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UNCOMMON GROUND MIKE JOPEK CHOICE ON THE BALLOT
GUEST COLUMN NELS SWANDAL & ROBIN JACKSON DELETION OF BULLOCK’S STATE
IF WE CHOOSE TO SIT OUT THE election citing distaste for national politicking, there’s a strong likelihood that Republicans gain control of our state land board. The Board of Land Commis- sioners manages 5.2 million acres of our state public lands for the bene t of public education.
Three of the ve members on the pub- lic lands commission are running for another term on the board. Gov. Steve Bullock, Attorney General Tim Fox and Auditor Monica Lindeen seek to continue managing our state public lands.
When it comes to protecting our state public lands, keeping timber and agricul- ture moving or generating big amounts of revenue for our public schools, this bipar- tisan team got it done.
State lands generated over $109 mil- lion last year while increasing the state public lands permanent fund to nearly $615 million. That’s great news for public schools and timber workers who last year harvested 53 million board feet of timber from our state public lands. The vast bulk of this timber harvest is from the north- west portion of our state, in places like the Flathead.
Bullock, Fox and Lindeen o er reli- able support of the public lands conser- vation and recreation projects surround- ing White sh. They’ve found perma- nent solutions for Kalispell redevelop- ment projects like the Kidsports center across from Flathead Valley Community College.
If voters enjoy the new recreation and conservation opportunities occurring throughout the Flathead in places like Bigfork or the north shore of the lake, give thanks to those making it happen. That’s people like Bullock, Fox, and Lindeen.
More locally and in the north valley, is political newcomer Melissa Hartman who seeks the open seat replacing retir- ing state Sen. Bruce Tutvedt. Hartman is one hard worker with a focus of kids, the local economy, and community. She’s smart and works well with others.
White sh voters won’t nd a more inspirational candidate than Hartman,
who says that good governance can make a di erence in people’s lives.
If White sh voters stay home next month or choose not to return today’s mail-in ballots Hartman’s opponent, Rep. Keith Regier, will become the next state senator representing White sh.
During my time in Helena, I served with Regier. Regier, over my fervent oppo- sition, helped pass a property tax reap- praisal law that yielded big tax bills for Flathead homeowners. Regier opposed each of those conservation and recreation e orts that Sen. Dan Weinberg brought forward to protect the public lands sur- rounding our towns.
More recently Regier successfully led the House majority to oppose the nal statewide infrastructure bill and unsuc- cessfully tried to block healthcare for people earning minimum wage.
Regier says he wants to eliminate the ability of municipalities like Kalispell to permit concealed weapons and a mini- mum wage increase for places like White- sh is a burden.
Even after all my years of observing and serving in politics, I still believe that government can be good. Local and state government o ers the best promise and is as good as the people voters choose to elect.
It’s easy to be cynical about politics. I get that; many aren’t overtly enthused about the top of the ticket options. For me, that’s a cheap excuse not to vote.
If we as Montanans value equality, fairness, and justice or if we simply seek better days ahead, then those choices are on todays’ ballot, just down ticket.
People like Bullock, Fox and Lindeen have proven themselves as worthy stew- ards of public lands. Recall, not too long ago, the Judy Martz administration came to White sh indicating it wanted to dis- pose of some of the best state public lands surrounding town.
Melissa Hartman o ers a refresh- ing opportunity for White sh voters to work on things that matter in our every- day lives. Yet she cannot serve unless we turnout and vote.
MEMAILS RAISES SERIOUS QUESTIONS ONTANANS EXPECT THEIR Blaming DoA policy is like blaming
“PEOPLE LIKE BULLOCK, FOX AND LINDEEN HAVE PROVEN THEMSELVES AS WORTHY STEWARDS OF PUBLIC LANDS.”
Mike (Uncommon Ground) Jopek and Dave (Closing Range) Skinner often fall on opposite sides of the fence when it comes to political and outdoor issues. Their columns alternate each week in the Flathead Beacon.
“INSTEAD OF PROMOTING AN INCORRECT INTERPRETATION OF RECORD RETENTION LAWS, BULLOCK SHOULD ACKNOWLEDGE HIS MISTAKE.”
Nels Swandal served as District Judge for the Sixth Judicial District from 1995- 2012 and currently represents District 30 in the State Senate. Robin Jackson is a founding partner of Helena-based WT Forensics and a winner of the U.S. Department of Defense Cyber Crime Center Forensics Competition.
top law enforcement o cer Google for deleting valuable informa- not only to enforce the law, but tion in your Gmail because you can-
to follow the law. That’s why Gov. Steve Bullock’s mishandling of state emails as attorney general is so disheartening.
Recent reports reveal that, follow- ing his election as governor, every email from Bullock’s four years as AG was deleted. All emails of his senior appointed sta were deleted. The email accounts were wiped clean.
State law de nes most state emails as “public records.” Montana Code requires preservation of public records. Many are to be preserved even after the o cial leaves o ce. The law requires state employees to pass records, includ- ing emails, on to their successors.
These laws ful ll Article II Section 9 of our Montana Constitution. “No person shall be deprived of the right to examine documents or to observe the deliberations of all public bodies or agencies of state government and its subdivisions, except in cases in which the demand of individual privacy clearly exceeds the merits of public disclosure.”’
As lifelong Montanans, we are proud of the “sunshine” provisions in our con- stitution, designed to keep the inner working of our government open to our citizens.
Unfortunately, Bullock’s failure to preserve emails casts a pall over his ten- ure as AG. His digital “public record” no longer exists.
The Bullock Administration’s response, that this is “normal proce- dure,” is technically accurate in describ- ing the Department of Administration’s operations. However, the DoA, as the provider of IT services, only provides infrastructure for delivering, storing and sending email. DoA is not respon- sible for assessing which emails are “public records” and how those public records should be preserved.
celled your account. You are responsi- ble for saving your information before you cancel. Google doesn’t know what is important and what isn’t, that is your responsibility.
While it may be normal procedure for DoA to delete email accounts, then-AG Bullock and his sta had a legal obli- gation to preserve email they sent or received according to State records retention policies and Montana law.
Deleting these emails is more than an abstract political issue. It is a real prob- lem with real consequences, impairing all Montanans’ ability to exercise our constitutional right to “examine docu- ments or to observe the deliberations of all public bodies or agencies of state gov- ernment.” This right protects our abil- ity to question or appeal state agency actions that a ect us or our loved ones.
Bullock and his sta are not the rst government employees to ignore the rules for o cial government email. Mon- tana’s attorney general should maintain a higher ethical standard, however, and respect the obligation to preserve the public record for the public good. The Bullock administration’s false narrative, that deleting emails without preserving public records is “normal procedure,” is not only wrong but also encourages sim- ilar behavior by other state employees.
The problem needs to be addressed, not dismissed.
Instead of promoting an incorrect interpretation of record retention laws, Bullock should acknowledge his mis- take. As governor, he needs to ensure that each agency fully complies with the statutory obligation to preserve pub- lic records, regardless of the medium or some arbitrary storage limitations set by DoA.
OCTOBER 26, 2016 // FLATHEADBEACON.COM
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