“I don’t have any money, but I want to support your campaign. What can I do to help?” In local elections, one of the best ways to support a candidate is by writing a letter on their behalf to the local herald, tribune, or gazette. The best part is that it’s free. The second best…
The Safety of the Public and other stories
Heavens, our relationship with police is complex. They’re charged with protecting the safety of our public, and in a state with high rates of both gun ownership and suicide, a lot of that public safety-ing happens at the end of someone else’s weapon. Someone brought up this stat at the doors last week and I…
Yes, Montana, I love you too
When I met my husband Johnathan my home had dial-up Internet; no one had cell phones; my last paper had been researched using the dewey decimal system. My sister dragged me to church camp less than 24 hours after I’d returned from a trip to visit my host family in Australia. I was exhausted and…
The City of Billings needs a Youth Advisory Committee
What I hear at the doors: “You used to be able to bike down these streets, but now the cars whip through here way too fast.” “My son lives in Bozeman and I can’t get him to move back.” “My friend/sister/old roommate won’t live in a city without THIS or THAT.” “Billings leadership is such…
Why we can’t have nice things: property tax edition
So at the doors when I say something like, “We haven’t had a public safety mill levy pass in 15 years,” sometimes people are like, “That’s right, police and fire need more support,” and sometimes people say, “But property taxes.” And I get it. Because in Billings, the ONLY way to raise revenue is through…
The saga of the kind-hearted people of Billings continues
The other day someone gave me an old cigar case, after the person went in search of a book they’d recommended on buffalo hunters, but couldn’t find the spare copy. “Come back in a week or two and I’ll give you the one I’m reading now,” they said. “In the meantime, maybe you could use…
Canvassing: Monday edition
3 surprising things canvassing has taught me about my neighbors
So I’ve been hitting the doors, by which I mean I’ve knocked my way out of the blocks around my house and am now in the ward proper. One of the key things about running for local office in Montana is that it’s all “small-town” politics, it’s all grassroots. Here’s why: in my ward only…
What we talk about when we talk about revenue
Throwback Thursday! Here’s something you may not know—in 2010 this woman with pixie-short hair (me) and her husband (Johnathan) started their first business: a fair trade importing company. After years of living in Japan, then Australia, we traveled through Asia and brought home goods from India and Nepal. We loved running our small business —…
Hi, I’m Not Political, and who are you?
“All candidates are the same.” “My vote doesn’t matter.” “Nothing will change anyway.” To the person who has lost faith in government, Hello, I see you there: feeling alone and unheard. Nobody’s taken the time to crouch down to exactly where you are, and when you speak up it probably seems like all anyone wants…