Montana Lowdown

Attorney General Tim Fox is deploying primary opponent Greg Gianforte's own polling, and the incumbent U.S. representative's grading by conservative groups, in his bid for the Republican nomination for Montana governor.

Using the results of the 2016 election as a predictor of his ability to appeal to Montana voters, Fox tells Montana Free Press editor-in-chief John S. Adams, "I got 96,000 more votes than Greg Gianforte, even though 17,000 fewer people voted in the attorney general race than did in the governor's race." Fox ran successfully for re-election in 2016, while Gianforte made an unsuccessful bid for governor. Gianforte later won a special election as Montana's sole representative in the U.S. House in 2017, and was re-elected in 2018.

No Republican has held the governorship since Judy Martz left office in January 2005, and the party is eager to change that in 2020. Fox thinks he's the best candidate to reclaim the office for the GOP in November. But first he'll have to get past Gianforte and Sen. Al Olszewski of Kalispell in a three-way primary.

While Fox acknowledges the accomplishments of his primary opponents, he says the most important question facing Republican primary voters is: who is the most electable candidate to face off against the eventual Democratic nominee? Barring the entry of a new Democratic candidate between now and the March 9 filing deadline, that will be either current Lt. Gov. Mike Cooney or Missoula businesswoman Whitney Williams.

Fox claims voters have a negative perception of Gianforte that could pose a liability for the party in November, telling Adams, "He has nearly 100% name ID, and he can only muster 53%, if we believe his poll is true, of the Republican vote. Why is that? Because his negatives are so high, even among Republicans." Fox is also critical of Gianforte's voting record, arguing that national conservative groups including the American Conservative Union, Conservative Review, and Club For Growth have "given Greg Gianforte Ds and Fs for his votes and lack of conservatism in Congress."

Fox will be termed out in 2021 after two terms as Montana's top lawyer, and he highlights his accomplishments on issues including human trafficking, substance use, and his legal challenge of a Washington state law blocking the export of Montana coal as reasons voters should trust him as an advocate.

Fox tells Adams that he brought 51 agency bills to the Montana Legislature, "and 49 of those were passed overwhelmingly and signed into law. That's unprecedented for an executive branch leader."

Fox's conversation with Adams is featured on the Montana Lowdown podcast, a weekly publication of Montana Free Press.

This week, Patagonia Films premiered the documentary feature Public Trust at the 17th annual Big Sky Documentary Film Festival in Missoula. The film examines how private interests, especially extractive industries, are attempting to undermine America's public lands legacy. The film focuses on three specific conflicts at Utah's Bears Ears National Monument, Minnesota's Boundary Waters Wilderness, and northeastern Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.

The film prominently features Hal Herring, an award-winning journalist and Montana resident who has spent more than two decades working in, and writing about, public lands in the American West.

Herring tells Montana Free Press editor-in-chief John S. Adams, "We should understand that there is a movement afoot to privatize the American public lands, and we should know what those [lands] are before we come down on one side or another in that debate. And we should know who's driving that debate, and what is at stake for us, and our children and grandchildren."

The public lands issue has become a rallying point for the Democratic Party in the American West. But while Herring supports the concept of public lands, he's also sometimes critical of Democratic approaches to the issue, noting that sweeping changes such as the Bill Clinton-era roadless rule and Barack Obama's Bears Ears National Monument designation have been undertaken without making the case to citizens.

As Herring tells Adams, "I'm convinced that we can not leave environmental and conservation eggs in the basket of one party." He pushes back on ideological public-lands stances taken by Democrats and Republicans alike, saying the parties "need to horse trade." He also suggests that the issue presents a unique opportunity for conservative political candidates, saying he's "waiting for a kind of quiet revolution in conservative America to come to solving environmental problems in the future."

Herring and Adams also discuss the history of the American public lands movement, from the aftermath of the Mexican-American War through the privatization ideology promoted by President Ronald Reagan, which continues to resonate.

Herring's conversation with Adams was recorded on the eve of the film's public premiere. The Montana Lowdown podcast is a weekly publication of Montana Free Press.

