Candidate wants more progress in the House
By RICHARD HANNERS / Whitefish Pilot
House District 6 candidate Scott Wheeler, D-Kalispell, says he's running again because he's disappointed with the lack of bi-partisan leadership in the last legislature and with the performance of his 2006 opponent, Rep. Bill Beck, R-Whitefish.
"There wasn't much progress, and where there was, Beck was in opposition," Wheeler said.
Wheeler faces Beck and Constitutional Party candidate Timothy Martin, of Kalispell, in November. All three ran unopposed in the June primary, where Wheeler got 1,197 votes to Beck's 1,344.
House District 6 encompasses a vast area, from Northwoods and Iron Horse north past Olney and west to McGregor Lake. The district is mostly rural, but it includes some Kalispell neighborhoods. In 2006, Beck defeated Wheeler 2,267-1,900. Constitutional Party candidate Rick Komenda got 565 votes.
Wheeler recently returned from Europe where he was helping with leadership training. The goal — strengthen alliance support in Afghanistan.
The Democratic candidate commanded armored and aviation units in Germany and Vietnam, served as a White House fellow and a special assistant to Secretary of Energy Don Hodel, taught history at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point and earned a Ph.D. in history from the University of California-Berkeley.
His grandparents settled in Lakeside in the early 1930s, and his father worked here for the Civilian Conservation Corps during the Depression. Retired from the military, Wheeler now cuts hay and harvests timber 10 acres at a time on his 170-acre property in West Valley. He has also taught at the University of Montana-Missoula and Flathead Valley Community College.
Wheeler says Beck and other Flathead Republicans voted as a block on bill after bill against things that made sense for Montanans. He cites House Bill 157 and Senate Bill 22, which expanded the state Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP), as examples.
"It's a program for Montana's working families, not welfare families," he said. "And with an 80 percent federal match, it makes sense to Montana."
Health care is the number one issue facing citizens, he said, and too many people rely on small businesses to provide insurance.
"Small businesses need help, so I support Insure Montana," he said.
Wheeler pointed out that Beck carried only two bills in the last legislature — a motor-vehicle insurance bill that died and one piece of the Republican budget package that had been chopped into eight parts. The Democrats and Gov. Brian Schweitzer put the budget back together in one piece and it passed, Wheeler said.
"The people of House District 6 need someone who will work hard and take phone calls and not vote blindly," he said.
Wheeler says his long-term philosophy is "do your best for the children, the environment and infrastructure." It doesn't make sense for a candidate to say he supports the environment but wants to shrink government so there's not enough people to protect the environment, he said.
"How do you put a person who is against education in charge of the House education committee?" he asked, referring to Rick Jore, the Constitutional Party representative from Ronan who allied himself with the Republican majority in the House last session.
Besides supporting children's health care, his campaign planks include capping property tax growth, protecting water quality and ensuring that Montana children get a quality education.
Wheeler said he's working hard on his campaign. There's 2,000 voters in his vast district, and he's talked to 1,300 so far by driving around and knocking on doors.
"I've had a positive reception and believe I can work across party lines," he said. "You can hold my feet to the fire on that."
For more information, visit online at www.wheelerforlegislature.com.