A community organizer is someone who brings people together to overcome common problems, accomplish common goals, and build stronger connections. In early 2025, I became a community organizer when I co-founded the Gallatin Community Gun Club.
From the beginning, my aim *nudge nudge* was more than firearm education. I wanted to create a community where people from all backgrounds and experience levels could walk through the door and feel safe, respected, and welcome. I wanted people to have a place where they could learn new skills, build confidence, meet their neighbors, and, most importantly, make new friends.
Firearms were a useful tool to help bring people together, but building and strengthening community has always been the goal.
I have always believed that the greatest weapon in anyone’s arsenal to protect themselves and those they care about is not a firearm but the people they choose to surround themselves with. It’s the people you can call your friends, your neighbors, and your community. When people are willing to stand with one another there are very few obstacles that cannot be conquered.
That philosophy extends far beyond the gun club. My goals have always centered around finding practical ways to help people and strengthen our community. Sometimes that means supporting the Bozeman Mutual Aid Community and its Free Market by organizing food drives. Sometimes it means teaching someone how to change their own oil so they can save a little money and become more self-sufficient. Sometimes it is simply recognizing that someone needs a hand and asking, “How can I help?”
I have also learned that even if people seem to be very different and divided more often than not, everyone has far more in common than they believe. When we create spaces where people feel comfortable talking, learning, helping, and working alongside one another, those differences don’t have to divide us. They can make our community stronger.
That is why I am proud to call myself a community organizer.
As Sheriff, I will bring the same energy and philosophy I have as a community organizer to the Gallatin County Sheriff’s Office. “No man is an island” and neither is law enforcement. Public safety is not something created by law enforcement alone. Our friends, family, neighbors, deputies, and yes immigrants working together and listening to one another create a safe and productive space for all residents of Gallatin County.
I want the Sheriff’s department integrated and responsive to the community it serves.
True Montana values of helping your neighbor in their time of need, working hard to lift yourself and those around you, protecting our public lands and shared heritage, and believing everyone has a right to their own way of life are core beliefs that should never change. These are the beliefs I bring as a community organizer and Sheriff.
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