After intense campaign, Brown heads for Missoula

For Bob Brown, the 2004 gubernatorial campaign was both exhausting and rewarding.

And it ended with Democrat Brian Schweitzer defeating Brown, the Republican candidate, by 20,000 votes.

Brown recalled an "almost indescribably demanding" year and talked about his future in a recent interview from his Helena office.

"I think some people are stimulated by political campaigning. I like people, but I like to be able to visit with people and talk to them at more length than a political campaign allows," Brown said. "So to me, a political campaign is very taxing and very tiring. It takes a lot of travel and a lot of interaction with people that's kind of superficial.

"So it took a toll on me," he confesses.

A combination of factors made the race daunting for Brown, who is concluding his four-year term as Montana's secretary of state this week. His campaign got under way in July 2003 and continued for 15 months with an increasingly demanding schedule along the way.

Unlike Schweitzer, Brown faced the immediate challenge of raising money for a primary campaign against three other Republicans, a race that Brown won in June.

"In addition to having my family in Whitefish and a job to do in Helena, I had to go through another campaign and raise the money for it all over again," Brown said.

He recalled debating his Schweitzer and his other opponents a total of 12 times, along with countless campaign stops and interviews.

"I had run for statewide office before, but the intensity of running for secretary of state isn't the same as running for governor," he said.

But it was rewarding, Brown added, mostly because of the people he met and the things he learned along the way.

"I made a lot of new friends and I was able to reconnect with a lot of old friends," he said.

In addition to being secretary of state, Brown served 27 years in the Montana Legislature, a tenure that ended with him being elected president of the state Senate. His political experience and his years as a school teacher combined to give a good understanding of tourism, forest products, railroads and transportation, tax policy, history and many other subjects.

But Brown said there are still many things to learn about, and he did pick up on some during the campaign. His background did not, for instance, put him in a position to learn a lot about agricultural issues. By the end of the campaign, he said, he had learned quite a bit about ag issues.

"I learned from my conversations," he said. "When you don't know, ask. And I always ask."

The combined pressures of the campaign built to a crescendo in the fall.

"What I remember most poignantly was how deeply tired I was during the last month or six weeks of the campaign," he said. "I was running on fumes … But you can't let up then. It's more important than ever than you run as hard as you can during that final stretch."

Brown reflected on his reasons for running for governor in the first place.

"I didn't do this because I was ego-driven and I needed to run," he said. "I did it because I thought I should step forward. I had been approached by numerous people … who felt I was the Republican who had the best chance of winning.

"I stepped forward because I felt I had a duty to my party to provide a qualified candidate with a good chance of winning," he said. "I think if I had been motivated by some inner ambition, that would have given me more energy for the campaign."

Now, Brown is turning to the future with optimism and a new job.

On Wednesday, the University of Montana announced that Brown will be a senior fellow at the O'Connor Center for the Rocky Mountain West. It is the same type of position held by former Montana Congressman Pat Williams, a Democrat.

"I'll be doing some teaching, a fair amount of research, some writing and perhaps some public speaking," said Brown, who previously worked as director of the university's extension office at Flathead Valley Community College.

University President George Dennison and Dan Kemmis, the center's director, had high praise for Brown.

"Bob will be a real asset to the university in many ways," Dennison said.

"Bob Brown has many years of experience with public policy here in Montana," Kemmis said. "I came to know and respect Bob when we served together in the Montana Legislature in the 1970s and 1980s and I look forward to working with him again."

The O'Connor center focuses on public policy and economic and cultural issues in the Rocky Mountain region.

Brown said he's looking forward to his new job.

"I enjoy people. I enjoy new ideas, and searching for the solutions to problems and the Center for the Rocky Mountain West is about all of those things," he said. "I hope to continue making a meaningful contribution to public policy, and I look forward to returning to the university community."

Brown plans to sell his condominium in Helena and buy another in Missoula. He will continue to commute to his home in Whitefish, and his wife, Sue, will continue her work as an English teacher at Flathead High School.

Reporter Jim Mann may be reached at 758-4407 or by e-mail at jmann@dailyinterlake.com