4 questions to Cascade County Commission candidates Ryan and Grulkowski

In a somewhat unique situation, Cascade County voters will be electing two commissioners to the Cascade County Commission on Nov. 8. Mail-in ballots for the 2022 election will be mailed out this Friday, Oct. 14.

The Cascade County Commissioners Office is comprised of three commissioners. Commissioners are elected to a six-year term of office, with a different Commission Office position opening before voters in each election cycle. Each Cascade County Commission office is voted upon as an “at-large” position, meaning that all registered voters residing within Cascade County are eligible to vote for each County Commission position as their term in office expires.

The 2022 election is unusual in that two Cascade County Commission positions will be on this year’s ballot, due to the early resignation of Commissioner Jane Weber.

In the first, Republican incumbent Commissioner Joe Briggs is running unopposed for his fourth term of office in District 1.

The section election is to fill the District 3 term of Weber, a Democrat who announced her resignation from the position in December 2020. In accordance with Montana election law, the Cascade County Democratic Central Committee submitted the names of three interested candidates to fill the seat vacated by Weber. In February 2021, Republican Commissioners Briggs and James Larson selected Democrat Don Ryan to fill the last year of Weber’s term in office. An election for the full six-year term for District 3 will be held in 2024.

The answers below appear as the candidates submitted them in writing to the Tribune.

Don Ryan

Don Ryan was born in Great Falls, one of eight children born to Bill and Jeanette Ryan. He graduated from C.M. Russell High School and went to the University of Montana, graduating in 1976. Ryan taught and coached basketball across the state before returning to Great Falls to raise his family. Married to his wife Terri for 43 years, they are the parents of five children.

Ryan was elected four times to the Great Falls School Board and twice to the Montana State Senate. He’s served on multiple state senate legislative committees, including Business and Labor, Fish and Game, Energy and Telecommunications and Education. While serving as chairman of the Education committee, Ryan sponsored SB 152, the “Definition of Quality Education,” which help end the Columbia Falls vs. State of Montana lawsuit over inadequate funding to local schools. SB 152 resulted in a school funding formula that raised money for local districts and lowered property taxes in over 2/3 of Montana school districts.

Tribune: Your campaign website places a high emphasis upon your success in securing $13.3 million in federal appropriations through the American Rescue Plan Act. Your opponent warns that “minimizing federal monies keeps our local government operating within its means, restricting regulations and obligations impacting our citizens,” and that “local government should remain in check with the sovereignty of individual members.” How do you respond to these concerns over federal program overreach?

Ryan: Last year, while attending the MACO (Montana Association of Counties) convention in Kalispell, I heard many right-wing commissioners say they should reject the Federal ARPA money. If we had followed that advice in Cascade County this is what it would have meant: No new radios for rural fire departments, No new sewer and water project in Black Eagle, No new roof for the Alliance for Youth building, No new well for the Centerville School, No new cell locks at the jail, No money for upgrades in the Belt water system, No new elevator of Great Falls senior center. These are some of the 65 projects selected and funded by the Commission to improve services and infrastructure with the one-time money from ARPA. I’m proud of the work we did on behalf of the community.

Tribune: Your opponent has come out in opposition to state and federal designations such as the Big Sky Country National Heritage Area and potential property acquisitions by the American Prairie Reserve. What is your stance on these proposals, and do you think they pose a significant threat to private property rights in Cascade County?

Ryan: The endorsement of National Heritage Area projects was already voted down by the Cascade County Commission by before I was on the Commission. The 2021 Legislature passed a law stating all new Heritage areas must now get legislature approval. This is now a “non” issue in Cascade County.

Tribune: You voted for passage of C-PACE (Commercial Property Assessed Capital Enhancements), a state program that offers low-or-no interest loans to local businesses for energy-efficiency projects and expansions. Isn’t this just another program that places business interests ahead of those of working-class citizens? Why is the C-PACE program good for Cascade County?

Ryan: The C-PACE program passed by the 2021 Legislature makes low-interest loans available to commercial property and businesses for energy efficiency and expansion. To repay the bank loan an assessment is placed on the property to be collected with the taxes. The County is used as a “pass-through” collection agent for the lending institution. There is no financial liability to the county. In order to make this available to our businesses and banks, we had to pass a resolution agreeing to the process. There are a number of programs to encourage energy conservation for homes, C-PACE makes affordable loans available to business properties within the County.

Tribune: You’ve staked a significant portion of your campaign on your two decades plus of experience in political office and community service. As a candidate nearing his 70s, don’t you think a younger voice on the Cascade County Commission is more relevant to the concerns of a new generation of voters?

Ryan: I’m not nearly 70! I am 70. Very truthfully, I wouldn’t trade anything I have learned over the years to be one day younger. The definition of wisdom is “the quality of having experience, knowledge and good judgement.” That is what I try to bring to the Commission.

Rae Grulkowski

Rae Grulkowski is a Cascade County businesswoman whose resume includes nearly two decades as a business owner of two entities. Grulkowski owned and operated a property management business, Mended Fence Property Solutions, for 11 years prior to 2018 and continues to manage her and her husband’s personal rental properties both within and outside Great Falls city limits. She is running as a Republican.

