Tag Archives: Montana Commissioner of Political Practices

Caught My Eye…

There you are – you made it through this long week and Friday is well underway – Congratulations!  So now you deserve to take a few minutes of your time to enjoy another exciting edition of Caught My Eye.

Caught My Eye is my weekly column where I take a brief look at some of the stories I did not have time to write about during the week – and often offer some commentary.

Today I take a look at defense/military news, how we are getting debated to death, the political practices job opening, a couple birthdays, Jeopardy, I share some e-mails from my political inbox, I celebrate a milestone on Twitter, and much more!

Continue reading →

MT Political Practices: Fair and Impartial?

I’ve written several columns about the Montana Commissioner of Political Practices over the past few years, so today when I read that “Political practices commissioner donated to Bullock campaign in 2009” after he had made a recent ruling in favor of Attorney General Steve Bullock, I just shook my head.

The new State Political Practices Commissioner Dave Gallik was asked why he did not recuse himself given the fact that he donated to Bullock’s campaign.  He said, “I don’t believe I need to recuse myself.”

That’s pretty messed up – and that’s putting it mildly. The office of the Commissioner of Political Practices for Montana reminds me of the referees used for Harlem Globetrotters basketball games. Continue reading →

MT Political Practices Commissioner: No Confirmation

I was only slightly happy to read that the Governor’s nomination for Commissioner of Political Practices will die in committee without a vote.

Supposedly if there had been a vote, the Governor’s nominee (Jennifer Hensley) would not have been confirmed. She would not be able to stay in the position, either.

Now without an up or down vote she can stay in the position until Schweitzer’s term is up (January 2013) or he can appoint someone else. This session of the Montana Legislature only has a few days left and meets every two years.

In my opinion, the (Montana) Senate Judiciary Committee members are a bunch of wimps for not holding the vote and moving on. It’s shameful, but that has been the norm for this legislative session. Continue reading →

Dirty Rotten Campaigning

If you’re a regular reader of The Western Word you know that I have offered my commentary about the automated phone calls (Robocalls) conducted during campaigns. I don’t care for them.

They are also against Montana law (MCA 45-8-216).

According to the Associated Press (AP), the Montana Commissioner of Political Practices “ruled last month that Citizens for Strong Law Enforcement should be penalized for thousands of automated phone calls to voters…”

88,400 calls…made way back in mid 2008. I believe I received one of those calls. The harm and the pain, not to mention the valuable time it cost me, is worth about a half a million… Continue reading →

MT Political Practices: Perception…

Montana Governor Brian Schweitzer (D) nominated Jennifer Hensley of Butte to be the next Commissioner of Political Practices.

Previously I wrote about the Commissioner’s job HERE and HERE.

Before I get started, I don’t know Jennifer Hensley from Jennifer Aniston.

In my December 15, 2010, column I wrote, “…any person who’s chosen for the position and who has been on one side of the political fence or the other will just cause problems for the office.”

It was reported that Hensley worked for U.S. Senator Jon Tester (D) and that she is married to State Senator Steve Gallus (D). As an olive branch to the Governor, it was reported that Hensley said her husband would not be running for elected office as long as she holds this job (he is currently term-limited). Continue reading →