by William Rowe, Hamilton
Do we all remember the Bitterroot Star article from now Mayor Jim Crews about election manipulation back in August of 2025? Well, it seems nothing changes at Town Hall.
This is about a records request and the public’s right to know. In that August article Mayor Crews claimed he was denied the right to view public records and then he was trespassed from Town Hall. This, according to Crews, violated his 1st amendment right of the US constitution, as well as violated his rights under the Montana Constitution Article II, Part II Section 7 and exercising my Right to Know Article II Part II section 9.
On April 21, 2026 I stopped into Town Hall to do a records request. Keep in mind, what I was requesting to see was my personal file, from when I was an employee of the town, and those regarding a proprty at the aiport I control. I was told by a town employee that the records request had to be approved by the mayor, who was currently sitting at his desk and was aware of the entire situation.
“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,” said Mayor Crews in the Aug. Bitterroot Star Article.
I was told by the employee that they were too busy to pull the file, because they were working on updating the “packet for tonight.” I was told it would be by the end of the week, but no later than Friday. Well, I am writing this on Sunday and have not heard anything from the Town.
This next statement is directly from mayor Crews in the same article:
“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.”
I think it’s important to point out to the people of Stevensville that you didn’t get a better mayor, you just changed the image on a signature line. Mayor Crews, I supported you when you were running and from one Veteran to another you sir need to go have a moment of self-reflection, reach down deep inside and find that integrity that you claimed you had. Stop being a hypocrite and start fixing the discrepancies that you identified in this town.