HELENA - As Gov. Brian Schweitzer looks back on his first year in office, he sees a resume any governor would kill for: a state treasury overflowing with cash, high approval ratings and frequent national publicity.
Montana's first Democratic governor since 1988 also lists a string of policy goals that he says he's delivered, from increasing public-school funding to wind power to new business prospects.
Even political opponents acknowledge that Schweitzer has shown impressive talent, both at building a positive image for himself and pushing proposals through the Legislature.
Yet as the new governor starts his second year, some still wonder if he's had it too easy - and whether he's more talk than action.
“(People) don't care about showmanship, about popularity,” says state Rep. Michael Lange of Billings, the House Republican floor leader. “They care about what are you going to do, and how, and when?
“I've always found (Schweitzer) to be personable; the guy's got a lot of energy. But I think it's time that he sits down and focuses more on policy that the state needs to get through.”
For example, the governor talks a lot about energy and coal development, but hasn't yet taken concrete steps toward making it a reality, Lange maintains.
Whether or not one believes Schweitzer is more flash than substance, his first-year record of moving policy initiatives through the Legislature is a good one, both last spring and during December's two-day special session.
His initiatives include the largest two-year increase in state funding for schools since 1991, a new college scholarship program for Montana students, a good raise in pay for state employees, eliminating the business equipment tax for 13,000 small businesses, requiring more wind power and other alternative energy development, beefing up health care and other programs for the needy and improving relationships with Montana's Indian tribes and nations.
And, as Schweitzer will tell you, it all happened without raising taxes.
“Most politicians say, when they're running for office, that they're not going to raise taxes,” he said. “I didn't say that. I said, ‘Look, when I get to Helena, when I look at the budget, we'll see what we can do.'
“I got here, I looked at the books and I said, ‘We can make it through this biennium without raising any taxes.' ”
Schweitzer's first year featured some other things he didn't emphasize during the 2004 campaign: a big, public push for coal development in eastern Montana, including a possible synthetic fuels plant, and an uncanny knack for attracting national attention to himself.
Schweitzer began talking up the synfuels idea last summer, promoting the use of Montana coal to manufacture diesel or other motor fuels that could help the country wean itself from foreign oil.
The synfuels pitch, as well as his status as a new Democratic governor who broke the Republicans' political hold on a rural Western state, have led to articles on Schweitzer in the New York Times, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal and other publications with nationwide readership.
Craig Wilson, a political scientist at Montana State University-Billings, calls Schweitzer an “activist governor” who's not afraid to stake out positions on controversial issues and take on foes big and small, including President Bush.
Early last year, Schweitzer criticized Bush for tying up too many National Guard members in Iraq, saying Guard members would be needed at home to help fight forest fires or respond to other natural disasters.
“Like any politician, anytime you take a position on issues, you please some people and you torque some people off,” Wilson says.
Schweitzer hasn't been shy about angering friends or foe.
In the yearlong school-funding debate, he resisted for months saying how much additional money or other proposals he'd support for the 2006 school year. He then came forward at the last minute with a $64 million proposal and, with the help of fellow Democrats, rammed it through the legislative special session in two days in mid-December.
“His involvement was unilateral and, some could argue, arbitrary,” says Jack Copps, executive director of the Montana Quality Education Coalition, whose lawsuit led to the court ruling that said state funding for schools is inadequate.
MEA-MFT, the union representing public school teachers, school employees and some government workers, supported the Schweitzer plan. Other parts of the education coalition that brought the lawsuit and wanted more money or more comprehensive plans weren't pleased.
“There should have been an effort to consider the other proposals that were announced,” Copps says. “Instead, he just simply froze all of those other considerations in time, and announced that this was it.”
His Revenue Department also promoted a bill aiming to crack down on tax cheats, such as those trying to escape reporting capital-gains income from the sale of businesses or property. The bill died before the Legislature.
Webb Brown, president of the Montana Chamber of Commerce, labels the Revenue Department “overly aggressive,” and says Schweitzer's revenue director, Dan Bucks, should do more to involve business lobbies in discussing the proposal.
“He (Bucks) says he'd rather meet with our members,” Brown says. “Our members can't get (to Helena) every month. That's what they pay us to do.”
Schweitzer also has opposed Republican proposals to cut taxes further, saying the state can't afford it right now.
As for the governor's claim to being a successful business promoter, Brown says it's “too early to tell. It's only one year.”
Schweitzer says he just wants to promote what will help the average Montanan get ahead, be that fair taxation, more jobs in rural areas or an affordable school-funding package.
And whatever his administration decides to do, Schweitzer says, it's important to do it openly. Schweitzer's “open door policy” at the Capitol is a literal one, as anyone can sit in on meetings at his office on the second floor of the building.
“There are no secret, backroom deals, and people across Montana can feel comfortable that we have transparent government,” he said.
While Schweitzer's office door may be open, Republican opponents say that doesn't mean he includes them much in the discussion.
Lange says Schweitzer has little rapport with most Republicans in the Legislature. State Republican Party Chairman Karl Ohs says the governor's facade of bipartisanship is a sham.
“In spite of what he says, I think he's an extremely partisan governor,” Ohs says. “From his board appointments to access for people who don't agree with him, he makes sure his way is the way things are. There's not a lot of compromise there.”
Ohs and Lange, like many Republicans, believe much of Schweitzer's success is just being in the right place at the right time.
