Article published Oct 16, 2007

Coal candidates

With the upcoming elections for mayor and commissioners, it is a good time to remind the people of Great Falls what the current regime has accomplished.

They have perpetuated, while underscoring, that they can and will make decisions without any public comment or consideration from the citizens of this fine city. Without a second thought, they have made short work of questionable pet problems in this town. Then after all that arguing, they gave our Missouri river water away and locked our city into a 40-year fossil fuel contract with SME. Remember, your power bill won't go down after HGS is built because only the people/businesses that signed on to SME or ECP by October 1, 2007 will receive electricity.

With global warming an ongoing critical issue, it doesn't take much to figure out the most valuable commodity in the future will be water. Fresh water not salt water. We will have more salt water then we need, after the ice caps melt!

Why do they believe that SME is "so necessary to the public health, safety, and general welfare of the community or County as a whole as to justify it regardless of its impact on the value of adjoining property." With the tweaking of section 8 accommodating SME and the foregoing language, they will be able to give SME a special zoning permit.

Please join me by voting for people that will serve us, not serve SME.

— Michael Di Mauro, Great Falls