Local candidates clash in Polson

By Jennifer McBride/Leader Staff

POLSON — Future commissioners clashed over several issues at the Lake County candidate's forum held at the Polson Senior Center Thursday, May 15.

The last two candidate forums before the June 3 primary will be held tonight, May 22, at the St. Ignatius Senior Center and May 29 at the East Shore Bear Dance Clubhouse. Both events begin at 7 p.m.

Nine candidates running for state and local positions spent three minutes introducing themselves and then answered questions, which were read off index cards written by members of the audience. Each answer was limited to a minute.

Most of the questions went to the five candidates running as possible county commissioners. They agreed on some issues, like the importance of growth planning.

"We have to balance common sense with rights," Republican Ron Boyce said. Republican Bill Barron and Democrat Vince Rubino agreed that planning was necessary, but that property rights could trump public rights, depending on the situation.

Democrat Jeanne Windham said zoning and property rights weren't mutually exclusive. According to Windham, Finley Point has the strongest restrictions in the county, but also, some of the highest property values. She said the public does have the chance to weigh in when it comes to zoning plans.

"There [are] not so many people yet in Lake County that your voice doesn't count," she said.

Republican Mike Larson agreed, saying planning meetings were rarely attended. He encouraged more public participation. "You have the best problem you can have," he said — specifically, a fast-growing community.

Two candidates debated past litigation. Barron, a former Lake County Sheriff, said the county had been sued for a wrongful firing in the sheriff's office. The case, he said, was never heard on its merits because the county commissioner responsible had failed to inform the county attorney's office in time to respond to the suit before a deadline. Windham countered, saying that she had been told by an insurance company that they hadn't paid for the suit because the county hadn't followed proper termination procedures. Barron replied that he had followed the procedures by the book and obeyed the instructions from county attorney Robert Long.

Windham also disagreed with the other candidates over sheriff's mill levy. If voters support the levy June 3, it will raise close to $1 million for the county sheriff's department. While the other candidates supported the levy, Windham didn't because the sheriff's office hadn't been audited by an outside agency. A member of the Polson Police Department asked where Windham wanted the LCSO to get the funds and Windham replied from the state, which she said has money set aside for that sort of purpose.

Other issues the candidates spoke about included restrictions on billboards. The candidates agreed billboards were part of doing business but wanted more regulations.

"I don't think we need a 40- or 50-foot-long billboard," said Boyce, especially since beautiful views are part of Lake County's attraction to tourists and potential new residents.

Rubino said he was less concerned about billboard size than aesthetics. "Sometimes the smallest can be the ugliest," he said, adding that he would like to work with the tribes and create an ordinance committee. Windham thought the county needed more enforcement of existing regulations, while Barron said it would be a good idea to have a board listing the names of local businesses in each town so people could find information in one spot instead of driving around looking at billboards.

While candidates for the Montana House as Representatives received fewer questions, theirs tended to be the most pointed. Incumbent Janna Taylor (R-HD11) was asked about a farm subsidies bill she supported for eastern Montana, where she has ranching property. Taylor said that farmers didn't get many subsidies, except when it came to the government's support of ethanol, which she called "not wise." She also discussed the problem of rising food costs.

Mark Nelson, running as a Democrat for Joey Jayne's open house seat in district 15, was asked whether he would try to remove Montana's initiative process from the state constitution. He has made comments in the past saying he did not support the initiative.

"I wouldn't say I'd remove it from the constitution," Nelson said. "It's just not my favorite part of the constitution."

The most telling question of the night was: "what is the biggest problem in Lake County?"

James Steele Jr., running as a democrat in district 15, said it was the conflict between tribal and non-tribal people. He drew laughter and applause from the mostly-white audience as he joked, "let me tell you, the earthquake in China was not the tribes' fault." He then talked about the joint law enforcement agreement, the environmental regulations and the money the tribes pump into the economy. Reservation water rights, which remain under negotiation, are also one of the county's biggest problems, he added.

Larson said that protecting the environment was most important. "We have something that we can't duplicate," he said, "We must take of our environment, and it will take care of everything else."

Nelson said that a culture of entitlement brought by people moving to the area would sap the county's resources, particularly if more people demanded the local governments extend trash pick-up and road maintenance to their driveway far outside of town instead of being willing to help themselves.

Rubino said it was the budget, which lacks a sufficient financial reserve. "We're running on empty, so the speak," he said.

Barron agreed, and said he would cut costs by making the system more efficient, i.e., cross-training employees from different departments and giving convicts the option to join chain gangs to fix potholes.

Frost Calf Boss Ribs, running as a democrat in house district 15, wanted to see more early intervention programs in schools. "You can find out in fourth grade if they're going to jail or not," she said. She also wants to see more interconnectedness in the county, including an increase in volunteerism. "We need to build ourselves up so we can be the wonderful Montanans we are," she said.

Taylor said young families leaving Lake County is its biggest problem. She also said government-operated health care is problematic, which is why she opposed expanding the Children Health Insurance Program (CHIP). Putting money into CHIP, she said, would just be putting more money into Blue Cross/Blue Shield.

"[Government health care] is just too complicated, too top-heavy and too inefficient," she said.

Boyce said one problem was that the county failed to plan ahead, especially when it comes to road construction. He said Skyline wasn't built with enough thought and will have a hard time supporting all the traffic, especially if the Wal-Mart expands. Windham agreed that future planning is important, as did Edd Blackler, a democrat running for house district nine.

"People hear the z-word and the all just have a fit," he said, "but we need to protect what we have."