The 2014 Montana election results on June 3rd revealed that three-term incumbent Tom Berry would serve a fourth term as a House District 40 Legislative Representative. Berry’s victory over Ray Gorham was 1245 to 824 votes.
Montana State Legislature
At Least Tell Us the Truth, Ray Gorham
Gorham Lie #1
“Tom Berry is anti-gun”
Absolutely False: I am for the right to bear arms, am an NRA Member, own a concealed weapons permit, and voted for 4 important gun Bills including Castle Doctrine.
Gorham Lie #2
“Tom Berry voted for only onetax cut”
Absolutely False: I voted for SB96 to Eliminate Business Tax for small businesses. I also co-sponsored HB 334 for a 20% reduction in Workers Compensation rates. I sponsored HB 261 that Reduced Unemployment Insurance for businesses hit with a natural disaster such as the Busy Bee Cafe.
Gorham Lie #3
“Tom Berry only voted for increased regulation”
Absolutely False: I sponsored HB363 giving Real Estate Less Oversight from the Dept. of Labor. I also sponsored HB432 giving State Charter Banks Less Regulation. I sponsored HB533 for less regulation on Otter Creek Coal permitting process.
Gorham Lie #4
“Tom Berry voted to fundabortion providers”
Absolutely False: I voted for HB2, the Appropriation Bill (vote was 100 to 0 “for” theBill). The Bill included funding for title X which explicitly states funds cannot be usedfor abortion.
Gorham lie #5
“Tom Berry voted forObamaCare”
Absolutely False: The Bill introducing ObamaCare (Medicaid Funding) Died in the House of Representatives, so ObamaCare (Medicaid Funding) was never voted on.
Gorham Lie#6
“Tom Berry voted for allowing Sheriff’s Depts. to use armed drones (SB150)”
Absolutely False: This was a Senate Bill that Died in the Senate for lack of votes. I serve in the House of Representatives, so I never voted on that Bill at all.
Gorham Lie #7
“Tom Berry stole myCampaign signs”
Absolutely False: Ray Gorham put his signs in a Montana “Right of Way”, so the State Dept. of Transportation took them down. Ray Gorham also put signs on Private Property (Trespassing) without permission, resulting in Landowners pulling the signs.
I could go on and on …
Want more of Gorham’s Lies?
Is Ray Gorham who you want representing you in Helena—a desperate, first-time and misleading candidate who will do anything to get into Office, including lying about his opponent’s voting record?
Voter Notice: Beware of the Dark Money Extremists
Dear Voters, Between now and June 3rd, you may receive a flyer from Dark Money Groups, Extremists who do not want me re-elected.
Please disregard the distorted and inaccurate information contained in the flyer about me and my voting record.
If you want the truth, please call me at 698-3940 or email me at tom@tomberrymt.com.
Thank You
—Tom Berry
Tom Berry Gets it Done for Montanans
• Sponsored a prescription drug registry Bill to eliminate “doctor shopping” by prescription drug abusers who illegally-obtained multiple prescriptions for addictive drugs such as Oxycontin and Fentanyl (HB 83)
• Sponsored a Bill banning synthetic marijuana and Spice drugs which caused hallucinations, threatening the safety of our youth (HB 185)
• Sponsored a Bill revising coal leasing laws on state-owned lands for a more flexible, productive and pro economy process (HB 533)
• Sponsored a bill to revise the 911 Call Center Law to unclog critical funding that small communities like Shepherd and Roundup depend (HB 575)
• Served on a committee to rein in out-of-control medical use of marijuana (SB 423)
• Sponsored Bill giving Community Banks more latitude in banking, less regulation (HB 432)
• Voted on Bill eliminating tax on office equipment for small businesses, less regulation (SB 96)
• Sponsored legislation helping small businesses affected by federally- declared disasters, so unemployment insurance does not increase, such as the Busy Bee Cafe (HB 261)
Chairman of the powerful house business and labor committee in 2013 legislative session
Attorney General Tim Fox, thanks Tom Berry’s success in fighting illegal drugs
Three-term legislator Tom Berry brings a wealth of experience as a small businessman to the Legislature, and is widely regarded as invaluable in insurance law related discussions due to his experience on the issue. This extraordinary man also turned the loss of his beloved son 14 years ago into a powerful voice at the Legislature for important criminal justice issues. As the scourge of designer drugs like bath salts and spice hit Montana, we were reminded of just how twisted the criminal mind can be. Using chemistry to change the characteristics of substances to mimic dangerous drugs, criminals thrust upon us seemingly innocuous products marketed in tempting packages and sold in convenience stores, head shops, and other stores. The results are devastating, as these substances ruined, and even ended, the lives of countless thousands of young Montanans.
