Schweitzer's 'New Day' leaves much desired

Bruce Hanson

Governor Schweitzer promised a "New Day" in Montana when he ran for Governor four years ago, but instead, Montanans have seen some of the most unethical behavior from a public official in Montana history. The Governor now has a lengthy track record of ignoring the public interest and failing to disclose key facts to the public, and his behind-the-scenes dealings have now become the stuff of legend.

First it was the Governor's constituency account: an unregulated political slush fund that Governor Schweitzer began in his first days in office. He raised tens of thousands of dollars from corporations and special interest groups, and nearly four years later, even after Montana's legislature passed a bill intended to require disclosure of such accounts, Governor Schweitzer still hasn't disclosed where tens of thousands of dollars he raised from private interests was spent, but we know at least some of that money went to pay his brother, Walter.

Soon after, stories emerged in newspapers questioning the role of the Governor's brother in the administration. He was not an official state employee, but somehow used state resources to conduct state business. Walter became the Governor's gatekeeper, with his fingerprints on a wide range of public policy, but no one knew who paid his salary and he had no accountability to the people whose lives were impacted by that policy he was crafting behind-the-scenes.

If unreported tens of thousands of dollars and a back-alley hatchet man weren't enough, the Governor's latest disturbing pattern of behavior has demonstrated his belief that he is above public disclosure. Governor Schweitzer has even intentionally lied to the media and the public about official actions taken by his office. In late June of this year, the Governor signed a multistate agreement to address brucellosis, but one week after signing the bill, he told a reporter that he hadn't signed it and listed several reasons why he wouldn't - all of this after the agreement had already been signed.

Schweitzer maintained this lie for nearly a month, when news of his signing the agreement finally became public. At the time, Schweitzer admitted that this type of activity was routine for his administration, and that he only considers something signed when he decides to release it publicly, on his schedule.

In May, Montana Republicans filed an ethics complaint against Governor Schweitzer, concerning his illegal use of taxpayer dollars to distribute "Public Service Announcements" while running for re-election. Wasting no time, Governor Schweitzer took a page straight from the Huey Long playbook and dispatched his Senior Counsel, Eric Stern, to conduct repeated, illegal ex parte` communications with the Commissioner of Political Practices, in a ham-handed attempt to unduly influence the Commissioner's decision in Schweitzer's favor. There are countless other examples of ethical missteps and blunders, and dozens of unanswered questions about the Governor's actions in office over the past four years. In most cases, we won't know the full extent of the Governor's con until long after he's out of office.

What we do know is that time after time, when faced with the ability to serve Montanans, the Governor has chosen only to serve himself and his own interest. He's chosen to put himself above everyone of the citizens he was elected to represent, and in so doing; he's permanently damaged the public's faith in our elected officials.

Bruce Hanson is the treasurer of the Conservative Victory Fund in Belgrade.