The common-sense candidate

John Fuller wants to chair House education committee, use coal revenue to fund schools

By RICHARD HANNERS / Whitefish Pilot

John Fuller is a man of strong political convictions, and they will be put to the test this year as he runs for a seat in the Montana House.

Fuller, 62, will face the incumbent, Democrat Mike Jopek, in this fall's House District 4 election. Both ran unopposed in the June primary, where Jopek received 1,502 votes and Fuller received 855.

Political pundits predict a scrappy fight this year, as Republicans try to regain control of both the governor's mansion and the legislature. While Democrats narrowly held the Senate last session, the Republicans secured a one-seat majority in the House by forging an alliance with the Constitutional Party's lone representative, Rick Jore.

Fuller has been in the Flathead for 15 years, arriving via Bozeman and the suburbs of Chicago. He was a staff sergeant in the Army from 1967-1971 and served in Vietnam for two of those years.

Education is a true passion for Fuller. He's been a high school teacher for 37 years and has a bachelor's in history and a master's in education. He currently teaches government at Flathead High School.

Fuller served on the Montana State Board of Public Education from 2001-2008. He also served on the board of the Montana School for the Deaf and Blind, in Great Falls, and the school renewal commission under Gov. Judy Martz, which looked at alternative funding systems for public education.

"The only consistently successful social program in U.S. history is education," he said, adding that maximizing the benefits of education would mean less need for other social programs.

Fuller said he'd like to chair the House's education committee and see that education is funded in an adequate and equitable fashion. Key to that is providing more money through developing the Treasure State's natural resources — especially coal in the state's Otter Creek tracts.

"There's not enough people in Montana to fund education through property and income taxes," he said. "We need to grow the economy through its natural resources."

Fuller said he's talked to people in the coal industry and the problem is not the state's coal taxes — it's environmental regulations that create an unfriendly business climate.

"I support developing alternative energy, but first we need to increase energy," he said.

Fuller said he decided to run after reading about county residents in Whitefish's two-mile planning jurisdiction being regulated without representation.

"The 'doughnut' put the fire in me," he said.

Protecting water quality with a critical areas ordinance was not what bothered Fuller, he said — it was denial of representation.

"We need to find the balance between property rights of individuals and everyone's responsibility to the community and the environment," he said.

Fuller has an historical outlook about government, which he sums up in his campaign literature.

"I am dedicated to a belief and willingness to defend the proper role of government as outlined in the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution," he said. "In the words of James Madison, 'Government must be the servant of the people, not their master.'"

He said he's often called a conservative, but he likes to think of himself as a common-sense candidate.

"It's not a question of big government or small government, but is it good government?" he said.

What's important is that government respects the rights of people.

"That's my focus — not anti-government or pro-government," he said. "Government is necessary."

Every tax has a detrimental effect on the economy, he said. Talk about a sales tax needs to be tempered with reductions in property or income taxes, but he agrees that locals should have the right to vote for a local option tax.

"There's only so much blood in a turnip," he said about taxes.

Fuller's platform supports Second Amendment rights, families, property tax relief, promoting a business-friendly environment that will allow for responsible economic growth, and protecting public access on state and federal lands.

"Public access to Montana rivers and streams via public lands — including highway and bridge easements and abutments — is well established under existing Montana law," he said, noting recent lawsuits. "As your representative, I will introduce and support legislation clarifying the stream access rights which Montanans will enjoy."

Fuller said he's been knocking on doors and speaking to groups about his candidacy. He plans to eventually host a Web site.