Letter to the editor: David Bedey is clear choice for SD 43

I am a 38-year-enlisted retiree of the Montana Air National Guard, who worked for 45 years supporting Guard members, veterans' services, and military issues in this state legislature. I know who has stood with us when it counted.

I'm supporting David Bedey. In 2019 we were on the opposite side of a bill he was carrying. His bill would recognize the Ravalli County Veterans Service Center as a state supported and grant funded operation. I had to meet a ‘Freshman Representative’ (and an OFFICER) with a bill that some (most) veterans’ organizations opposed.

End result, the bill was passed to the benefit of the Ravalli County Veterans Service Center, and I learned a lot about Representative Bedey. Since then, we have worked together to help our military members, veterans, and retirees.

Of the most recent importance, Representative Bedey has been a strong opponent of the Defend the Guard Act. Don't let the name fool you — it would do the opposite. If passed, Montana could lose our National Guard missions entirely and be replaced with only a shell of our current structure.

He has also worked alongside me on issues that don't make headlines but matter deeply to Guard members and veterans — fair tax treatment for Guard members and veterans establishing themselves in Montana, funding veterans' cemeteries, and protecting our veterans' nursing homes.

The choice is clear. One candidate has had the back of the Montana National Guard and Montana's veterans — that is David Bedey for Senate District 43.

Roger Hagan,

Great Falls