Candidate claims opponent padded resume
Flathead County commissioner candidate Gil Jordan claimed his opponent, Cal Scott, did not earn a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from University of Nevada as was reported by both the Daily Inter Lake and Hungry Horse News last spring.
“I’m not up here to badmouth Credit Card Cal, although it is easy to do,” Jordan said during his speech at the Bigfork Area Democrat’s meet and greet at Swan River Community Hall on Sept. 6. “He claims a bachelor’s and he went there for three months. When interviewed by the Whitefish Pilot and Daily Inter Lake he decided to pad his resume.”
According to the National Student Clearinghouse, Scott was enrolled from September through December of 1963 and never earned a degree. Both published articles were printed in mid-April when Scott was named interim commissioner, replacing Jim Dupont, who died March 19.
On Sept. 7 Scott confirmed that he does not have a bachelor’s degree. Then on Sept. 11 he said he has associates degrees from community colleges spanning 19 years of education.
“The fact is, I have several degrees, plural, I attended universities and colleges and they are digging up partial information here and there,” Scott said. “I moved to different cities and so forth over the years, I don’t think it’s relevent to go back that far.”
Scott had heard about Jordan’s claims and his response was that they are “poor politics” and that Jordan didn’t contact him for any information while investigating his background.
“I would consider his activities backhanded and cowardly,” Scott said. “I find this kind of activity disgusting, I really do. Anybody that engages in that kind of activity I think is not suitable to serve the people, and it’s shameful.”
On Sept. 7 Scott also said the commissioners have 35 pages of documentation supporting his resume and that although he doesn’t have a bachelor’s degree he does have 30 years of continuing education in real estate and mortgage lending. On Sept. 10 he said he didn’t elaborate on his education in his resume.
Jordan’s speech at the meet and greet also highlighted Scott’s bankruptcy claim from August 2009. The case wrapped up in August 2011 according to public bankruptcy documents filed with the Montana district of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Butte.
According to those papers, Scott and his wife, Laurale, were discharged from $229,154 in claims that were discharged without payment. Of that total, $170,170 came from unsecured claims in credit card debt from 22 credit cards.
“It was about high lifestyle,” Jordan said.
When that information was revealed in May, Scott wrote to the Daily Inter Lake that he had learned from the experience and attributed his previous financial situation to the “Madoff crisis, predatory lending, and subsequent financial meltdown.”
“We have commissioners that are the laughing stock of other counties,” Bigfork Area Democrats volunteer, Edd Blackler, said at the meet and greet. “We have the opportunity to elect someone to run a business and manage people and isn’t putting a bit of it on his credit card.”
Jordan ended his speech at the meet and greet by pointing out that the county commissioners work with a $75 million budget, 522 employees, and run “everything outside of the incorporated cities.” He also said he looks forward to meeting with Scott in a public forum.
Scott said he is available to discuss his educational background and any questions or concerns by calling 885-6318 or emailing cal@calscott.com, but that he will not be offering information for “more maligning and frivolous activities.”