This week, freelance journalist Kathleen McLaughlin published a story in the Washington Post detailing Butte, Montana's collective anxiety about a long-awaited and finally forthcoming consent decree that will lay out the final phase of cleanup of Butte's expansive Superfund site. Publication of the legally binding document has been repeatedly delayed with little explanation, but is currently set for Thursday, Feb. 13, pending final review by the U.S. Department of Justice.

As McLaughlin tells Montana Free Press editor-in-chief John S. Adams, "I think the EPA and the city are going to have … a big job ahead of them selling [the consent decree] to the community when the community wasn't publicly involved in the discussions."

For more than 20 years, Montana native McLaughlin has reported on inequality and marginalized communities in the American West and Asia. After more than a decade in China, McLaughlin recently moved back to her hometown of Butte, where the environmental consequences of decades of copper mining remain an ongoing issue.

McLaughlin also talks about her career arc as a journalist, and the uncomfortable parallels between the Chinese government's treatment of journalists and the way some American politicians undermine the free press for political purposes.

"Political leaders who jump on this bandwagon of yelling about 'fake news' are giving away one of the pillars of our [democratic] system," McLaughin says.

She also talks about how her experience in China during the 2003 SARS epidemic informs her understanding of the Chinese government's current reporting on the coronavirus.

McLaughlin's' interview with Adams is featured on the latest installment of the Montana Lowdown podcast, a weekly publication of Montana Free Press.

Lee Newspapers Capitol reporter Holly Michels thought she was covering a relatively mundane event last Friday at the Montana Republican Party's Winter Kickoff event in Helena. Former Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke had just wrapped up his address to party faithful and was taking questions from the audience when a Republican state legislator from Billings made a comment that would quickly overshadow the news cycle.

As Michels tells Montana Free Press editor-in-chief John S. Adams, Rep. Rodney Garcia "started by saying that socialists were infiltrating the government, taking over. He said there are socialists everywhere in Billings. And then he said, you know, the Constitution says that we should either shoot or jail them. And there was some pretty awkward, uncomfortable laughter in the room."

The incident earned national headlines, as well as a call from state GOP leadership for Garcia's resignation. (Garcia has declined.) The unexpected scoop also gives Michels an opportunity to reflect on how the journalism business has changed since she first came to the profession. With fewer daily newspaper reporters responsible for covering more and more news, she says, it's become "kind of a luxury" for journalists to attend run-of-the-mill events like the Winter Kickoff with no guarantee of a newsworthy story for their work. Garcia's unanticipated comments and the viral response they generated reinforce the value of having reporters on the scene.

Adams and Michels also talk about her analysis of what's shaping up to be a very competitive — and expensive — 2020 governor's race.

Michels' interview with Adams is featured on the latest installment of the Montana Lowdown podcast, a weekly publication of the Montana Free Press.

Republican candidate for Secretary of State Bowen Greenwood says if he's elected one of his first priorities will be to increase voter registration across the state.

As Greenwood tells Montana Free Press editor-in-chief John S. Adams: "The state's elections office can be operated as a neutral party, and go out to fairs, college campuses, everywhere, and register voters in a way that's not about an advantage for one side or the other."

Greenwood, who was elected Clerk of the Montana Supreme Court in 2018, has been a key player in conservative political circles for many years. Prior to his election — in which he defeated Democrat Rex Renk by more than 40,000 votes — Greenwood has served as public information officer for the Public Service Commission, spokesman for the Montana Family Foundation, and executive director of the Montana Republican Party. Greenwood began his professional career in Montana politics in 2006 as communications director for former Republican Secretary of State Brad Johnson.

While the clerk position carries a six-year term, Greenwood has set his sights on the Secretary of State's office amidst his concerns over election security in the age of hacking and foreign interference. Greenwood says he would place a particular focus on the state's paper ballot system.

"Cybersecurity is so much more important these days," Greenwood tells Adams, adding, "I am very much in favor of bringing an ID to vote."

Some Montanans may remember Greenwood from his days as a conservative blogger in the mid- to late-2000s. Writing under the pen name NeoMadison, Greenwood was once on the front lines of the often fiery political discourse that took place on the internet before the rise of social media sites like Twitter and Facebook. Reflecting on that period of his life, Greenwood says a 2012 spiritual encounter set him on a different rhetorical path.

