AG candidate wants to break Democrat hold

By RICHARD HANNERS / Whitefish Pilot

Helena attorney Tim Fox has devoted 2008 to campaigning as he vies to be the first Republican Montana attorney general since 1993. He says he hasn't worked full-time at his law office since February and he's put 69,000 miles on his car visiting voters across the state.

Fox, 51, faces Democrat Steve Bullock, 42, also an attorney in Helena, in the November election. Democrats take the race very seriously — besides being the state's lawyer, the state attorney general is one of five members on the state land board, which decides how state school trust lands are used.

A high school track star in his hometown of Hardin, Fox received a scholarship to the University of Montana-Missoula, where he completed his geology degree in 1981.

"My two hurdling records are still standing," he said.

After a few years as a drilling engineer in Wyoming, the oil business declined and Fox started training for the 1984 Olympics. A torn hamstring ended his track career, and he headed back to UM, where he completed a law degree in 1987.

Fox clerked for the Montana Supreme Court, then joined a law firm in Billings, worked for the Board of Oil and Gas and started his own law firm. After moving to Helena in the late 1990s, Fox worked as an attorney and administrator for the Montana Department of Environmental Quality under Gov. Marc Racicot.

Fox said he decided to run because he and his family believe he has more to offer the state.

"I've lived in Montana most of my 51 years, practiced law here for 21 years, and I've been a public servant for seven years," he said. "It's the most rewarding work I've done."

He also feels he's the best qualified for the job — he's practiced law two-thirds longer than his opponent, has trial court experience, has management experience in a state agency and has worked for a large business — Mountain West Bank.

As the state's chief law enforcement official, Fox says he'd like to increase funding by promoting better grant-writing capabilities — particularly for the state crime lab. He notes that he has the support of law enforcement officials.

Fox said he'd also like to improve the state's violent and sex offender registry. About 60 percent of the photos on the Web site are missing but available on other Web sites. He wants to see an automatic e-mail notification system set up to let people know when an offender has moved into their neighborhood, and he wants the Web site to link to other agencies.

As a member of the state land board, Fox said he would promote more use of the state's natural resources.

"That would mean more money for schools, and it would help boost the economy," he said. "There's 550 million tons of coal in the Otter Creek tracts — that's a tremendous resource."

But Fox wants the natural resources developed responsibly.

"I'm the only candidate with hands-on experience protecting the environment," he said, referring to his work with DEQ, where he helped develop reclamation plans.

Fox was also concerned about how Montana Attorney General Mike McGrath represented the state in a gun law case recently decided by the U.S. Supreme Court. McGrath is term-limited out and running for chief justice of the Montana Supreme Court.

Montana was "conspicuously absent" when other states filed briefs at the appellate court level, Fox said, noting that the U.S. Supreme Court narrowly voted 5-4 in favor of individuals' rights to own guns. He said he called McGrath and encouraged him to show Montana's support of gun rights before the Supreme Court ruled.

Besides working as an attorney, Fox is a member of the National Press Photographers Association. He shoots sports photos for state newspapers as a freelancer. He also said he shoots high school and wedding photos for people who can't afford a professional photographer.