Financial past not a concern in interim appointment

The 2009 bankruptcy filing of Cal Scott was not known to the two sitting county commissioners who appointed him to fill the seat left vacant by Commissioner Jim Dupont’s death, but neither thinks it would have made a difference in their decision.

Scott, a real estate professional and consultant, was appointed interim commissioner on April 16. His appointment runs through November, when voters will elect a District 1 commissioner to fill out the final two years of Dupont’s term. Scott also is a GOP candidate for that position and is running in the June 5 primary.

County Commissioners Dale Lauman and Pam Holmquist both said Wednesday they weren’t aware Scott had filed for bankruptcy when they voted to make him county commissioner until November.

But Holmquist said the bankruptcy court papers arrived at the commissioners’ office Wednesday via an anonymous mailing.

Both Lauman and Holmquist said they remain comfortable with their decision to appoint Scott to the interim post.

“I don’t think it’s a concern to me,” Lauman said. “That’s a person’s personal finances versus what we do with public money. All we do is in the public.”

Likewise, Holmquist said “it’s not really a concern. He’s not working on his own. It takes two votes on the commission.”

Holmquist said voters need to determine individually how they’ll respond to the news of Scott’s bankruptcy. (See details in related story.)

“It’s not my decision to decide who gets elected to the two-year seat now,” she said. “Now it’s up to the voters and I have faith in the voters.”

“The person who’s involved may have to answer to that,” Lauman said of Scott’s bankruptcy.

Scott did not answer questions for this story, but did provide a written statement to the Daily Inter Lake, in which he said the bankruptcy was a “non-issue.”

“It is most unfortunate that this would even be considered newsworthy in light of all the issues our people in Flathead County are facing today,” he said in the statement.

“My goal is and will remain focused on our taxpayers’ best interest by caring, listening, being a countywide team player and a support to Commissioners Holmquist and Lauman. Together, we will, get our local jobs situation healthy again through good business growth and friendly government practices,” Scott added.

Holmquist said a lot of people have filed for bankruptcy because of tough economic times.

Cal Scott’s name was one of three submitted to commissioners April 4 by the Flathead County Republican Central Committee after they accepted applications from Republicans who live in District 1 and accepted nominations from the floor during a closed Central Committee meeting. The names of Lyle Phillips and Ben Stormes were also forwarded to the commissioners for possible appointment. Stormes also is a candidate for the District 1 position.

Scott’s bankruptcy wasn’t considered a factor during the process of filling the vacant seat on the county commission, Sandy Welch, chairwoman of the Flathead County Republican Central Committee, said last Wednesday.

Welch said the news that Scott had filed for bankruptcy “sounds vaguely familiar.”

But, she said she couldn’t recall if “somebody had found that out as we had that discussion” or if she’d heard about the bankruptcy filing since the interim commissioner process had been completed.

The central committee didn’t investigate the backgrounds of the six people who submitted letters of interest in being appointed interim commissioner, Welch said.

“Individual members all did their individual investigations of candidates,” she said.

As chairman of the central committee, Welch said her “job was to facilitate the process” of submitting names to the county commissioners, and she didn’t know if her personal opinion about whether Scott’s name should have been on that list was a valid discussion now.

“I don’t seem to recall it was a major issue of discussion for that group,” she said of Scott’s bankruptcy.

Scott had the support of the “vast majority of the central committee during the balloting process,” Welch said, but “he did not have unanimous support of the central committee.”

Another candidate who had applied for the interim appointment, Mike Shepard of Columbia Falls, said of the bankruptcy: “I can’t believe the people supporting Cal Scott would overlook that very important part of his background. It’s a total lack of personal responsibility.”

Scott’s appointment as interim commissioner “puts him in charge of a $76 million budget,” Shepard said, and “ignores his [record regarding] fiscal responsibility.”