Page 30 - Flathead Beacon // 1.13.16

LIKE I WAS SAYIN’
TWO FOR THOUGHT SAME TOPIC, DIFFERENT VIEWS DARK MONEY
KELLYN BROWN
BEING LIKE BOZEMAN
LAST WEEKEND, I TRAVELED WITH A FRIEND to the bustling city of Bozeman, a place I left nine years ago. At that time, the area had already begun booming with new construction sites visible across the landscape and a sense that this former “cow town” was on the cusp of something big.
It was – it just took a little longer than I initially thought. The recession upended many communities’ best-laid plans, especially those whose economies relied heavily on the building industry (like Bozeman and Kalispell). Not long after my move to Northwest Mon- tana, the subprime mortgage crisis unfolded and big banks subsequently began to fold. Nearly everyone suf- fered for a time, but Bozeman bounced back and found its footing faster.
Driving through southwest Montana, it’s clear that all of the Gallatin Valley is reaping the rewards of this rapid growth. Downtown is a mix of restaurants and retail. Like Kalispell, its commercial district is sepa- rated from the city’s core. But Bozeman has achieved a balance that is the envy of the state.
Kalispell city and business leaders increasingly prop up Bozeman as a model Montana city with a growing population, diversi ed portfolio of tech and manufac- turing jobs and a knack for attracting modern busi- nesses. Of course, Bozeman has advantages – mainly, Montana State University.
MSU is one of the healthiest universities in the region with growing enrollment that now eclipses the University of Montana. Bozeman’s largest employer also pumps out engineers to work at nearby tech companies. One of those, RightNow Technologies, was founded by Republican gubernatorial hopeful Greg Gianforte and sold for $1.8 billion in 2012. Oracle now plans to build a new operations center in the city, attracting even more high-paying jobs.
However, the Flathead and Gallatin valleys share several similarities. Our population growth rate is sec- ond only to theirs, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. And while we can’t match that region’s proximity to hundreds of college graduates each year, we do have our own thriving community college that has tailored its courses to meet demands from local businesses.
Both regions rely on tourism and draw much of their identities from nearby national parks, Glacier and Yellowstone. And both are home to popular resort ski towns, White sh and Big Sky.
The manufacturing businesses here are growing, some by a lot. And so are both Kalispell and Bozeman’s public schools, with each city struggling to keep up with a growing student population.
But what may be most attractive about Bozeman, and what the largest city in this region is hoping to nd, is that balance. There’s a balance between the commer- cial district and downtown that city and business lead- ers here hope to emulate, at least to a degree.
More storefronts are moving to downtown Kalis- pell, but there is an onus to attract more, which is one of the reasons the city, after two failed attempts, kept applying for a TIGER grant, which it nally landed last fall. The money will be used to help reinvigorate down- town, by developing a pathway system, reconnecting disjointed streets and, the ultimate goal, attracting more businesses.
It’s about nding our own balance. And while we share several similarities with Bozeman, we have our own unique identity, which is still being cultivated. And after an enjoyable weekend in southwest Montana, I was eager to return home.
BY JOE CARBONARI
What do contributors to the Montana Growth
Network have in common? Signi cant nancial resources, for sure. Their businesses interests include steel, coal, gas, and oil, broadcasting, and money management. Three of the contributors own properties in Montana with rivers running through them. They are involved in legal actions concerning the maintenance, or not, of public access. They care about Montana, our resources, our laws, and our regulations.
Their Montana Growth Network was formed in 2011. By early 2012 they had close to $900,000 to spend. There were 13 contributors, all from out of state. Charles Schwab donated $200,000. James Kennedy Cox, the broadcasting mogul with the not-so public access legal action, gave $100,000. Pri- vacy, perhaps, at a price. Tens of thousands of dol- lars went to the bene t of Laurie McKinnon, who was running against Ed Sheehy for a Montana Supreme Court seat. She won.
The money was spent and the election held in 2012. We learned of the identities of these contribu- tors only recently. They kept their names secret and have fought legally to do so. Justice McKinnon may have had little knowledge or control of this campaign assistance, and she may be fully deserving of the job, but there is danger in the way that she got it.
