The mayor of Libby and its city council violated Montana law in the days before the 2013 election, according to a new report from the Montana Commissioner of Political Practices.
In a decision handed down on May 12, Commissioner Jonathan Motl states that Mayor Doug Roll, City Attorney James Reintsma and the Libby City Council possibly altered the mayoral election when the city filed a lawsuit against Councilman Allen Olsen alleging he was not a resident and thus could not run for mayor.
Roll beat Olsen by just 13 votes.
“The Commissioner determines that there are sufficient facts to show that the City, including its Mayor and City Council members, acted in violation of Montana’s campaign practice laws when they engaged in unreported and undisclosed use of public resources for the express advocacy purpose of opposing the election of Mayoral candidate Olsen,” Motl wrote, adding that Reintsma also violated the law.
Just days before the 2013 election, Reintsma filed the lawsuit and an injunction against Olsen in hopes of delaying the mayoral race.
The request was overruled and the mayoral race went forward. In August 2014, attorneys representing the city and Olsen faced off in court to determine if Olsen lived in Libby.
Reinstma argued Olsen began renting a home in Libby for $1 a month just so he could run for city office and that he actually lived just outside of town at his place of business, Antler Tree Nursery. Olsen said that he would stay at the tree nursery only during the busy months, but that most of the year he was living in town.
Various witnesses also testified that they had visited Olsen unannounced and said that the home within city limits, located at 703 Louisiana Ave., appeared to be lived in. District Court Judge James Wheelis eventually determined that Olsen did live in Libby and thus could hold office.
Less than a month after the trial, former city council candidate Arlen Magill filed a complaint against the city attorney. Reintsma has since left Libby after taking a new job in Oregon.
In his complaint, Magill argues that Reintsma broke Montana Code Annotated 13-35-218, which prohibits someone from trying to prevent someone from voting for the candidate of his or her choice.
“It was a dirty tactic and had he not filed that lawsuit Libby might have a different mayor today,” Magill said when he filed the complaint.
On Tuesday, Olsen called for Roll’s resignation and said he was not surprised at the outcome.
“It’s time for all the crooks to go and Roll needs to resign because he stole an election,” Olsen said. “I’ve contacted my attorney and I plan on suing every single one of them.”
Roll, however, was surprised at the outcome, especially because Magill’s original complaint was filed against Reintsma, not against Roll or the council. He said the ruling is unfair because while Reintsma got a chance to respond to the allegations, neither he nor the rest of the council was extended the same courtesy.
“This ruling is beyond logic,” Roll said. “He is absolutely wrong and there is not one single fact in this ruling that is correct.”
Roll said neither he nor any other member of the city council told Reintsma to file a lawsuit against Olsen in the days before the election.
“The council has no right to tell our city attorney what to do and how to do his job,” Roll said.
The report from the ethics commissioner has been sent to the Lincoln County District Attorney who has 30 days to decide to file any charges against anyone in the case. If he decides not to file criminal charges, the case will be sent back to the political practices office and a civil lawsuit could be brought against Reintsma, the mayor or the city council.
Olsen and the rest of the city council, especially Mayor Roll, have had a troubled relationship ever since Olsen was elected in 2011. In 2012, Roll refused to put Olsen on any committees because he alleged the councilor did not live within city limits. Then, in 2013, Olsen blasted Roll for fixing a city-owned truck at his garage. Roll said no other garage was able to make the repair quickly, but he later reimbursed the city.
A few months later, Olsen and Roll butted heads again over the lease of a city-owned asphalt zipper. Then in September 2013, City Attorney Reintsma threatened Olsen with censure after he continued to criticize the work of a local water irrigation company during city council meetings. Olsen’s tree nursery does water work.