Residents ask Stevensville council to correct minutes, accuse mayor of spreading false campaign statements

Two written public comments submitted by email were read into the record at the Stevensville Town Council meeting on Oct. 9, 2025, asking the council to correct published meeting minutes and to retract statements the writers say were false.

The comments, read aloud by municipal staff member Janelle at the start of public comment, were submitted by Jim Cruz and Jen Cruz. Jim Cruz’s email named the mayor and said the mayor had “spread false intelligence” in a Sept. 30 campaign letter printed in the Bitterroot Star. Jim Cruz wrote that the mayor’s published line—“my opponent has indicated an intention to fire all town employees if elected”—is “not true,” and called the statement “immoral” and “unlawful.” The email added, “Do you not realize that doing such a deed could be considered political terrorism, trying to coerce town employees and citizens with an untrue statement about someone who cannot even stand in front of the council to defend themselves.”

Jen Cruz’s email asked the mayor to retract a comment she says he made during the Sept. 25 council meeting’s introduction of Montana Rural Water Systems. The email quoted the minutes’ recording as saying the mayor commented, “there is an election going to happen in a few weeks and the other candidate is running on lowering the water rates,” then said the mayor followed by “So just going to lay out the facts out here and let the public decide for themselves.” Jen Cruz wrote that the mayor “used a public billing, time and other resources to push your own campaign” and called for a written apology and corrected minutes. Jen Cruz also said a former mayor had repeated unverified information during the Sept. 25 meeting and asked the council to reflect the full remarks in the minutes and video archive.

Council members acknowledged the correspondence. During the subsequent approval of the Sept. 25 meeting minutes later in the same meeting, councilors discussed an apparent omission on page 33 where public remarks by Pat Grimes were “cut short,” and a public question asked whether Jim Cruz’s letter and related statements had been addressed; a council member responded that it was “noted” and “in changing the… It’s noted.” The motion to approve the Sept. 25, 2025, minutes did not carry (recorded outcome: failed). A separate motion to approve special meeting minutes from Sept. 23, 2025, passed, 4-0.

The written emails requested that the mayor retract the statements and that the minutes be corrected and republished. The council did not announce any immediate correction or retraction on Oct. 9 beyond noting the correspondence and the minutes discussion; the public comments and the emails were entered into the record by staff for inclusion with the meeting materials.

The council did not take a formal vote at the Oct. 9 meeting directing staff to change or reissue the Sept. 25 minutes or to require a mayoral retraction. The meeting record shows discussion on the minutes and an acknowledgment that the correspondence was noted.

The council’s packet and the meeting video are referenced in the emails and remain the primary sources for anyone seeking the exact wording of the Sept. 25 meeting remarks; the emails read on Oct. 9 cite a YouTube link where the Sept. 25 video is posted.

The written correspondences are now part of the Oct. 9 public record and were read into the meeting minutes by staff member Janelle.

Ending

Members of the public who submitted the emails requested a published correction and apology. The council did not make a formal amendment to past minutes or require a retraction on Oct. 9; any correction to minutes or an official statement would need to be reflected in a subsequent council action or in updated minutes posted by staff.