While Democratic Gov. Brian Schweitzer and Republican state Sen. Roy Brown have proposed fairly conventional ideas, Jones' platform likely will raise some eyebrows.
As governor, Jones said he would issue pardons to release all drug offenders incarcerated in the Montana prison system.
This will be Jones' fifth attempt for statewide office since 2000 on the Libertarian ticket and his third run for governor. He's also run twice for the U.S. Senate.
He usually draws 7,500 to 10,500 votes in general elections, good for 2 percent to 3 percent of the total, after raising little or no money.
“I've spent about $4,000 of my own money (this year) and raised $850 through yesterday,” he said Monday.
Still, Jones said he believes it's important to offer the Libertarian Party alternative to the two major parties.
“I think people better get used to the fact that we're losing our constitutional republic,” Jones said. “The Democrats and the Republicans have abandoned the Constitution and violated our laws. We are becoming a socialist democracy. Democracies have always evolved into anarchy and chaos.”
At debates, Jones has said there's “not a dime's worth of difference” between Democrats and Republicans and Schweitzer and Brown. He sometimes refers to the two parties as “Republicrats and Democans.”
Retired after a career in business and consulting Jones, 69, lives in Bozeman.
If elected, Jones said he would:
- Pardon drug offenders. Jones said it's time to end the war on drugs and release prisoners incarcerated for drug-related offenses.
“I think America has become a police state,” he said. “One of 99 of our people is in prison. That's the highest incarceration rate in the world. One of the reasons is the war on drugs.”
Jones called it “ridiculous” that people caught possessing illegal drugs get longer sentences than sex offenders. Nearly 23 percent of Montana prison inmates are there for drug-related offenses, Jones said.
“I would review all of the nonviolent, victimless crimes, and I would pardon those that I possibly could pardon,” he said. “That would reduce the spending in the Montana budget considerably.”
The state Corrections Department estimates it costs $29,200 to house a female inmate annually and $27,740 for a male convict at their respective state prisons.
Jones made it clear he doesn't endorse using illegal drugs, which he called “a horrible thing” to do. He said he doesn't use either illegal drugs or alcoholic beverages.
- Replace all Montana taxes with a sales tax. Jones believes Montana's tax system is far too complicated, with too many state taxes that punish business.
He would ask the Legislature to throw out Montana's entire income, property and business tax system and replace it with a state, county and city combined sales tax on all goods and services. He estimates it would be in the 12 percent to 15 percent range.
- End enforcement of all gun laws in Montana.
These laws violate the U.S. Constitution, which says in the Second Amendment that the right to carry a gun shall not be infringed upon, he said.
As governor, Jones said he would issue an executive order saying none of Montana's gun laws is enforceable. He also would notify the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms that its agents would not be welcome here.
- Reject any subsidies to alternative energy projects. He believes agricultural land should stay in food production and not be used for wind or solar power farms or to produce biofuels.
“One acre of land produces a net of 50 gallons a year of biofuels,” Jones said. “That's ridiculous. That's not sustainable. We would have to clear a bunch of forests or give up a bunch of food-producing land.”
Montana can already provide clean coal-produced energy because the technology exists to remove the sulfur dioxide and other harmful gases, he said.
He also favors building nuclear power plants in Montana and elsewhere, calling them “the most efficient, cleanest and least costly energy.”
Jones called the idea that global warming is human-caused “one of the biggest misconceptions ever perpetrated on the American people and the people of the world.”
There is global warming, but it's naturally occurring, Jones said.
Stan Jones
Office sought: Governor
Office salary: $100,120
Political party: Libertarian
Age: 69
Birth date, place: Jan. 13, 1939, in Bozeman
Home: Bozeman
Occupation: Retired
Family: Divorced, no children
Education: Graduate of Gallatin County High School, 1956; bachelor's degree in general science from what was then Montana State College, 1961; master's degree in business from Arizona State University, 1970.
Past employment: Worked in Iran as contract manager and general manager for Telemedia Inc., a Chicago company, teaching English as a second language to members of Iran's military, 1974-76; worked in contracts department of Telemedia in Chicago, 1977; started and ran business management consulting business in Seattle, 1977-81; worked as director of project management for Tacoma Boat Building Co., 1981-83; worked for Bellevue, Wash., consulting firm, 1983-85, bought out by Price Waterhouse, 1985-87; opened his own consulting business in Seattle area in 1987 and ran it until moving back to Bozeman in 1998.
Military: Served as active duty in the U.S. Air Force, 1961-74, retiring as a major. After retiring from active duty, Jones picked up a reserve commission and served in the Air Force Reserves until 1989, retiring as a lieutenant colonel.
Political experience: Lost races as a Libertarian candidate for governor in 2000 and 2004 and for U.S. Senate in 2002 and 2006.
Campaign Web site: stanjonesforgovernor.com
Key endorsements: Libertarian Party
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