This article began with my intent to take a closer look at the political consulting entity known as Westridge Creative, but after tracking down Jim Parker’s address in the exclusive residential enclave known as the Rattlesnake, it became what you’re reading now: my open speculation that a power center in Missoula MIGHT be finally waning.

There’s always a little trepidation when knocking on the door of someone who may be adversarial to hard questioning, and since I’ve written critically about Westridge Creative’s clients, I was primed for something contentious. The man who answered my knock, though, disarmed me with an affable Boomer vibe that he cheerily maintained, despite my best efforts to rattle him with my colorful range of language about his clients, like former Missoula County Sheriff, T.J. McDermott.

After my conversation with Jim, which included his claim that he’s stepping back from his consulting gig, I made some calls for context to see if the torch was being passed to anyone. Nope, Westridge Creative has been just Jim Parker, but one of my conversations put the neighborhood Jim calls home into a broader and more interesting political light, and that light emanates from the twin flames of Pat and Carol Williams.

John Patrick Williams represented Montana in the United States House of Representatives from 1979 to 1997, an impressive span of time from the perspective of a late Gen-X’er like myself, born in 1978 and finishing high school the same year Williams left the House of Representatives. In addition to being a politician, Williams was also a teacher in Butte, where his cousin, Evel Knievel, made a name for himself by being an American daredevil.

Carol Williams, Pat’s wife, represented Montana’s District 46 from 2004-2012. The same year Ellie Boldman resigned her Director position at the Poverello Center to transition full-time into politics, Carol was doing her own gender-based trailblazing by leading the Democratic Caucus, making her the first female majority leader in Montana history.

The connection Pat and Carol Williams have to the Rattlesnake neighborhood (where a source of mine said it’s long been known that a well-trodden path exists for unofficial ring-kissing) goes far beyond this piece of geography being an exclusive enclave; it also borders some pristine wilderness that’s been kept pristine thanks to the conservation work of Pat Williams. From the link:

In the early 1980s, Pat secured protection for more than 320,000 acres of wilderness and fended off federal government efforts to open the Bob Marshall and Rocky Mountain Front to seismic testing in an area known as the Overthrust Belt.

More than 30 years later, Pat’s effort made possible the permanent protection of that important landscape via the passage of the Rocky Mountain Front Heritage Act of 2013.

There’s a deep irony here when one considers the more recent leftist advocacy for allowing the Clark Fork River corridor to be trashed by “urban crisis campers”, and the subsequent threat to the environment this advocacy has created, as evidenced by a troubling history of fires in and around urban camps, which I’ve provided interesting context on with my local reporting over the years.

Was the recent 4th of July fire at Jacob’s Island, near where Rattlesnake creek empties into the Clark Fork, a result of urban campers? If it was, I may be the only media willing to report on this inconvenient fact, just like I’ve been the only media so far reporting on the use of NEEDLE traps and why, according to the Parks and Rec Communications Specialist, Becky, needle traps are NOT booby traps.

Despite the alleged semi-retirement of Jim Parker from his political consulting business, I’m skeptical that we’re seeing the twilight of Rattlesnake Democrats, and that’s because a New York transplant by the name of Danny Tenenbaum has made this little slice of idyllic Missoula his home, with the resulting hilarity of public spending ensuing, like a study funded by Tax Increment Financing on…wait for it…TRAIN NOISE!

No, I’m not making this up. There’s actually been public money spent on literally studying train noise because these residents don’t like the sound of the whistle. Here’s the quote I selected for my post on this hilarious use of Tax Increment Financing:

On Thursday, the Missoula Redevelopment Agency’s board authorized the agency to provide up to $26,300 in Tax Increment Financing to fund a Railroad Quiet Zone Analysis and Traffic Study. The area affected would be generally near the lower Rattlesnake.

Tod Gass, a project manager with MRA, said Missoula Mayor John Engen, City Council President Bryan von Lossberg and many concerned citizens have brought the issue forward recently.

City to study railroad quiet zone near lower Rattlesnake. Lee Enterprises. March 13, 2020.

In order to verify that this neighborhood is the backyard of the Montana politician who likes to sneak into churches in order to secretly record Christians (which didn’t seem to bother local law enforcement, despite me filing a police report), here are the minutes from a neighborhood meeting where Danny Tenenbaum is doing his thing by looking for someone else’s money to spend on stuff.

Danny Tenenbaum led the discussion on neighborhood grants. We have until October 29, 2019 to submit an idea for a $6,000 grant. Ideas of trees between Holly and Van Buren, reflecting mirrors at intersections, historic signs, landscaping. Please email the leadership team with ideas for the grant.

Lower Rattlesnake Neighborhood Council General Meeting Minutes. September 8, 2019.

Why is this geographical context important? I’ll tell you why. When local politicians, like Danny Tenenbaum, use their influence to peddle development schemes, like he did with Larchmont Golf Course, it’s important to understand that, closer to his own backyard, the effort is to PROTECT undeveloped land. Isn’t this a textbook definition of hypocrisy? If the definition is the practice of claiming to have moral standards or beliefs to which one’s own behavior does not conform, then YES, Danny Tenenbaum fits the definition of a hypocrite.

I’m glad I got a chance to meet Jim Parker in person where the deer frolic and the Subarus proliferate like political transplants arriving in Big Sky country from different ZIP codes. Maybe, after our little chat, Jim will start reading my blog BEFORE the flames of societal collapse reach his front door. Although, if Joe Biden is any indication, Democrats are more than capable of ignoring reality right up to the dumpster fire literally burning down their own house.

Thanks for reading!