House District 87: Ronald E. Stoker

REPUBLICAN
AGE: 72
OCCUPATION: Real estate agent; former owner of Hungry Horse Feed Company
HOMETOWN: Darby, Mont.
FAMILY: Wife, Jean; four children
EDUCATION: Master’s and bachelor’s degrees in Animal Science, Rutgers University.
POLITICAL OR PUBLIC SERVICE: Montana State House of Representatives, 2002-present; Chairman, Human Services Committee; Vice Chairman, Ethics and Judiciary Committees; Trustee, Hamilton Rural Fire District, 2002.

Stoker touts experience in bid for fourth term

By MEGAN GYERMEK

Rep. Ronald E. Stoker is confident and at ease campaigning in his final bid for the House seat he has held for three terms.

“I am a die hard conservative when it comes to small government,” said Stoker, whose local and modest campaign effort mirrors his own style. -MORE-

Race Report: Candidates tout energy, experience in HD87 race

House District 90: Yvonne Gritzner

DEMOCRAT
AGE: 67
OCCUPATION: Retired former program officer, Montana Committee for the Humanities; former teacher, bilingual administrator and interpreter.
HOMETOWN: Born in Bozeman, now resides in Florence.
FAMILY: Husband, Jeffery; three children
EDUCATION: Bachelor’s degree, Pomona College, Claremont, Calif.; Master’s degree Middlebury College, Middlebury, Vermont.
POLITICAL OR PUBLIC SERVICE: Volunteer on Board of Friends of Montana PBS and program committee of Montana Osher Lifelong Learning Institute. President of student council and student body vice president in high school. Also, citizen lobbyist in Helena and Washington D.C.; Peace Corps volunteer, teacher and youth camp director, and later Peace Corps volunteer trainer.
CAMPAIGN WEB SITE: http://www.yvonnegritzner.com/

Gritzner an advocate for education, public TV, humanities

By ELIZABETH DIEHL

Yvonne Gastineau Gritzner remembers when she was a stroke-and-turn judge at a swim meet. “I had to disqualify my son because he didn’t do a two-hand touch,” Gritzner laughed. People were amazed she would pull her son from his best event, but, she said, it wasn’t out of character. Gritzner said her integrity is something she lives by and plans on bringing to the Legislature if she is elected this November. -MORE-

Race Report: Taxes, wolves, energy distinguish Gritzner, Hawk

House District 100: Bill Nooney

REPUBLICAN
AGE: 55
HOMETOWN: Missoula
OCCUPATION: Board of Directors, Hi-Noon Petroleum Investment Enterprises
FAMILY: Married, five daughters
EDUCATION: B.A. in Business Administration, University of Montana; M.B.S., University of Montana

POLITICAL or PUBLIC SERVICE: Montana House of Representatives, 2006.

Nooney vows to slash taxes, root out waste

By HEATHER ROUSSI

It was September, three years ago, when Bill Nooney received the call that sent him from Montana to storm-wrecked Mississippi and away from his family for three months. That experience motivated him to run for public office, he said. -MORE-

House District 100: Willis Curdy

DEMOCRAT

AGE: 59

OCCUPATION: Retired rancher, former teacher, smokejumper and pilot; taught government and Montana history at Hellgate High School for 30 years

HOMETOWN: Missoula

FAMILY: Wife, Gloria, and two grown sons.

EDUCATION: Master's degree in education, the University of Montana.

POLITICAL OR PUBLIC SERVICE: Big Flat Irrigation District Commission, 1983-1988; Missoula Rural Fire District Board of Trustees, 1990-1993 (one year spent as board chair); smokejumper, 1971-2000; U.S. Forest Service pilot, 2000-2006.

CAMPAIGN WEB SITE: http://www.curdyforhd100.com/

Curdy aims to promote higher wages, lower energy costs

By KAREN GARCIA

When Willis Curdy was in the fifth grade, his father broke his arm on the belt used to grind grain on their family farm. For the next six weeks, Curdy took over many of his dad's farm duties.

Waking up at 5 a.m., he milked cows for two and a half hours before his mother drove him to school. He would return seven hours later, only to face more chores.

“From that I learned that success comes through hard work and long hours,” recalled Curdy, now 59.

Running as the Democratic candidate for House District 100, which encompasses 525 square miles of western Missoula County, Curdy said he would apply that life lesson if he were elected to the Montana's Legislature. -MORE-
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