Page 14 - Flathead Beacon // 5.20.2015

14 | MAY 20, 2015 NEWS FLATHEADBEACON.COM
Ethics Commissioner: Libby Mayor, City Council Violated Election Laws
Commissioner of Political Practices says council and mayor violated election laws when lawsuit was filed against Councilmen Allen Olsen
By JUSTIN FRANZ of the Beacon
The mayor of Libby and its city coun- cil violated Montana law in the days be- fore the 2013 election, according to a new report from the Montana Commis- sioner 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 alleg- ing 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 undis- closed use of public resources for the express advocacy purpose of opposing the election of Mayoral candidate Ol- sen,” Motl wrote.
Just days before the 2013 election, Reintsma filed the lawsuit and an in- junction against Olsen in hopes of delay- ing the mayoral race.
The request was overruled and the mayoral race went forward. In Au- gust 2014, attorneys representing the city and Olsen faced off in court to de- termine if Olsen lived in Libby. Judge James Wheelis eventually determined that Olsen did live in Libby and thus could hold office.
Less than a month after the trial, for- mer city council candidate Arlen Magill filed a complaint against the city attor- ney. Reintsma has since left Libby after taking a new job in Oregon.
In his complaint, Magill argued
that Reintsma broke Montana Code Annotated 13-35-218, which prohibits someone from trying to prevent some- one from voting for the candidate of his or her choice.
On May 12, Olsen called for Roll’s resignation and said he was not sur- prised 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 sin- gle one of them.”
Roll, however, was surprised at the outcome, especially because Magill’s original complaint was filed against Re- intsma, not against Roll or the council.
“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 Reints- ma to file a lawsuit against Olsen in the days before the election.
The report from the ethics commis- sioner has been sent to the Lincoln Coun- ty District Attorney who has 30 days to
decide to file any charges against anyone in the case. If he decides not to file crimi- nal charges, the case will be sent back to the political practices office and a civil lawsuit could be brought against Rein- tsma, the mayor or the city council.
Olsen and the rest of the city council, especially Roll, have had a troubled rela- tionship 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 ga- rage. 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 Sep- tember 2013, City Attorney Reintsma threatened Olsen with censure after he continued to criticize the work of a lo- cal water irrigation company during city council meetings. Olsen’s tree nursery does water work.
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