Page 10 - Flathead Beacon // 1.8.13

10 | JANUARY 8, 2013 NEWS FLATHEADBEACON.COM

Whiteish’s Lieser to Run Again

Facts

FIGURES
Lone Flathead Demo-

crat cut his teeth during
Numbers in the news
rookie session and is

eager for a productive
$1 million
second term

Amount Montana
Millionaire lottery ticket By TRISTAN SCOTT of the Beacon

sold at Mike’s Conoco in
Columbia Falls is worth. Having honed his chops as a fresh-
man legislator last session, the Flathead
(STORY, PAGE 11)
Valley’s lone elected Democrat says he in-
tends to run for oice again, and is opti-
mistic that the experience he’s gained will
help him achieve more in his second term.
0-9-0-9-0-7
Whiteish’s Ed Lieser took on the role
of House District 4 in 2012 but, due to re-
The winning ticket’s
numbers.
districting, he will seek election to House
District 5 in the 2014 election. As a rookie
legislator he sponsored 16 bills and sat on a
handful of interim committees, but the li- Rep. Ed Lieser addresses the House during the 63rd Legislative Assembly in Helena. BEACON FILE PHOTO
1 million
on’s share of the legislation he introduced
died in the Republican-dominated House
of Representatives.
“I HAVE LEARNED HOW THE SYSTEM WORKS AND I HAVE DEVELOPED SOME
Acres of land, from RELATIONSHIPS WITH FOLKS ON BOTH SIDES OF THE AISLE THAT WILL ALLOW ME
ranches in the Rocky Lieser, 64, is a retired forester with
the U.S. Forest Service and runs a forestry TO COMMUNICATE WITH THEM BETTER.” Ed Lieser
Mountain foothills to consulting business. He defeated Repub-
wildlife habitat and lican Tim Baldwin in the November 2012
election to reclaim Whiteish’s House seat I took on a lot of bills and for a rookie leg- “Those are hard days. But, on the oth-
river valleys, protected for the Democrats after Republican Derek islator that was just unrealistic,” he said. er hand I have to tell you I met some great
across the state by The Skees vacated the position to run for state “I thought it was the right thing to do be- people on both sides of the aisle. People
auditor. Before Skees, Democrat Mike Jo- cause I wanted to accommodate the inter- who are taking time out of their jobs, tak-
Nature Conservancy,
the largest conserva- pek had held the seat for three straight ests of my constituents. But it was truly ing time out of their private lives at really
tion organization in the terms but decided not to run for a fourth.
näve to think that I could learn the sys- very minimal compensation to do what
Among the bills for which Lieser was tem and become as familiar as I needed to they think is going to beneit the state,”
world.
either listed as primary sponsor or as the be with so many issues and try to commu- he said. “Those are the really good days,
requester were measures to require sep- nicate those issues to the committees. It when you learn from people and see them
tic inspections before property transfers, was just too much.”
contributing unselishly and I just think
$225
revise ines for lakeshore protection viola- As a newcomer, Lieser said he worked that is a real beneit to us in Montana.”
tions and provide procedures for nonprof- hard to overcome partisan politics and
Lieser formally announced his can-
Citation issued by it hospitals to convert to other statuses.
learned invaluable lessons from col- didacy Jan. 6 at a reception at Crush and
A library bill he requested would have leagues on both sides of the aisle. He didn’t said he’s more conident having learned
the Forest Service to given cities the ability to create or enlarge vote in lock step with other Democrats, the ropes during the 2013 session.
a snowboarder who a public library district. The bill came par- pointing to property tax and business “I have learned how the system works
tially in response to some concerns voiced equipment tax bills that did not receive re- and I have developed some relationships
chased a moose along by the Whiteish Community Library that sounding support from fellow Democrats, with folks on both sides of the aisle that
a ski run at Whiteish the library’s district boundary should be but which he believed to be in the best in- will allow me to communicate with them

Mountain Resortany increased beyond the city limits.
terest of Whiteish.
better,” he said.
state.
He said the septic bill and library bill He said it was frustrating to watch bills “In a nutshell, there are some things
would remain priorities next session.
he believed in be gutted in committee, but that just didn’t get inished that I want to
(STORY, PAGE 21)
“There were a lot of things that I had soon realized that’s part of a representa- continue to work on.”
hoped to accomplish that didn’t get done.
tive democracy.
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