PSC candidate Toole is called 'Old 59'

Editor,

My opponent in the Public Service Commission race, Ken Toole, or as we call him "Old 59," is at it again, talking half-truths when it comes to my voting record.

He says my vote against deregulation on third reading was only procedural. The people of Montana know that the third reading vote determines whether a bill passes or fails and moves to the other house, or to the Governor's office for a signature.

SB 390, after my vote of No in the Senate, moved to the House of Representatives and came back again. I voted No a second time. Did I sponsor this bill as he says? No. I was a co-sponsor of the bill along with 66 other members of the House and Senate, both parties by the way.

Did I go against my own party, your party and Governor Racicot, to be a voice for the people of Montana? Yes.

But of course, Old 59, you claim that this vote was just procedural, as it would have passed anyway.

Well, what about the heat I took from my own party, your party, lobbyists and the Governor? Yes, I know how to stand up for what's right, even though I embraced electrical deregulation at first. By the way, I did support gas deregulation and I can show you how it has helped small producers in Montana and kept the cost of natural gas from going even higher, but that's a different debate.

Maybe because you believe the third reading vote is merely procedural, you have passed only three bills, all written by agencies, and none of the over 40 bills you introduced that you believed were important to Montanans.

I have to go now. I'm talking to people of Montana about how we can get lower cost energy for the future, less dependence on foreign oil, and higher paying jobs for all Montanans. By the way, you might ask how we came up with the name Old 59?

Well, that's the number of votes in the last three Legislative sessions that my opponent changed his vote between second and third reading.

59 times, but that's only procedural as you claim my vote was. Right, Ken?

Mike Taylor

District 5 PSC Candidate Dayton