“With Tom’s help, we can now protect our kids from these designer drugs.”
Obviously these dangerous designer drugs needed to be outlawed, but that wouldn’t be easy. You see, to make a substance illegal, you must first define that substance chemically in a way that can be tested and analyzed to confirm that it is illegal. Once you’ve done that, the criminal chemists just change the chemical properties of the substance by cooking it longer, or adding something to the recipe, thereby making it slightly different than what we’ve made illegal in the law. Working with our State’s Forensic Crime Lab professionals and with Representative Tom Berry, my office was able to define in the law the basic chemical building blocks of these substances in a way that, no matter how the criminal chemists cook them up, they will still be illegal. With Tom’s help, we can now protect our kids from these designer drugs. Thank you Tom for turning your loss and grief into a life-long mission to protect our Montana kids. I am blessed to call you my friend, and Montana is blessed to have you as one of our leaders.
—Tim Fox, Attorney General, Montana
Commencement Speech at Yellowstone Christian College
May 10, 2014
Tom Berry Supports Parental Consent for minors
I fully support our female minors to require parental consent prior to an abortion. Our children need our guidance. My vote on Bill 521 was a technical error—I’m human and made a mistake during that session’s intense work on over 1,500 bills. My opponent criticizes my votes, yet still offers no solution.
Our community needs a problem-solver,
not a hobby critic.” —Tom Berry
Roundup Storm damage criples small business, Tom Berry Stepped in
5-6-2014
Dear Editor,
During the flood of 2011, our Busy Bee Cafe was full of water we had to shut down, layoff all of our employees and rebuild our restaurant. As a result, our employees filed for unemployment insurance (and rightly so). With most of the employees filing for unemployment, the cost of our unemployment insurance skyrocketed, costing our Busy Bee Cafe business thousands of dollars in an increased premium. We asked Representative Tom Berry for help and he personally crafted legislation which stated if a small business has to shut down as the result of a federally-declared disaster and layoff their employees, the cost of the unemployment insurance will not go up. Tom Berry got this legislation through the legislature and it was signed by the Governor. This action saved our business and many other businesses thousands of dollars. Tom Berry is a good man and the kind of legislator we need in Helena, someone who lives here and will stand up for his constituents. We can’t trust some out-of-towner who bashes his opponent and misleads our community. We are supporting and voting for Tom Berry, and hope you do too.
Very Sincerely
Mark Petrie
Maryann Petrie
Busy Bee Cafe
Tom Berry’s Goals reflect his Community
• Smaller Government
• Reducing state spending
• Less regulation for small businesses
• Preserving Property Owner’s rights
• Protecting Child education and safety
• Promoting job growth & better wages
• Properly utilizing State energy sources
• Preserving Montana Lifestyles
• Fighting Prescription Drug Abuse
Level With Us, Ray Gorham!
J.K. Kuzara, Roundup News May 9 2014
Just once during an election campaign it would be nice to have candidates really and truly Level With Us! Just this past Wednesday evening Mr. Ray Gorham telephoned our home seeking support of his primary election challenge to Tom Berry for District 40 State Representative. We hate to appear like we are picking on Mr. Gorham but his advertising and statements are prime examples of typical political strategy: Attack your opponent with half truths, exaggerations, phony statistics, and over-simplifications. Mr. Gorham sounded like a very nice, well read, articulate fellow. He sounded passionate about his candidacy and we had a pleasant conversation. We wished him luck, yet we were sadly disappointed in him. We fear he has fallen victim to forces bordering on the dishonest when both he and we voters would be better served if he would simply Level with Us!
