What my ballot will look like - Part three

Here is how I am voting: Judges, Propositions and Public Service Commission: http://kvs.org/vote/ballot-part1.pdf

Five candidates: http://kvs.org/vote/ballot-part2.pdf

My ballot: http://kvs.org/vote/ballot2020.pdf

U.S. Senator: STEVE BULLOCK has done an outstanding job in difficult times. He expanded healthcare to 90,000 Montanans and kept rural hospitals open, balanced the budget and saved $60 million in our rainy day fund. 

His opponent takes credit for legislation he opposed, which passed anyway. He consistently votes against Montanans interests: public lands, health care, education, COVID unemployment benefits, funding for wildfire fighting, etc.

Governor: Lt. Governor MIKE COONEY is a fourth generation Montanan, with a track record of delivering results. COONEY helped over 12,000 children get healthcare and worked to expand healthcare for 1 in 10 Montanans. 

His opponent is a carpet-bagger from New Jersey. As our US Representative he missed 93% of the votes. He is an advocate of a statewide sales tax, promotes the sale of public lands and has voted to strip health insurance from over 100,000 Montanans.

State Superintendent of Public Instruction: Melissa ROMANO is a highly successful, award-winning teacher with many years of experience. ROMANO is passionate about public education and will be a strong advocate for public pre-school education.

While in office, her opponent has shown little interest in establishing universally available public pre-school education, a proven factor in later student success. She attended anti-public school rallies, sent $800,00 of public money to for-profit schools and worked with Betsy DeVos to defund public education in Montana. Her goal is for the whole Montana school system to be privatized.

State Senator District 46: SHANNON O’BRIEN has a distinguished career. O’BRIEN earned a doctorate in Educational Leadership from UM, where she later returned as dean of Missoula College.  While in this role, she led the development of an elaborate apprenticeship program through careful work between higher education and private industry. More recently, O’BRIEN was a policy advisor to Governor Steve Bullock

Her opponent shows no serious interest in getting elected. As of my latest count she raised only $400 for her campaign.

County Commissioner: JUANITA VERO is truly a breath of fresh air on the Commission. She was appointed to a vacancy and is now running for election.

A fourth generation Montanan, VERO used to run one of the oldest dude ranches in the state. She lives in Greenough and makes sure that the issues of rural Missoula County don’t get short shrift.

Her jubilant enthusiasm and her out-of-the-box approach to problems and challenges make her a valuable member of the Board of Commissioners.

Her opponent has been a perennial office seeker for years and many different offices, without ever winning an election.

Finally, about my sharp criticism of Mike Hopkins for sending out a trash piece against TOM BROWDER: His campaign stresses that they had nothing to do with it, and that they would never campaign negatively, blaming a third party with whom they have no direct contact. According to the mailer that third party is the Montana Republican State Committee, Mike Hopkins, Treasurer.