Furey, 24, who resigned his seat last fall because he had moved to Helena, is one of several Democratic lawmakers or former lawmakers to land jobs with the Schweitzer administration.
Furey was among six people who applied for the job late last year and one of two finalists, said Marty Tuttle, administrator of the recently created Energy Infrastructure and Promotion Division.
Furey said Thursday his job involves meeting with oil, gas, coal, wind and other energy developers who have an interest in Montana and members of local communities about possible projects.
“It means contacting communities, trying to get support from communities, and helping developers through the process,” he said.
Furey has a bachelor's degree in political science and environmental studies from the University of Montana and is working on a master's degree in public administration.
“My education is really good for this job, because it's a mix of natural resource issues and the politics of getting the community buy-in (for development),” he said.
Furey also is a lieutenant in the Army Reserves and served nine months in Iraq in 2003 as part of a Movement Control Division, helping transport supplies from Kuwait into northern Iraq.
He represented House District 91 from 2005 until resigning last fall. The district covers southeastern Missoula County, including Bonner and Clinton. His father, Tim, has been appointed as his successor.
Other Democratic legislators who've found jobs in the executive branch in the past two years include Sen. Sam Kitzenberg of Glasgow, as a Revenue Department spokesman; Sen. Mike Cooney of Helena, as administrator of the state Business Standards Division; and Rep. Eve Franklin of Great Falls, as the state mental health ombudsman.
Franklin resigned her legislative seat; Cooney is still a senator; Kitzenberg is running for state superintendent of schools this year.
Kitzenberg was a Republican when he took the state job in 2006 and switched parties before the 2007 Legislature.
Furey said he didn't get hired because of political connections, and that he had applied for numerous other state jobs before getting this one. “This was the only one that I was even offered,” he said.
Furey is married to Sarah Elliott, who is communications director for Gov. Brian Schweitzer.
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