“If Mr. Gorham can’t Level with us and tell us where he really stands – left, moderate, right, or at the extremes- he can’t be proud of himself and he doesn’t deserve our vote.”
We told Mr. Gorham that we had studied his ads and read his endorsement by long-time acquaintance Vera Beth Johnson. We asked him on what he based his statement that Berry only has a 10°/o/F Conservative Rating. That comes from the Montana Conservative Alliance (MCA), he said. We Googled MCA and found no mention of Tom Berry or his conservative rating. Instead we found that MCA appears to be a far right outfit that exists primarily to replace moderate legislators with extremist ones. Obviously, if one cares to cherry-pick the legislative measures on which one wants to base a “rating” of a candidate; one can derive just about any number one wants – either good or bad. And that’s a common tactic of special interest groups. We asked Mr. Gorham about his statement that Berry has only a 42% rating with the National Rifle Association (NRA). He said that might be an “old rating” and maybe Berry now has a “B” rating. We went to the NRA website. Guess what? No mention at all of Tom Berry. Mr. Gorham said he favors lowering taxes and reducing the size of government. No surprise there, but when we asked him specifically how he might achieve those goals he was somewhat evasive. It’s all very complicated, he said, and people can’t or won’t take the time to study and understand the intricacies of these issues. In addition, there isn’t enough time to explain things to the folks.
Looking at Tom Berry’s voting record, or at least as much of it as we could reasonably examine, we didn’t see anything way out of whack. Some of Mr. Gorham’s criticisms of Berry’s record, however, are. State spending, support of “Obamacare”, pro-life issues, etc. appear to have been part of the state budget bill that establishes revenue and expenditures for two years. That measure was unanimously approved by both houses and signed by the governor- which means that even the extreme elements of both parties voted for it. So why crucify Berry over it? Again, please understand that Mr. Gorham isn’t alone in employing these kinds of distortions. Many, many office-seekers, all the way from the state house to the courthouse, to the school house do likewise. Forget about the unfairness to guys like Tom Berry. He’s a big boy and is entirely capable of defending his record and offering reasonable explanations for how he voted on different matters. What really concerns us is that the failure of fellows like Mr. Gorham to Level with Us is patently unfair to voters. It is also overwhelmingly insulting to the intelligence of every reasonable thinker!
Hopefully Mr. Gorham isn’t one of those far out kooks who would support weird, idiotic legislation that serves only to bring ridicule and mockery down on the Republican Party. And hope fully he isn’t of the ilk that refuses to compromise or seek consensus and instead favors gridlock, inaction, and waste of valuable legislative time. We asked him about that. His answer? He stands up for his beliefs. And that is great! We do too. So do legions of other folks. But that isn’t an answer.
If Mr. Gorham can’t Level with us and tell us where he really stands – left, moderate, right, or at the extremes- he can’t be proud of himself and he doesn’t deserve our vote.
Busy Bee Cafe in Roundup thanks Tom Berry’s Legislation for Montanas small businesses
Tom Berry comes to the aid of Small Businesses dealing with Federally-declared Disasters.
Busy Bee Cafe
317 1st Ave W, Roundup, Mt 59072
(406) 323-2204
5-6-2014
Dear Editor,
During the flood of 2011, our Busy Bee Cafe was full of water we had to shut down, layoff all of our employees and rebuild our restaurant. As a result, our employees filed for unemployment insurance (and rightly so). With most of the employees filing for unemployment, the cost of our un-employment insurance skyrocketed, costing our Busy Bee Cafe business thousands of dollars in an increased premium. We asked Representative Tom Berry for help and he personally crafted legislation which stated if a small business has to shut down as the result of a federally-declared disaster and layoff their employees, the cost of the unemployment insurance will not go up. Tom Berry got this legislation through the legislature and it was signed by the Governor. This action saved our business and many other businesses thousands of dollars. Tom Berry is a good man and the kind of legislator we need in Helena, someone who lives here and will stand up for his constituents. We can’t trust some out-of-towner who bashes his opponent and misleads our community. We are supporting and voting for Tom Berry, and hope you do too.
Very Sincerely
Mark Petrie, Maryann Petrie
Busy Bee Cafe