"I don't want to be that guy anymore," says Greenwood. "I try to treat people on all sides of the aisle, understanding that they're a creation of God, that this Democrat, this progressive, God wants them in Heaven as much as he wants me in Heaven, and they're worthy; they're worthy of my time and listening and respect."

Greenwood is running in the Republican primary against Senate President Scott Sales of Bozeman, current Deputy Secretary of State Christi Jacobsen, and State Rep. Forrest Mandeville. The lone Democratic candidate is Missoula state Sen. Bryce Bennett. Incumbent Secretary of State Corey Stapleton is seeking the Republican nomination for Montana's U.S. House seat. Greenwood's comments came during a recent interview on the Montana Lowdown podcast, a weekly publication of the Montana Free Press.

Last week, state lawmakers gathered in Helena for the first-ever Legislative Week, a five-day series of training sessions, interim committee meetings, and social gatherings aimed at maintaining connections between legislators during the 20-month break they typically take between legislative sessions.

Republican Sen. Fred Thomas of Stevensville was a vocal proponent of Legislative Week. Thomas has served in 12 sessions, plus a handful of special sessions, during three separate stints in the Montana Legislature, beginning with his freshman term in the House in 1985. And while Thomas supported the 1992 constitutional initiative that led to legislative term limits — citizens may serve as a state representative or senator for no more than eight years in a 16-year period — he now sees term limits as limiting the experience available to the Legislature.

Thomas has a unique vantage on the question, given his lengthy experience in the Capitol. Reflecting on his third stint in the Legislature, Thomas tells Montana Free Press editor-in-chief John S. Adams, "Everybody in the body was different. But the people in the hallways, the lobbyists, were very similar, and our staff, and some bureaucracy. And I thought, 'I don't know if this is good.'"

Elsewhere in the interview, Thomas looks back on a number of highlights from his tenure in the Legislature, including his role in overhauling state tax policies and his role carrying the 1997 deregulation bill that ultimately led to the demise of the Montana Power Company — a role for which Thomas has been criticized by Democrats and the press.

Regarding deregulation, Thomas says, "I probably did it because it met my basics of government: want of less government, less taxes, and less regulation, and [I] was wanting to have citizens have the ability to have lower-costing electricity." Thomas says the deregulated power market failed to fulfill those promises due to a lack of legislative safeguards that ultimately allowed Montana Power Company to sell off assets including the Colstrip power plant and a hydroelectric dam to Pennsylvania Power and Light. Critics say fallout from those sales, including Montana Power's investment of proceeds into a telecommunications company that would go bankrupt within five years, are directly responsible for continuing increases in energy rates for Montana residents.

Thomas' conversation with Adams is featured on the latest edition of the Montana Lowdown podcast, a weekly publication of Montana Free Press.

State lawmakers are in Helena this week for the first-ever Legislative Week, a five-day series of training sessions, interim committee meetings, and social events aimed at fostering "cross-pollination" among legislators, according to the Legislature's website. Legislative Week is born of a study resulting from the 2019 session's Senate Bill 310, which seeks to gauge the potential of holding annual legislative sessions, rather than the current biennial session schedule.

Susan Fox, executive director of the nonpartisan Legislative Services Division, joined Montana Free Press editor-in-chief John S. Adams for a Montana Lowdown podcast discussion about what she expects ⁠— and does not expect ⁠— to take place during Legislative Week.

Fox also reflects on her 30 years of experience working in Legislative Services, noting an increase in partisanship, and declining opportunities for new legislators to grow into leadership positions.

"[Legislators] don't have time to mature like they used to," she tells Adams. "And I remember in the past, leaders ... would slowly work their way up to committee chairmanship, and then they might, in another session or two, become a whip, and then become a leader. But they don't have time to do that now — you just have to get in and start [leading]."

Fox also says she's seen a lack of understanding between those legislators tasked with drafting the state's budget and those who develop policies, a dynamic that helped lead to the passage of Senate Bill 310.

"Budget and policy are kind of two different tracks," Fox says. "And [legislators] really feel like it's disjointed. The budget people don't understand the policy people, and the policy people don't understand the budget."

The SB 310 study explores the prospect of annual sessions with alternating focuses on the state budget and policy-related law.