Big, anonymous money has and is being used to a ect our laws and our lives. Dark money suggests dark deeds. Let’s shine some light.
BY TIM BALDWIN
There is an allegation that Montana Supreme
Court Justice Laurie McKinnon — a “conserva- tive” — was elected because of dark money contrib- uted by superrich out-of-state interests like Charles Schwab, James Cox Kennedy, Kenneth Siebal, Great Northern Properties, Continental Resources, and the Boich Family. Does it matter?
Human experience proves that money can cor- rupt politics. So can political parties (as necessary as they may be), which is why Montana does not let judicial candidates campaign under party a lia- tion. Money can and does cause politicians to sell out votes and focus agenda on what the superrich want and not what the public good requires. Judges may be susceptible to the same in uence by big money interests.
While one may argue that morally sound politi- cians will not let money corrupt their political or legal decisions, constitutions are created because people do not want to put all their trust in the indi- vidual character of the politician. Rather, we want to create a system of laws that protects liberty, rights and due process. This is why, in part, many advocate for a federal Amendment Convention – because the system does not adequately protect these things anymore.
People should know who is funding public cam- paigns and pass laws that protect the political pro- cess. Public o cials’ decisions a ect all of us, and most of us cannot a ord to buy political favor.
AMERICAN RURAL DIANE SMITH
STOP EMBARRASSING US!
A
clan would support) and large agribusiness has vastly increased output while decreasing ranching and farm- ing workforces nationwide. These large agribusinesses as well as small ranchers and farmers avail themselves of below-market grazing fees and other governmentally supported mechanisms to ensure continued pro tabil- ity. Us non-ranchers and farmers depend on federally supported mechanisms for re ghting, broadband, healthcare, and a slew of other subsidies that no single state could likely support alone. I don’t have a problem with that. But the Bundy clan evidently doesn’t under- stand that it’s hard to have it both ways. Particularly when you’re on the front page of the Washington Post.
Also, an armed takeover of a federal facility is, well, against the law. Sure, no one’s been hurt and it’s a ways out of town, but that doesn’t make it legal or e ective. If the Bundy clan wants to protest the government’s actions in the Hammond matter, ne. March in the streets, make a viral video, start a Facebook campaign. But don’t brandish your weapons, take over a bird ref- uge, send out calls for food and clothing, and expect to look like anything other than heavily armed losers.
Most rural and small town Americans that I know want a federal government that works fairly and e - ciently. The Bundy clan is an impediment to that objec- tive. Maybe that’s why Harney County Sheri David Ward got a standing ovation when he said, “Go home, work your di erences with whoever through proper channels.” Hopefully that will have happened by the time you read this. But if not, listen to the sheri . And stop embarrassing us.
S I WRITE THIS, ARMED MEN (I WILL CALL them the Bundy clan) have taken over a fed-
eral facility in rural Oregon. According to news reports, they are going to continue their armed occupa- tion until the “the Hammonds are freed and the federal government gives up control of the Malheur National Forest.”
The Hammonds they refer to are the farmers sen- tenced to jail for res that spread to federal land nearby. The Malheur National Forest is a bird sanctuary; now it’s also the site of an embarrassing episode for rural and small town America.
It’s bad enough that rural and small town America is regularly thought of and depicted as dismal, shrinking, and overly problematic. The mainstream media regu- larly refers to those of us who choose to live in rural and small towns as hicks, rednecks, or worse.
Now this. Many of us out here work hard to ensure that the rest of America understands that like most Americans, we are complicated, diverse, hardwork- ing, patriotic, and hoping for a future that has plenty of opportunity for our unique smallville lifestyles. Why is that important? Because all of us depend on support from our more densely populated neighbors, just like they depend on us.
But embarrassments like this don’t help. The Bundy clan disapproves mightily of government, but is evi- dently happy to cash its checks. Agriculture and ranch- ing have been diminishing sources of employment in rural America for several decades now. The free mar- ket has spoken (which I would assume the Bundy
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JANUARY 13, 2016 // FLATHEADBEACON.COM