It seemed as though it were almost unprecedented that Trump has quickly become revealed as a TV illusion who was essentially quite loco. But in fact, here in Valier, we had an incident a few years ago that was clearly a precursor. A man named Tom Hoover moved up from Conrad, the county seat. He let it be known that he had made a fortune selling automatic lawn sprinklers and he built himself a very nice little house with a SW-style veranda, a big landscaped yard, and a fountain in this village of modest homes. He befriended many boys in the community.
This town has an aging population, so a dwindling number of people volunteer for the fire department, Emergency Response Team, and so on. No one really wants to be the Mayor or even on the council, but it's always been possible to find someone. McKenzie Graye was a progressive retired woman who moved to the village from a city in the NW. She raised hackles over the heron nesting trees on an island in the irrigation lake called Francis, which she wished to protect. And she was a WOMAN, but nothing like Velda Loche, a previous mayor. It was easy to oppose Graye in an election.
Hoover first raised an alarm over the new water tower, which he claimed was so poorly built that it would fall over. This turned out to be untrue. He was also intent on presenting visual explanations of why the town's budget and water management was badly flawed. At one meeting he was so emotional that he was ejected.
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Cut Bank Pioneer Press:
Less than 10 days after taking his oath as Mayor of Valier, Tom Hoover has resigned. Hoover, whose unexpected resignation came at the conclusion of his first town council meeting on Jan. 15, soundly defeated incumbent mayor McKenzie Graye in last November’s municipal election.According to the draft minutes of the meeting, during the “special announcements” portion of the meeting, “Mayor Hoover stated that if the community is concerned with small issues like where his office is located, he does not want to deal with this and he announced his resignation as Mayor and left the building. The meeting ended abruptly at 9:27 p.m.”
When questioned about his resignation, Hoover offered no official comment. Approximately 15-20 people attended the meeting.
Hoover’s statement at the Jan. 15 meeting appears to be in response to a comment by Keith Stark during the public comment portion of the meeting. The draft minutes state, “Keith Stark is a member of the local American Legion Post and one of their responsibilities is to sponsor the Boy Scouts. The Legion is upset with Mayor Hoover for creating his office in the Scout room without consent from the Legion. He would like to come up with a happy solution between the Legion and Mayor. If no solution can be found the Legion may purse formal legal action.
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At this meeting it turned out that he didn't know how to call the meeting to order, had a very weak grasp of Robert's Rules of Order, and didn't know the words to the Pledge of Allegiance which started every meeting. He kept asking the poor clerk what to do. (This is a very diligent and motherly clerk who tried to be helpful but was exasperated by the extra burden.) His whole idea of being the mayor was a fantasy. He had an exaggerated idea of what a mayor really is and presumed he had a lot of power. People who had known him in his earlier life in Conrad were not surprised.
After this haywire temporary success, Hoover moved away. Eventually his house sold and the garden is maintained. We were all surprised again when an adventure recently killed him.
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Great Falls, MT obituary:
Valier, MT - Thomas Lee Hoover, age 71, of Valier, MT passed away at St. Patrick Hospital in Missoula on September 1, 2019, after injuries received from a motorcycle accident he was involved in on August 15, near Butte.
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Putin/Russia had nothing to do with any of this. Neither of the two political parties was involved. But there was a high level of gossip and guessing. Probably always will be.
What is it that possesses old white men with ideas of grandiosity that are so unreal and self-destructive? It seems to be a need for attention and for importance in a life that is too ordinary to suit them. Do they get it from media? From an over-indulgent mother? Is it the mild beginnings of dementia? They create a lot of confusion and loss because people are so easily fooled and eager for someone to do the work.
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