In 2018, Grulkowski began working with her husband full-time at their multi-generational business, Carp's Drain Cleaning, Inc., located in Great Falls. She has completed college course work in both business administration and mechanical engineering.

Throughout the years, Grulkowski’s employment background has included being a DOT (Department of Transportation) Safety and Compliance Supervisor, human resources secretary, assembly line worker, school bus driver and substitute teacher. Previous employers include public school districts in Wisconsin and Montana and the Montana Wheat and Barley Committee.

She and her husband make their home on rural acreage south and east of Stockett, in the southeast portion of Cascade County. The couple attends church in Centerville.

Tribune: You’ve stated that your decision to run for the Cascade County Commission was motivated, in part, by proposed federal designations that may impact local personal property rights. Among these are a local effort to create a Big Sky Country National Heritage Area, and the possibility that the American Prairie Reserve might seek to obtain control of lands within Cascade County. Please expand upon your opposition to these proposed designations, and why they run counter to the interests of Cascade County’s citizens.

Grulkowski: The motivation to run for office was not in the act of defending private property rights impacted by federal designations, but rather, in realizing the way our current government handles its citizens as they express their ideas in controversial issues. Citizen involvement is necessary in making decisions regarding their sovereign rights. It was my focus to create awareness of the potential National Heritage Area designation, realizing less than 1.7% of the impacted population knew of the proposal. Whether you support or oppose federal designation of private property is not the issue – to have knowledge of and a voice over the leveraging of your private property is the issue. In the end, our affected citizens demonstrated they do not support a National Heritage Area.

Attending numerous city and county council meetings, we were continually met with disinterest for the voice of the governed. This is upside-down government. Our constitutional government is structured to work from the bottom, up.

Tribune: Your opponent highlights his record in approving $13.3 million in federal allocations to benefit a long list of programs in Cascade County. Your website states that “minimizing federal monies keeps our local government operating within its means, restricting regulations and obligations impacting our citizens.” How would the lives of Cascade County’s citizens be made better by rejecting any portion of these federal appropriations?

Grulkowski: American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) monies were distributed prior to guidelines on how they were to be allocated were established. Once the guidelines were set in place, the board of County Commissioners, along with our current County Grants Coordinator, organized a grading system by which the money would be allocated. A State-funded, matching component was incorporated. This large amount of ARPA money was actually difficult to allocate. Thus far, there appears to be no obligations for accepting ARPA monies (strings attached), a fair process of distribution was applied, and long-term commitments of the appropriations were considered and eliminated.

Aside from ARPA monies, there are numerous federal programs and funding that do impose obligations (monetary, regulatory) on local governments that accept them. Scrutiny of funding should always be applied to ensure it raises the standard of living and reduces navigating through rules and interpretations by layers of government. Smaller government is easiest to navigate and efficiently identifies the needs of the individual communities.

Tribune: Your campaign emphasizes the importance of limited government; that “smaller is best” and that “strong communities stand on their own.” How does your concept of limited government apply to the struggle of communities in Cascade County, both large and small, to make the lives of their citizens better?

Grulkowski: As Abraham Lincoln stated at Gettysburg, "government of the people, by the people, for the people." Governing of Cascade County by the people of Cascade County will work for the people of Cascade County. More government typically equates to less community involvement and more frustration with inefficient processes. Businesses and individuals are often overburdened with red-tape and different interpretations of government layers.

Government does not work quickly. An unfortunate example in our County are residents who lost their home nearly a year ago to fire. 10 months later, they still endure a painstaking process to rebuild the same home, in accommodating government regulations. We can’t undo what’s done, just an example of the point attempting to be made. (God bless this family.)

Tribune: This is your first campaign for public office. Do you believe the citizens of Cascade County would benefit from a new perspective? Why should voters turn away from an incumbent with more than 16 years of public service?

Grulkowski: My resume includes nearly two decades as a business owner of different entities. This has encompassed growing businesses and gracefully guiding their downsizing. I’ve made endless business decisions for myself and on behalf of other individuals; researched and applied federal, state and local guidelines in creating and administering policies; recruited, motivated, worked alongside and terminated employees. I’ve held positions in the private and public sectors. I’ve worked every job up to and including the last day of employment, even incurring overtime on that last day.

I represent a diversity of interests throughout our County. I am an individual who wants to serve her community at this level, and I possess qualifications for this elected position. I can accomplish community goals, while demonstrating diplomacy for all sides involved. I can encourage community involvement offering guidance through local government processes. My desire to serve the people is to raise their voice, listen to what they are saying and encourage participation in local government, establishing more transparency. I have introduced myself to many staff and elected officials within our County government and I have been shadowing the office of Cascade County Commissioner for nearly a year.

Our community can expect an efficient transfer to an elected official who is passionate about involving individuals impacted in decisions made on their behalf.

For additional information on either candidate please log on to their websites.

Democratic candidate Don Ryan’s website can be found at electdonryan.com.

Republican candidate Rae Grulkowski’s website is at raeforcascadecounty.com.

This article originally appeared on Great Falls Tribune: Cascade County Commission election Don Ryan and Rae Grulkowski