by Travis Mateer
I knew the timing of my attendance at Mountain Line’s board meeting on Thursday was synchronistically ordained when I sat down and listened to the Mountain Line staff talk about nachos. Is it difficult to find a good plate of nachos in London? Apparently so. And, if you’re curious, it’s also challenging to find peanut butter in Morocco.
These people must be highly cultured world travelers, I thought. I’m sure our Mayor and former board member of Mountain Line, Andrea Davis, felt right at home here, considering her husband is from Switzerland. Unfortunately, despite the cultured perspective of this group, no one anticipated that the OTHER member of the public in attendance, besides me, was about to drop a petition signaling the start of a tax revolt against Mountain Line’s special taxing district.
Before getting to the tax revolt I want to highlight an individual on Mountain Line’s board who is a very smart person, a former City Council member, AND an Ellie Boldman enabler: Jason Weiner.
Here’s a little bio info on Jason from the Tell Us Something website:
Jason Weiner recounts his travels in a far-reaching corner of the world.
Jason Wiener is doing things more often than he is buying things and he is always looking for an excuse to go somewhere new. He recently returned from a walkabout and is still unpacking from that trip. He grew up in Concord, New Hampshire. He arrived in Missoula in 2003 to earn his Master’s in philosophy from the University of Montana. He’s worked at The Missoula Independent, served on the City Council and formed a computer consulting company called The Techxorcist. He’s a Ranger in Black Rock City every year at Burning Man.
I ran into Jason earlier this year, at the Big Sky Documentary Film Festival. I’ve known Jason for many years, so I gave him some perspective on what I’ve been dealing with in Missoula while he gallivanted around the world. Jason indicated he was living a more quiet life now by NOT involving himself with local political drama. I wonder, is there a bitter taste in Jason’s mouth after having been so instrumental in Ellie Boldman’s rise to power?
The link above goes to a Missoulian article about Ellie getting the Time Magazine treatment. Here’s the quote that includes her deep appreciation for Jason Wiener:
Hill, the recently elected state legislator for House District 94 who spends her days running Missoula’s Poverello Center, has been named to Time magazine’s list of “40 Under 40 Political Rising Stars.” Hill will receive recognition at a banquet Thursday night on Capitol Hill, and will be profiled in a forthcoming issue of the magazine.
In an interview late last week, Hill said she wasn’t just shocked to receive the honor.
She didn’t believe it was true.
“Two of my best political compadres are (Forward Montana senior adviser) Matt Singer and (Missoula City Councilman) Jason Wiener, and we mess around with each other a lot,” said Hill. “So my phone rang, and this guy said he was the editor of Time magazine. I was sure it was just one of those guys punking me. I was like, yeah, whatever. When I finally realized it was for real, I was so shocked that there were about a million questions I forgot to ask.”
Did Mountain Line have any questions for the resident of the New Meadows subdivision when she dropped the petition on them yesterday? No, they didn’t, because they were completely blindsided by the public move taken by disgruntled citizens who have realized they are paying for a bus service they DO NOT BENEFIT FROM, since the bus does not actually serve their part of the Missoula valley.
The only thing that the dude next to Jason Weiner was able to sputter out was that they had not seen this petition, so they needed time to look at it. The woman nodded, then told them they officially have 60 days to respond. She also let them know MORE ARE COMING, meaning more subdivisions are compiling signatures to challenge their taxation for a service they don’t receive.
And thus, a local tax revolt has begun.
After I made my public comment about ZERO FARE being a tremendous mistake, and the resulting criminal behavior that has resulted, I left with the petition-dropping member of the public, who told me her neighbors had considered letting the media know what was brewing, but ultimately decided not to.
Luckily (though it’s not luck) I was there to witness and report on something that legacy media will get around to reporting on eventually, because this petition is just the start of what will become legislative action to ensure that wishy-washy taxing districts can’t pull this kind of bullshit in the future with tax-strapped citizens.
If you doubt the synchronistic timing I’m moving in accordance with, just check the date of my article about sexual deviants helping Mountain Line build a new home for their buses (link above). If you don’t feel like clicking, the date is June 27th, exactly one year ago yesterday, and the day my former employer, the Poverello Center, threw a big anniversary party without me.
Did I crash the Pov’s shindig at the trillion dollar library? No, I went to sleep early in my box truck with a smile on my face because a $100 dollar donation just came in to Travis’ Impact Fund (TIF), and that donation was GREATLY needed so I can cover my storage unit bill next month.
If you appreciate getting news LONG BEFORE legacy media gets around to telling you about it (if they even do), then consider making a donation to my TIF fund. Any little bit helps, especially at the end of the month.
Thanks for reading!