u/RobertBolano

Well, I've done my research...and decided Russell Cleveland is definitely not my candidate. He made $25 million running a childcare business and acts like that was some kind of altruistic act. But the internet is full of complaints by former employees of his company (Rocky Mountain Kids) about how they were underpaid/mistreated/disrespected. I guess he can try to pretend to be some kind of born-again progressive, but Russell Cleveland is clearly a corporate executive at heart.

Here are just a few quotes from former employees:

"Management does not care about staff."

"Advice to Management: Shame on you! This isn't lawful. You are also required to give your employees a paid break during their shifts. Hope you don't get audited by the DOLs Wage and Hour division, or you will owe backpay to all your workers going back YEARS. Shame on you! You are very disorganized."

"Little support from upper management, consequences direly lacking and respect is hard to come by from the kids. Pay is minimum wage for Direct Care positions and it most definitely needs to be above that for the amount of stress the staff gets put through."

Sources:

https://www.glassdoor.com/Reviews/Rocky-Mountain-Kids-Reviews-E5905397.htm?fbclid=IwY2xjawR52uJleHRuA2FlbQIxMABicmlkETFoS2p5VHZreTZHYWM1WEVXc3J0YwZhcHBfaWQQMjIyMDM5MTc4ODIwMDg5MgABHpcnokGO3maZWJY7zrhUx38Id_FpCvn51Jomt7einLOZyxDDFyKla2IhUYXr_aem_YWdncwCMn5JaBi6cUzLHFf5ykwSA&brid=YWdncwGUX-XEnglqv7PntJUsYngC

https://integrityindex.us/candidate/russell-tyler-cleveland-11cf73a2?utm_id=97758_v0_s00_e0_tv4_a1deafakwalylk&fbclid=IwY2xjawR52s5leHRuA2FlbQIxMABicmlkETFoS2p5VHZreTZHYWM1WEVXc3J0YwZhcHBfaWQQMjIyMDM5MTc4ODIwMDg5MgABHmDafnaqSyNkAoPkBTf9O4uTpVeCL3nFgn_vEB_YaDxbmS8wG1TPhEedw7c5_aem_YWdncwB9e-eDtDjcJU3L1Qm9YK2N&brid=YWdncwG-7xCQR0aYxvbQ_c6aILli

Hey everyone! Pretty new to the community here...I'm just wondering how people are feeling about the congressional race in the western district. For context, I'm leaning towards Sam Forstag at the moment, and it seems like most people I know are either planning on voting Forstag or Cleveland (literally have yet to meet anyone who likes Bussy, met two guys who like Rains). Looks like Cleveland and Forstag are pretty aligned on pushing progressive policies for the most part, with some quibbling here and there about the best way to achieve universal healthcare, or whatever.

So maybe it comes down to a vibe thing? I've heard some talk about Cleveland being more grassroots, and Forstag having a more professional campaign? To my mind, that would make Forstag the more attractive candidate, because at the end of the day, the most important thing is winning in November.

I've also read some stuff about concerns regarding Forstag's financial contributions, but all I see on his FEC filings are individual donors and PAC checks from folks like Bernie Sanders and some labor unions, and that whole narrative seems pretty made up/false...or just comes from a misunderstanding about how campaign finance works. Open to push-back on that, though!

Curious what people are thinking! Like I said, I'm definitely leaning towards Forstag (especially as a union member, supporting organized labor is a huge issue for me), but maybe could be convinced to vote for Cleveland? Although I'm really concerned with how much Cleveland seems to be actively vilifying labor unions. On a personal level, and because of what that would mean for the Democratic coalition here in Montana, that's very worrisome. Would love to hear thoughts!