Dems honor Hillery in spring fundraising dinner

Local Democrats flocked to the Eagle’s Club Saturday night for a dinner honoring former Hill County Democratic Party leader and to hear the son of the party’s candidate in the special election for Montana’s lone U.S  House seat to rally the party faithful.

Havre actors Pam Veis and Darcy Zook also performed in a short play written by local playwright Martin Holt about former congresswoman and suffragette Jeannette Rankin

This year the party’s annual spring dinner was rebranded the Pam Hillery Spring Dinner, in honor of the former city council member and party vice-chair who died last September following a three-year battle with ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease.

Hillery’s husband, Paul Tuss, and the couple’s children, Dolan and Caroline Tuss, attended.

“It’s an incredible honor to think they would name something like this on an annual basis for Pam,” Tuss said. “She loved Havre, she loved politics and public policy and she really made a contribution over the 17 years she lived here on the Hi-Line.”

Tuss said he found it difficult to talk about Hillery but not about her accomplishments.

Former state Rep. Jon Musgrove of Havre, who also served as chair of the county party, lauded Hillery — who was an active volunteer in a number of causes within the community — as someone who “did things rather than having to talk about them.”

“Pam Hillery was a friend to most of us here tonight and we know her dedication, courage and accomplishments that she made in too brief of a life, way too brief,” he said.

Musgrove also paid tribute to another former leader in the County party Antoinette “Toni” Hagner. Hagner, a former state representative, Hill County commissioner and historian, died in March.

State Rep. Jacob Bachmeier said Hillery was a major influence on his decision to file to be a candidate in 2015 when he was a senior at Havre High School.

Bachmeier said he remembers one conversation he had with Hillery when she encouraged him to run for the Montana House of Representatives, saying he had the ability to inspire and excite voters with what she called the “fire in the belly.”

“And that was one of the most inspirational moments for me in my young career in politics,” Bachmeier said. “That was, undoubtedly, when I decided I am going to file to run for the House in the state of Montana.”

Guthrie Quist, son of Democratic congressional candidate Rob Quist, also spoke at the dinner.

“Everyone is watching Montana right now, we are kind of setting the tone for the whole country,” Guthrie Quist said.  

He said that when campaigning with his father they are followed around by national media outlets such as CNN and Rolling Stone. Quist said he has seen tremendous energy about his father’s campaign as he travels throughout the state.

Quist said Saturday that his father will work to protect public lands and oppose any efforts to sell off public lands or transfer them from federal to state control.

Gianforte will be in Havre Wednesday at 5:30 p.m. in the Duck Inn Vineyard Room, hosted by the Hill County Republican Central Committee.

Quist said Gianforte’s past donations to groups that champion land transfers or selling public lands to private interests are at odds with the candidate’s stance that he supports keeping public lands with the federal government.

Quist said Gianforte does not inspire the energy that Rob Quist does, adding that the Quist campaign recently learned the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee has invested in the race. Politico reports  the DNCC has sent the Montana Democratic party $200,000 for the race.

“We really do think this is a winnable race even just because of the energy on the left right now,” Quist said.

He said the election will be determined by who comes out to vote on May 25, He said the Quist campaign is also encouraging people to take advantage of early voting opportunities.

He said people often think of Montana as a red state but it is really more of a purple state.

“I think we are going to bring this home, and we are going to shock a lot of people,” Quist said.