Chester the Cheetah makes tawdry Montana mayoral run

CHESTER, Mont. – Poor Jim Vinson doesn't know what hit him.

The NorthWestern Energy representative for Chester got caught up in the teeth of a major political campaign featuring tawdry photos, allegations of big money corruption and power peddling of the darkest order.

It started with rumors that his wife, Barb Vinson, had been "spotted" at the local watering hole and then at a hotel with a known big shot, Chester the Cheetah, who, sources say, is trying to lay down the trump card and cash in on his notoriety to wrest control of one of the plumest political gigs in the land.

In short, word on the street of this Hi-Line town says Chester is trying to unseat Noel Walston as mayor of Chester, Mont.

The Cheetah's campaign, which had a small army on the streets of Chester, didn't officially confirm this Monday, but several insiders indicated it is a done deal. Collectively, we'll call these insiders Cheese Throat.

One Cheese Throat even let slip that some of Chester's slogans include: "Cheetos to the people" and "Together, we are Chester" and "Change for snacks for a cheesier tomorrow."

Walston is unimpressed.

"It can't be all fun and games," he said. "There has to be meat and potatoes, and you don't know who controls him."

In fact, Walston is quite concerned about Chester being a puppet candidate for Big Snack.

Complicating matters is the fact that Barb Vinson, the central figure in this political yarn that has more twists and turns than a season of "House of Cards," is Walston's employee at Hi-Line Hardware.

For how long, we — and Cheese Throat — can only guess.

Walston, an incumbent who mostly exudes confidence about staving off another political challenge, finally cracked under the media spotlight when directly asked about Barb Vinson's future at his store.

"It depends on the outcome," he said.

Vinson seems unremorseful for both betraying her boss and, allegedly, her husband.

"Jim works a lot of nights," she said. "I've got to stay warm somehow, and I sometimes get the munchies."

But when asked directly whether she was involved with Chester the Cheetah, she only would say: "I'm just showing him around and introducing him to people. It would be good for him to know people."

Why would it be good for him to know people?

She wouldn't answer the question, but all signs point to a run for Walston's post, with Cheese Throat saying an official announcement might come in early October.

Buck Dahlin, a local farmer, said he is the big cat's campaign manager, but then he got real tight-lipped.

"I really don't know anything," he said.

Both camps agreed that the campaign, which arrived Thursday and was set to leave Monday, was good for the Chester economy.

The 25 to 30 people who came were filling hotel rooms and eating in local restaurants.

Even the mayor recognized the value of the national campaign's presence in his town of 847 about 30 miles from the Canadian border in northcentral Montana.

"They are really nice people," he said. "And this is great for our town. When I heard about it, I said, 'Let's have some fun.'"

He also said that several of the people on the campaign have told him how nice the town is, with people chipping in for things the crew needs and not expecting anything in return.

But as for poor Jim Vinson, the real victim in this political fracas?

He didn't return a call from the Tribune.

Politics.