God).”
I was told point blank, three times by the Town Clerk in a very aggressive manner, I was required to have the Town Attorney’s permission to see any resolution.” Then the clerk got really upset when I decided to record what she was saying to me. I tried to explain it was not a records request I had submitted that I wanted to see, it was the resolution that controls how these things are submitted. The resolution, which by the way neither she nor the deputy clerk even knew the number of, was Resolution 539.
This is what you get when you try to do things at town hall. It upset the clerk so badly that I objected to my rights being violated, that I was trespassed. I was not rude, loud or aggressive. She was busy, of all things, taking fingerprints. The Clerk should not be taking finger prints; she should be taking care of the council minutes which often are not up to date. So, I left to see the Chief of Police. While in his office, she yelled at the Chief of Police to direct me to turn off my recorder (which was never started). You can record public servants in the performance of their jobs. News people do it all the time.
To this day, over five weeks later, I still have not been told by anyone from Town Hall why I was trespassed. I have asked several times. The mayor will not respond. I found out, through Mr. Dowd’s article, apparently from conversation he had when interviewing either the mayor or an employee at town hall, that it was because I was harassing town employees. It was a citizen that was denied his rights (me). I am the victim here, not the Clerk. It is so hostile at town hall that I rarely visited town hall. It has been that way for many years. The employees are so frightened by the citizens of this town that the clerk has to ask for a police escort to her car after a council meeting.
Fact is, they did not want me to get the information I was after, even after six weeks all of the information from town hall has not been gathered. What is the problem? All I ever wanted was to just see the Business License, Building Permit and Resolution books in town hall. I did not want the town or anyone else to go through the problem and expense of copying everything. I would have completed my research in a couple of hours.
Someone at Town Hall, however, decided that the information, public information I might add, had to have someone’s clearance or approval before a Citizen of this Country, State and Town could see the public documents.
Last time I checked we do not live in a communist country so I should not need Politburo permission. Read the law, § 2-6-1003 MCA Access to public information — safety and security exceptions — Montana historical society exception. (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.
You also need to remember, our rights do not end where your feelings begin.
A public servant means someone that is employed by the government to serve the public’s interests and works impartially for the community’s welfare.
Editor’s note: For clarification, Jim Crews is referring to a news article that ran on 9/3/2025, not an opinion piece.