How to help · Bozeman city charter · ballots mail October 9
The study commission has $125,000 of taxpayer money. We have you.
It has $60,000 for a consultant and $65,000 for voter-education ads. You have something no budget can buy: people who trust you. A text from a friend moves more votes than a glossy mailer ever will.
- 01Tell five friendsTwo minutes. The single most useful thing on this page.
- 02Write a letter to the editor200 words in the Chronicle reaches the people who actually vote in city elections.
- 03Pay for the mailThe study commission’s own summary calls Article VIII “clarify role/purpose.” Money buys the other half.
- 04Sign upSigns, neighbors, events. Tell us what you’ll do and we’ll get you what you need.
02 · Twenty minutes
Put it in the paper
The people who decide a municipal election read the letters page. The study commission gets to describe its own charter in its own materials. A letter from a Bozeman neighbor is the answer they can’t control.
| Outlet | Where to send it | Length | They require |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bozeman Daily Chronicle | Letter form | 300 words max; aim for 200 in election season | Full first and last name, home address, daytime phone, email. Address and phone are for verification, not printed. |
| Belgrade News | Letter form | 250 words max | Name, address, phone and email. |
Send it early. In past elections the Chronicle stopped taking election letters about a week before election day, and ballots arrive October 9. Mid-October is safe; late October is a gamble.
One paper per letter. The Chronicle won’t knowingly print a letter sent to another publication.
Your words, not ours. Form letters don’t run. Use the angles below, then write it the way you’d say it.
Pick one angle. One is enough for 200 words.
- There is no “no” on this ballot
- Both options begin with “FOR.” Tell readers the reject vote is the first oval, “FOR the existing charter established in 2006.” The ballot, word for word →
- Every other board is “advisory only.” Except one.
- §8.05 says city boards “are advisory only.” Article VIII gives the Inter-Neighborhood Council a mandatory consult, a written answer with reasons whenever the Commission disagrees, and a full-time staff member. The text, annotated →
- Nobody told you this was in it
- We checked every official summary a Bozeman voter can find online. Not one mentions the INC’s new powers. What the summaries leave out →
- Good reforms, one bad section, one vote
- Say what you like in the draft. Then say why you can’t take it with Article VIII stapled to it. What the draft gets right →
Got one published? Tell us and we’ll share it.
03 · Pay for the mail
Chip in
Ballots go out by mail and most people decide at the kitchen table. Mail is the only thing that reaches that table. Your money buys the ads and mailers that tell voters what the official summaries leave out.
- Contribution limit
- None Montana’s limits apply to candidates, not ballot issue committees.
- Made public at
- $50 Cumulative. At $50 your name, address, occupation and employer go on a public state filing (MCA 13-37-229).
- Tax deductible
- No This is political spending, not charity.
Step 1 · What Montana requires us to ask
State law requires your name, mailing address, occupation and employer, and anonymous contributions are not allowed. We ask everyone up front because the $50 threshold is cumulative.
Step 2 · Contribute
Contribute with PayPal or card
Or mail a cheque payable to Send It Back Bozeman, PO Box 923, Bozeman, MT 59771.
Rather send a cheque?
Make it payable to Send It Back Bozeman and mail it to PO Box 923, Bozeman, MT 59771. Put your mailing address, occupation and employer on a slip in the envelope. We need them for anyone reaching $50, and a cheque gives us no other way to ask.
Giving from a business?
A business can give to a ballot issue committee in Montana. But a business that contributes $250 or more can become a political committee itself, with its own filings to the Commissioner of Political Practices (MCA 13-37-232). Give personally, keep a company gift under $250, or go in with your eyes open.
04 · Count me in
Tell us what you’ll do
Tick anything that fits. We’ll follow up with exactly what you need: a sign, a stack of cards, a time and a place.
This goes to the campaign inbox and nowhere else. We don’t sell or share it. Prefer email? senditbackbozeman@gmail.com