HomeMy WebLinkAbout04-15-25 Public Comment - J. LeFevre - Support Right to CouncilFrom:James LeFevre
To:Bozeman Public Comment
Subject:[EXTERNAL]Support Right to Council
Date:Monday, April 14, 2025 8:27:58 PM
CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Do not click links or open attachments unless you
recognize the sender and know the content is safe.
Dear Bozeman City Commission,
My name is James and I am a recent graduate of Montana State University, currently
working in and trying to get a foothold in the film industry. I moved here from western
Washington to go to school, always thinking I’d go back. At some point Washington began
to feel less like home, and Montana began to feel like home. In Montana, people are very
nice, but they also leave each other alone. A lot of people are tough here, and there are so
many people from so many walks of life. I’ve met a lot of really good people here, and this
is where my friends are.
I like to say that my hobby is living alone. A lot of hobbies require money, and my extra
income goes to paying rent. I make the choice to live alone, because I do enjoy it, but I’ve
also had roommates in the past that have screwed me over, and made life pretty difficult. If
I wasn’t paying so much in rent, I’d like to do my hobbies – snowboarding and making my
own movies. I’d also be able to save money, which I have a hard time doing right now.
A couple months ago I was sitting in a meeting, and started to feel sick. After about an hour
or two of not being able to get up, a couple friends brought me to the ER. When I walked
out the door, I thought everything was fine. A couple weeks later I got hit with a medical bill
for $3,000. I was totally unprepared for it. That’s more than I make in a month. My mom
helped me out a little bit to pay off that bill, and I penny-pinched and budgeted to pay it off.
But if my mom hadn’t helped me out, I would still be paying for it. That medical bill, plus
rent, plus the basic cost of living was more than I could afford. If I didn’t have help paying
off that bill and couldn’t afford rent and medical debt, I’d have to seriously reconsider my
options. My goal is to make a decent living one of these days, but to do that I have to get
good at what I do – and the place that has the most opportunity is Bozeman.
When you level the playing field between landlords and tenants, a lot less people get
evicted. Landlords have legal representation in eviction cases 80-90% of the time, and
tenants 1-4%. That’s definitely not a level playing field. If you’re getting evicted from a
place, most likely you don’t have the money to hire a lawyer. I was thinking of my friends
and who would have the money to fight it – and the answer is no one. Including me. In an
ideal world I’d never get evicted – but it’s like insurance coverage – you never know. I want
the ability to fight it if I feel it’s unjust. I don’t want to have to pass up opportunities for
building my career and the life I want to have because I’m dealing with housing insecurity or
an eviction threat. That’s why I support a tenant Right to Counsel.
Thank you for your time,
James LeFevre
1104 S Montana Ave Apt G11