We are writing this letter in support of Eileen Bech for House District 11. We both grew up in Republican families and Carol was even president of the Young Republicans in college. The Republican Party we once knew supported public education, believed in protecting our environment and in personal rights. Our Republican representatives used to work across the aisle with their Democratic colleagues. Unfortunately, times have changed. The Republican Party of our youth is not the party of today. We can no longer tolerate the radical shift of many current Republican candidates who have become so unwilling to compromise or work for solutions. We need to weed out representatives from both parties that take radical uncompromising stances. We need a government that functions. In the current election cycle, we need a state Legislature that doesn’t waste time on radical, divisive propositions but one that works for solutions.
We cannot elect more radical politicians who take extreme positions such as Derek Skees, who is running for House District 11. Derek Skees wants to deflect funding from our public schools by providing vouchers for private schools and to allow charter schools. He also wants to return our public lands to the state creating a huge expense that would require the sale of these lands to private individuals and the subsequent loss of their access for recreation. Derek Skees also sees no need to do anything to protect the purity of Flathead Lake. And finally, he pretends to want little or no government regulation, and yet continues to advocate for intrusion and regulation of personal issues of belief and religion that must remain outside of government interference.
We have the opportunity in this election to have Eileen Bech become our representative for District 11, who unlike Derek Skees, actually lives in District 11. Eileen, a friend and neighbor for the last 35 years, is a moderate Democrat who also represents the Republican values of our youth. Eileen has taught at Flathead High School and Flathead Community College. She is smart; she knows how to listen and work across the aisle. She will champion public education and will work to make our schools even stronger. As a native Montanan, she will support our public lands and will work to ensure that Flathead Lake remains spectacular. She also understands the need to have a functional, compromising government that respects a proper separation of church and state.
Carol and John Santa
Kalispell