Mercer's farewell may not be final

John Mercer's resignation from the Board of Regents last week came with a parting shot at Gov. Schweitzer to take a more active role in higher education.

The governor will have that chance quickly when he appoints a replacement for Mercer. We hope that the next regent will be an outspoken advocate for quality education, as Mercer was, and will help the regents develop an innovative funding formula that will allow the university system to not just survive, but thrive.

Mercer may have gone too far in his criticism of the governor, but if his intention was to bring attention to the funding needs of higher education, he succeeded.

And we don't think this is the last we will have heard of John Mercer, a Polson attorney who served four terms as speaker of the House.

Indeed, it is curious that his resignation came just two weeks before the March 23 filing deadline for the June primary. He could seek to return to the Montana Legislature, or he could even be thinking about a race for the U.S. Senate.

Sen. Conrad Burns, who is up for re-election this year, has been mightily distracted by allegations regarding his relationship with lobbyist Jack Abramoff. Abramoff has said he will "name names" at his March 29 corruption sentencing, and the GOP would probably be wise to have another horse in the race in case Burns stumbles then or later.

SPEAKING OF that March 23 filing deadline for candidates, it's coming up next Thursday.

So far, there's an impressive turnout of candidates for most county government and legislative offices. The election slate appears full in many races (it's overflowing when you consider there are nine people running for county commissioner), although there are a handful of unopposed candidates.

For those seeking public service closer to home, next Thursday also is the filing deadline for school board elections across the valley.

THE FLATHEAD Valley Community College Honors Symposium this year will delve into America's debate over church and state, a topic that's both timely and long-standing.

It's been more than two centuries since Thomas Jefferson's "wall of separation between church and state" metaphor became part of our collective lexicon, and not a day goes by that the subject isn't broached in some fashion somewhere in America.

The Flathead Valley is fortunate to have forums such as the FVCC Honors Symposium through which meaningful exchanges of ideas can occur. This series, which began last night and continues until May 4, will explore the role of religion in public life by sharing historical, legal, political and social commentary from both conservative and liberal viewpoints.

Let the discussions begin.