Ohs, the lieutenant governor under Schweitzer's predecessor, Judy Martz, says the former administration left Schweitzer with a $300 million surplus and that a strong economy has kept revenue rolling in.
Democrats also grabbed majority control of the state Senate in 2005 for the first time in a decade, and the House is 50-50, giving Democrats a strong hand to move policy forward, they say.
“He's not had to make any real tough policy decisions,” Ohs says. “I think what we're enjoying are the fruits of past policy.”
When Schweitzer looks at Montana's state coffers, he says the largesse may be fleeting - and that it's not unique. States across the West and the country are in much better shape because of a rebounding economy, which he believes has little to do with Republican or Democratic policies.
Besides, Schweitzer argues, the important thing is what the state does with its money.
Under his watch, he says, the money will go increasingly for education, programs to help people in need and efforts to attract more investment to the state.
If Republicans or others don't like that approach, too bad, Schweitzer says - and the “activist governor” says he'll make sure the public knows about it.
“I'm willing to go out to folks' hometown and try to get the local newspapers or radio stations to understand that the person they sent to Helena is not representing their interests back home,” he said. “If folks back home think (their legislator) is working to accomplish the agenda that they elected me to do, and they're not, I think they need to hear about it.”
Coming Monday: A look at what Gov. Brian Schweitzer plans in 2006.
Schweitzer: what he said and what he did
By MIKE DENNISON Missoulian State Bureau
Here, one issue at a time, is a look at Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer's first year in office - the promises vs. the accomplishments:
School funding: Schweitzer supported an 11 percent, $120 million increase in ongoing state funds for public schools - the largest two-year increase since 1991. He also proposed and supported another $40 million one-time, lump-sum payment to schools, most of which goes for building maintenance, energy costs and Indian Education for All, a program to infuse the teaching of Indian culture throughout the public school curriculum.
Tax policy: Proposed and delivered a freeze of the property tax rate on business equipment at 3 percent, while eliminating the tax for businesses that own $20,000 worth of equipment or less. The latter move eliminated the tax for 13,000 small businesses.
Schweitzer also had promised to examine corporate taxation. He proposed changes to capture unpaid taxes on business and property sales. The proposal was killed by the Legislature, but Schweitzer vows to push for it again in 2007.
State budget: Schweitzer promised to balance the state budget without any tax increases. He accomplished that goal, thanks in part to huge revenue surpluses, and also increased overall government spending by more than $900 million in the current two-year period. The spending increase includes large chunks of federal and one-time funds. Thanks to better-than-expected income and oil-and-gas tax revenue, the state treasury is still projected to have a positive balance of $250 million by mid-2007.
State spending review: The Legislature did not approve Schweitzer's proposed independent panel to audit state spending and look for savings throughout government. The governor says he has instructed his agency directors to closely examine their budgets for possible savings.
Health care/prescription drugs: His administration helped enact and carry out the proposals of Initiative 149, which increased tobacco taxes to pay for prescription drug subsidies, higher Medicaid payments to health-care providers, tax credits to help small businesses provide employee health insurance, and expanding the Children's Health Insurance Program, or CHIP.
However, six months into the CHIP expansion, 2,000 of the funded slots remain unfilled. CHIP advocates say the Schweitzer administration should promote the program more aggressively.
Schweitzer also had promised to push for re-importation of prescription drugs from Canada and to expose pharmaceutical advertising costs. He's been less successful here, as the Legislature killed initiatives in this area.
Ethanol: Schweitzer supported a proposed mandate for ethanol-blended motor fuel in Montana, hoping to encourage grain-based ethanol production in the state. The Legislature passed a compromise proposal that says the mandate kicks in only after 40 million gallons of ethanol have been produced in Montana for at least three months. Several ethanol-production plants are on the drawing board, but none yet has gone forward.
Alternative energy: Schweitzer pushed for “renewable energy standards” that require public utilities to include minimum amounts of renewable energy, such as wind power, in the electricity they provide customers. The governor says the standards have helped create a boom in wind-power proposals for the state, with several on the drawing board. However, the state's first major wind-power project, which began producing this year, was largely in place before the standards took effect.
Economic development: Schweitzer promised to recruit businesses to Montana, and says his administration has helped on several projects, such as a new DirecTV office in Missoula, a biodiesel plant in Culbertson and a manufacturing plant in Conrad. He counts his accomplishments on ethanol and alternative energy as economic development as well.
Country of origin labeling: He supported the bill that requires “country of origin” labeling for nearly all meat products sold commercially in Montana, effective Oct. 1 this year.
Ethics bill: The Legislature killed Schweitzer's proposal to toughen state ethics laws for public officials, including a new ban on legislators becoming lobbyists for two years after they leave office. He wants to put the proposal on the 2006 ballot as a voter initiative.
University system: Schweitzer proposed, and the Legislature enacted, a new scholarship program for Montana students attending state colleges and universities. About 500 students are eligible for scholarships of up to $2,000 a year.
He also had promised to make two-year colleges more affordable, through public-private partnerships and other steps, and to encourage establishment of $10 million endowments so state schools can offer more scholarships. He has yet to deliver on the latter proposals.
Home-heating assistance: Schweitzer proposed $10 million in home-heating assistance funds for poor households this winter and next, but the Legislature approved only $1 million of the funding. Last week, the governor used his “emergency” powers to set aside another $2.5 million this winter for home-heating assistance.
|
 |
 |
Add your comment now! Write your comment in the form below.
(Email address is for verification only. If you'd like to email a story, look for the link above)