Local Activist Fondly Remembers Bono
Sonny Bono’s death on a California ski hill left Hayden’s Donna Montgomery dazed Tuesday.
The Kootenai County Republican Women membership chairwoman was an avid supporter of Bono while working for the Southern Division of Republican Women in California. She moved to North Idaho two years ago from Southern California.
“I’m so shocked and upset today I can just hardly stand it,” Montgomery said.
An early supporter of Bono, Montgomery said she took him seriously back when others just thought of him as “that Sonny and Cher guy.”
When Montgomery heard the former entertainer was considering a congressional bid, she called down to Palm Springs City Hall when Bono was mayor. His colleagues told her how he improved law enforcement during the city’s annual spring break mayhem.
“No one was taking him seriously,” she said, “but we invited him to speak and got to know him.”
He cared intensely about the people in his district, Montgomery said, recalling an accident involving a busload of Girl Scouts where Bono was among the first on scene.
She respected his frankness and “down-to-earth, reasonable answers.”
When asked once about illegal immigration, he said simply “It’s illegal. Enforce the law,” Montgomery recalled.
At a speaking engagement at the Pamona Valley Mining Company, Montgomery remembers asking Bono if he would pose with the company’s older Italian manager who bore a striking resemblance to Bono. He obliged with a smile, she remembers.
“He was not a highfalutin person at ,” she said. “He was down-to-earth. We really enjoyed knowing him.”
, DataTimes