Three tangle in lively Senate campaign

There's a three-way Republican primary race to succeed outgoing Senate Minority Leader Bob Keenan in Senate District 5.

It includes Rep. Verdell Jackson, R-Kalispell, who cannot seek re-election in the House because of term limits; retired military officer Don Loranger; and Dan Griffin, also a retired military man from Ferndale.

The winner will go on to face Democrat Ric Smith in the November general election.

There have been fireworks in the race between the campaigns of Jackson and Loranger.

It started with prickly letters to the editor challenging Jackson's legitimacy as a candidate to represent the Bigfork area since Jackson, a lower valley resident, has been representing the west Flathead Valley in the Montana House for the last eight years.

One such letter came with a "carpetbagging" headline and another flatly stated that Jackson lives outside Senate District 5.

That's not the case - Jackson lives well within the district boundaries. The irony is that he has lived outside the House district that he's represented the last eight years.

"I've spent eight years representing West Valley. It's never been an issue before. Nobody cared," Jackson said.

"In my own mind, it's not an issue because my work as a state representative is to do the best thing for the state, for the county and for my district," Jackson says. "Where I live doesn't affect how I treat people."

Jackson pointed out that Loranger is relatively new to the Bigfork area.

"I have indicated that he has moved between Arizona and Bigfork for the last three years," Jackson said.

That assertion infuriates Loranger, a career military man who was raised in Havre.

"I graduated from high school 30 years before Verdell ever came to Montana," he said. "I bleed Montana."

Jackson was later challenged, in another letter to the editor, over his vote in support of legislation that established fees to pay for water rights adjudication.

But Jackson responded that that vote came after the failure of Republican legislation that would have paid for the complicated adjudication process without charging fees.

Jackson says his basic political views are what they were when he was first elected in 1998.

"I've got a platform and it's pretty much the same as it was eight years ago - to protect people's freedom and their wallet," Jackson said.

Water-rights issues are among Jackson's particular interests, along with budget matters, especially as they relate to school funding.

"To be effective, you have to know the law," Jackson says, adding that he has studied Montana water law extensively, to a point where he is now an "expert" on the subject.

Jackson has been one of the most forceful advocates for addressing the state's long-running failure to prioritize and formalize water rights.

He's also pointed out the potential for corporate interests, particularly those in charge of hydroelectric dams, to make water claims that affect Montana citizens.

Jackson says he's also interested in continuing Republican tax reform measures started in the 1990s. Those include abolishing the business equipment tax that has been reduced over the last decade, and providing property tax relief.

"Any surplus, after the budget is funded, should be returned as property tax relief," he said.

While school districts and educators have focused on the shrinking

share of school funding provided by state government, Jackson has published budget information showing the complete school funding picture: Increased state funding from one biennium to the next, along with increased total funding from other sources such as the federal government.

Jackson acknowledges that the Legislature's piece of the school funding pie did shrink, and that the share provided by local property taxes has increased. And that's how it should be, according to Jackson.

"I think it should be a local investment that's significant so that people are involved in these levies," he said. "That's where the accountability is. There is no accountability at the state level."

He says schools should be less encumbered with state and federal standards that often hinder efficiencies that would improve classroom education.

"Schools should be more efficient," he said. "We should have one school district in Flathead County rather than 23."

There can still be multiple school boards, he suggests, but there should be a centralized administration. And there should even be a standard pay scale for teachers across the county. Paying teachers at rural schools the same as teachers in Whitefish or Kalispell would cost more, Jackson says, but that's all right.

"I think teachers should be paid even more," he said.

Loranger said his 30-year Air Force background, which included commanding three bases as a major general, provides him with experience in effective problem-solving.

"I just think there's a lot of challenges in this state and I have the experience and the background to do this," he said. "There's lots of extremes in politics but there's not much running from extremes to find solutions."

Loranger said he believes in traditional Republican ideals such as "smaller government is better government."

He also has an interest in promoting economic development, but doing so in a manner that "preserves the special character" of the Flathead Valley.

"I think we need to make absolutely sure we protect our water quality," he said, predicting that degraded water quality in the Flathead Basin will lead to economic consequences.

Loranger, who chairs a land-use panel called the Bigfork Steering Committee, said property rights are critical, but in times of rapid growth and development, "there are also community rights" that need to be observed.

Loranger has a view of education funding that is strikingly different from Jackson's - "I believe education is a fundamental responsibility of state government, period."

But like Jackson, he believes that Montana's education system, with more than 400 school districts, could be more efficient.

"The Legislature has to insist that the money is being spent in the most efficient way possible," he said.

The state is projected to realize a budget surplus next year of more than $300 million, but Loranger says it's not actually a surplus because of obligations to state pension funds that must be met.

He believes that water-rights holders shouldn't be charged fees to pay for water-rights adjudication. Because adjudication has yet to sort out the state's water-rights records, thousands of bills have been sent to the wrong people.

"Government is supposed to make it easier rather than harder" for average citizens, he said.

Loranger also favors doing away with the 3 percent business equipment tax and lowering the state's workers compensation rates to be more competitive with other states.

Griffin stakes his claim in the race as being the most conservative candidate.

"I'm very conservative," he said. "My philosophy is doing right by all and to fear nothing, and I believe in God and the Constitution."

With a varied background ranging from being a criminal investigator for the Army to running a series of businesses, Griffin staunchly advocates less government and opposes new taxes.

"We've got too much government as it is," he said.

The fee system that was adopted to pay for water-rights adjudication amounts to a tax that he firmly opposes, and he supports a complete freeze on property tax values.

Griffin said Montana's frequent financial troubles could be put to rest with more aggressive use of natural resources, particularly the development of coal resources in Eastern Montana along with an infrastructure to deliver energy to buyers outside the state.

"I think that is our ace in the hole," said Griffin, who believes Montana's tax structure could be reshaped to resemble that of resource-rich Wyoming.

An expanded reliance on resource taxes, Griffin said, will result in improved economies and infrastructure for the state's rural areas. The state will be able to better meet infrastructure needs in Western Montana as well.

Griffin foresees a time when Montana 35 will need to be expanded and improved to accommodate increased traffic - he advocates a new highway through tribal and national forest lands east of the current route along Flathead Lake.

Like Jackson, Griffin advocates consolidation in the state's education system, but says that state government needs to provide incentives to make that happen.

Griffin is frustrated with the perennial budget problems declared by educators and sees natural resource development as the remedy for that as well.

"Finding a different revenue source, a better one, I see that as the only way out."

While there may be environmental concerns about developing resources, Griffin says those concerns can be adequately addressed.

"We're not going to be like we were in the 1950s," he says. "We can have clean air and clean water and still make use of our resources."

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