With the election less than two weeks away, I wanted to share my picks and why. First, I will pick the easy one, Barb Halverson, for Clerk of District Court, no opponent an easy win.

The next is Laurie McKinnon for Montana State Supreme Court. Laurie has served admirably for the last eight years on the court. Her opinions as justice stem from the U.S. Constitution and the Constitution of the State of Montana. Laurie was an outstanding candidate in 2012 and will continue to be a bright light on the State Supreme Court's rather dim makeup.

My next pick is James Brown for District 3 Public Service Commissioner; I've known James for about ten years and found him an adept lawyer someone the commission needs, a knowledgeable lawyer. James believes that Montana's energy is our inheritance; we are rich in resources, and that Montanans should reap the benefit in its availability and low cost.

Next, county commissioners, both Mike Turkey and Mike Goffena have no opponents, so they are a shoo-in. The contentious District #1 race involves a complete political new-comer and Nicole Borner. I believe that Nicole has had to endure a lot of undeserved condemnation for the last two years. Remember, she inherited a commission under the past leadership of Bob (Judas) Goffena and Tom Berry, where the counties' finances and morale were in the pits. The scandal was everywhere, and there were forces within government and outside that wanted Nicole to fail no matter what. In the middle of this disgusting fiasco, Adam Carlson was forced to resign, and miraculously the republican party puts forward a candidate that no one had even heard of nor what he represented. Now, the county citizens have a choice of removing all six years of experience gained through these tumultuous times and knowledge through the school of tough knocks and replacing that valuable resource with someone that will only be behind six months less experience than Mike Goffena? Experience means a lot in life no matter what your endeavor, and to toss that aside is foolish.

As far as the national races, the choice is darkness or the possibility of a brighter future for yourself and your offspring.

The statewide races are simple, elect someone to helm the ship-of-state with experience and a business aptitude. The statewide lower-level races should go to the party that will control the state land board, and I believe the candidates will do an excellent job in controlling state spending.

The Amendments on this year's ballot are reasonably straight forward. CI-118 is a definite NO unless you want Montana to suffer the chaos that Colorado is experiencing. I-190 is the companion piece of tripe put forward by the pot-heads of Montana. Interesting to note that past republican big government legislator Dave Lewis is a prime proponent for the pot-heads in Montana.