Just when you think the Republican Party cannot become any more dysfunctional, the Central Committee has decided to censure and revoke the GOP membership of Jack Fallon for daring to run as a write-in candidate against incumbent Flathead County Commissioner Pam Holmquist in last fall’s general election for county commissioner. After losing by 40 votes out of over 21,000 votes cast for four candidates in the Republican primary (.019%), he had the audacity to believe that perhaps, just perhaps, Holmquist wasn’t the overwhelming favorite of the nearly 6,300 voters who cast their primary ballots for the two other candidates. Since there was no Democratic challenger in the general election, and according to Montana election rules there is no runoff in a primary with no one gaining a majority of votes, Holmquist was declared victorious with only 35% of the vote.
Holmquist’s quote in the Beacon is a prime example of the gall, or as my father used to say “chutzpah,” of politicians, “This just shows that Jack is not a Republican, because the Republican Party, and all those I know and speak to are squarely behind me.” Sorry, Pam, not quite everyone since without any support (certainly not from the Central Committee who want a puppet like Holmquist whom they can control) Fallon garnered at least 29% of the votes in the general election and probably considerably more since there were over 7,000 “undervotes” in this race (votes not counted because they were unclear), likely a reflection of his name being misspelled.
Having served with Holmquist on the Board of Health, I believe politicians like her without vision or judgment are the reason that the quality of life in the Flathead has degraded so much over the last 20-plus years that I have been fortunate enough to live here. Unbridled growth without any attention to its effect on lifestyle is what will spoil this very special place for many of us. As anyone who regularly reads the letters to the editor knows, I am a staunch conservative, not a Republican. Be assured, Mr. Fallon, being kicked out of the Republican Party may be the best thing politically that has ever happened to you.
P. David Myerowitz
Columbia Falls