Fox's conversation with Adams is featured on this week's Montana Lowdown Podcast, a production of Montana Free Press.

This week, Montana Free Press is closing out 2019 by looking back at some highlights from the first year of the Montana Lowdown podcast. This 2019 review episode features host and MTFP editor-in-chief John S. Adams in a conversation with the show's producer, Alex McKenzie.

The show debuted on January 7, 2019, just as the legislative session was getting underway in Helena. The first guest was Republican Rep. Nancy Ballance of Hamilton, who talked with Adams about a split among Republican lawmakers between so-called Solutions Caucus Republicans who were willing to negotiate bipartisan legislation with Democrats, and more staunchly conservative Republicans who took a more oppositional approach to Democratic legislation. The split proved to be a key part of the narrative of the 2019 session.

The weekly podcast series has featured in-depth interviews with state legislators, as well as candidates seeking statewide and federal offices in 2020. A handful of nonelectoral guests, like climate scientist Steven Running and political researcher James D'Angelo, have rounded out the series.

Adams says he hopes the in-depth conversations provide value for citizens beyond the brief quotes that are typically used in print news stories. "The idea was to give listeners the opportunity to hear what I hear when I'm interviewing these individuals," he says.

The MT Lowdown podcast will cease production during the holiday season, and will return with more candidate interviews in early 2020.

"I want to talk about our culture, I want to talk about the forces that drive decisions," says Republican congressional candidate Tim Johnson. Johnson is the superintendent of Corvallis Public Schools, a job he says he plans to give up next year so he can focus on his campaign for the U.S. House.

A self-described conservative Republican running a primarily self-funded campaign, Johnson currently lags behind his primary opponents in fundraising, and in name recognition, but he believes his message can resonate with voters who are tired of well-worn talking points. He tells Montana Free Press editor-in-chief John S. Adams: "If you don't have a message, in the long run it doesn't matter how much money you spend, because the dollar bill that the candidate spends on the marketing side is not necessarily what happens in the voting booth."

Johnson also chides national Republican leaders for their continued focus on tax cuts, arguing that the issue is used to pander to voters. "We're not putting our foot down and saying, 'Stop spending more than what you have,'" he tells Adams. "If we continue to do what we're doing, we're putting that question off to our kids. And to me, that's unethical."

The Republican primary includes five candidates vying for the state party's nomination to challenge the eventual Democratic nominee in the general election next November.

Johnson's conversation with Adams is featured on this week's Montana Lowdown podcast.

Forrest Mandeville says the best way to effect progress in the Legislature is to become an expert in a specific subject. The Republican representative from Columbus has served three terms in the Montana House, starting with the 2015 session, and spent much of that time applying his professional background in land-use planning to the State Administration Committee, for which he served as committee chair the past two terms. That committee, which included 20 legislators in the 2019 session, plays a big role in crafting election laws, and if elected secretary of state, Mandeville would be responsible for implementing those laws.

In addition to overseeing state elections and business services, the secretary of state also serves on the five-member state Land Board, which administers state-owned lands for the benefit of public schools. Mandeville says that natural resource development, such as the proposed Black Butte Copper Mine near the headwaters of the Smith River, would be among his front-and-center priorities as Land Board commissioner.

"We need to not be afraid of developing our natural resources," Mandeville tells Montana Free Press editor-in-chief John S. Adams. He dismisses concerns that such projects pose a threat to nearby waterways.

"[I]t's a scare tactic, honestly, to say that any mine is just going to leach a bunch of chemicals into the water system. It does not happen anymore."

Mandeville is running in the Republican primary against Senate President Scott Sales of Bozeman, current Deputy Secretary of State Christi Jacobsen, and state Supreme Court clerk Bowen Greenwood. The lone Democratic candidate is Missoula state Sen. Bryce Bennett. Incumbent Secretary of State Corey Stapleton is seeking the Republican nomination for Montana's U.S. House seat.

Asked about the challenge of campaigning against eight-term legislator Sales, Mandeville laments a lack of young conservatives running for statewide office.

"We can't be relying on the same people to do the same things over and over and over again, because we will run out of people," he tells Adams.

Adams' conversation with Mandeville is featured on the Dec. 10 episode of the Montana Lowdown podcast.