Candidates talk coal, education and taxes

A popular governor and five contenders fill the slate

By RICHARD HANNERS/Whitefish Pilot

Montana's gubernatorial primary this year includes three Democrats — including incumbent Gov. Brian Schweitzer — along with two Republicans.

Schweitzer will be tough to beat. He has lots of money in his campaign chest and has benefited from lots of media attention. The state was reeling from $300 million deficits projected during the 2001 and 2003 legislative sessions, but Schweitzer's administration was handed big budget surpluses after he came to office in 2005.

The Republicans presented fierce opposition to the Democratic surge since he came to Helena, and partisan politics in the 2007 legislature left a lot of Montanans with a bitter taste in their mouths.

At least Schweitzer won't have to face Michael Lange — the Republican former house majority leader who went verbally ballistic on Schweitzer as the 2007 legislature winded down. Lange aims to take on Max Baucus in the U.S. Senate race.

Instead, Schweitzer's chief foe will be Roy Brown. The state senator from Billings is running with lieutenant governor candidate Steve Daines.

Following a stint as a roughneck on a drilling rig, Brown got his bachelor's in petroleum engineering at Montana Tech and found work across the U.S. and abroad. He operated an oil business in Billings from 1986 through 1994 and considers himself semi-retired now.

Brown has served four terms in house, including majority whip in 2001, majority leader in 2002-2004 and House Republican leader in 2005-2006. After being term-limited out of the House, he won election to Senate District 25.

Brown and Schweitzer share a strong interest in developing the state's coal resources and helping the U.S. reduce its dependency on oil imports. While Schweitzer has touted Montana's coal on 60 Minutes and is promoting a new high-voltage power line to Alberta, Brown has attacked the governor's position on developing the state's vast coal reserves at Otter Creek.

Some pundits say Schweitzer is treading lightly at Otter Creek to avoid harming his high-road position on coal and coal-bed methane development in the North Fork drainage north of the Canada border. It would be hypocritical to call for a halt to coal development in Canada, they point out, while promoting coal-burning power plants and coal-to-liquid refineries in Montana.

Brown wants to use revenue from Otter Creek leases to solve the state's school-funding woes without increasing taxes. He also claims Schweitzer spent the $400 million surplus in 2005 and the $1.4 billion surplus in 2007 while imposing new recreation and communication fees and without eliminating the business-equipment tax.

Schweitzer counters by pointing to all the new jobs created in Montana since he took office. The state has posted some of the nation's lowest unemployment numbers. He also says he's implemented historic tax cuts and significantly increased education funding.

Brown will face Larry Steele of Great Falls in the Republican primary. Steele's running mate is Harold Luce. With little campaign money or name recognition, Steele has run unsuccessfully for the legislature and mayor of Great Falls.

In the past, Schweitzer has said he welcomes primary opponents because they help him get free media time, but as a generally popular governor, he really has no need to campaign at all. In a May 15 Mason Dixon poll for Lee Newspapers, Schweitzer garnered 55 percent of the vote to Brown's 30. The rest were unsure.

Schweitzer will face Democrats Donald Pogreba, a high school teacher in Helena, and William Fischer, a Kalispell business owner from Lakeside, in the June primary.

Pogreba's running mate is Jason Neiffer, also a teacher. Pogreba generally approves of Schweitzer, but he claims the state has not met its constitutional obligation to fund public schools, and he has concerns about the governor's coal plans.

Fischer's running mate is Steve White. Fischer's platform widely differs from the Democratic Party's, and he doesn't apologize for his conservative policies. He said he's confident the average Democrat agrees with the need for a strong, moral foundation.

Stan Jones has no opponents in the primary. The Bozeman Libertarian runs regularly and stands out in a crowd — his blue-tinged skin is a result of the colloidal silver he eats as a home remedy. His running mate is Michael Baker.

If elected, Jones said, "I will not be contaminated by political success. Instead, I will work to clarify and purify the political process."