Fellow Missoulians,

As the news of the attack mailers in the City Council Election spread across social media and through the newspapers, many in our community were shocked at the negative tactics aimed at influencing our local elections. The Helena based bulk mailers had a carbon-copy format, misspelled names, and unedited dummy text. We know the treasurer is from Helena but as the Missoulian reported, there is no visibility of the founder nor the directors of the organization behind these negative deceptive mailers. It is very concerning that a group of wealthy business owners felt it necessary to attack respectable members of our community with a deliberate distortion of facts.

 
As Democrats, we stand for facts and for a fair contest of ideas and values. Our endorsed candidates share a very different vision than “Team Liberty”. Policy debates are healthy. Our country has had enough of lies and distortion, we are calling this out here and now. This race is about the Missoula we are proud to live, work, and raise our families in. As Democrats, we want to elect candidates who aren’t afraid to show up at neighborhood forums fully prepared and unafraid to discuss and debate the tough issues facing Missoula.

The Missoula County Democrats are invested in assuring our city continue a progressive path. This includes addressing the increasing cost of housing, supporting a culturally rich living environment, making sure Missoula continues to lead the state in job growth, and conserving our surroundings to hold on to our Montana way of life. We Democrats have worked hard to support our endorsed candidates in this election to fight the unprecedented big money organization, disinformation, and attempt to disrupt the good work of our city council. We have held public learning sessions so citizens can learn more about how City Council financing works. Our endorsed candidates show up with their homework done and are focused on helping Missoulians from all walks of life. Their seats and votes can never be bought.

The Missoula County Democrats renounce the deceptive tactics in the poorly edited mailers. We support and endorse the constructive message and positive campaigns of our endorsed candidates. If you are interested in helping elect candidates who share Missoula’s values and have been endorsed by the Missoula Central Labor Council, Montana Conservation Voters and the Missoula County Democrats, please contact [email protected] to sign up to knock doors with us on our last days of action, and don’t forget to turn in your ballot for our outstanding candidates: Heidi West, Amber Sherrill, Mirtha Beccera, Gwen Jones, Alex Fregerio, or Nick Shontz!

Sincerely,
Karen Wickersham
Chair, Missoula County Democrats