Complaint filed against property-rights group

Flathead County Commissioner Joe Brenneman filed a complaint with the state Commissioner of Political Practices on Friday, charging that the property rights group American Dream Montana misrepresented him and broke state law by what it said in a full-page advertisement in The Daily Inter Lake.

The Sept. 28 ad, paid for by American Dream Montana, shows Brenneman’s photo and an oversized statement that asserts Brenneman said property rights are “silly” during a Senate Local Government Committee hearing in 2007.

Brenneman, who is running for re-election on the Democratic ticket against Republican Pam Holmquist, alleges American Dream broke a state law that says “it is unlawful for a person to misrepresent a candidate’s public voting record or any other matter that is relevant to the issues of the campaign with knowledge that the assertion is false or with a reckless disregard of whether or not the assertion is false.”

Brenneman said he did testify before a subcommittee on House Bill 590, legislation that dealt with property rights, but what he actually said was “this bill is a silly bill, ill conceived, poorly written, and is looking for a solution… it’s a fix looking for a… there’s no problem that needs to be fixed. We have in the Montana Constitution all we need to protect property rights.”

Brenneman said it’s obvious his testimony was aimed specifically at the merits of passing HB 590.

It was the bill — not property rights themselves — that Brenneman felt was silly and unnecessary, he noted in a press release, calling American Dream Montana’s portrayal “an intentional and reckless disregard for the truth.”

He further alleged that American Dream should be filed as a political action committee with the Commissioner of Political Practices.

American Dream leader Russ Crowder said the complaint is “unfounded, but expected.”

He maintained the full-page display was not a political advertisement and that American Dream doesn’t have to file as a political action committee because it doesn’t qualify as one.

“We didn’t say who to vote for,” Crowder said. “The purpose of the ad was to get volunteers for a petition to rescind the county growth policy on the 2012 ballot.”

The ad urges prospective property-rights volunteers to “contact me at the polls in November,” though it doesn’t stipulate who “me” is.

In addition to a focus on Brenneman, the ad features a statement from a legal brief filed in court by the Flathead County Attorney’s Office that said “there is no actionable duty owed by [county planning director] Harris or other public employees to provide honest government services.”

The ad also mentions former Republican county Commissioner Gary Hall in a statement referring to disenfranchising residents of Whitefish’s planning “doughnut.”

It’s not the first time Crowder has taken Brenneman to task in newspaper ads. He and his group have published numerous full-page advertisements through the past several years, especially ripping into Brenneman and Hall on growth-related matters.

Brenneman, a fourth-generation Flathead resident, farms the same land his grandfather originally farmed.

“At no time have I ever personally or professionally believed or stated property rights are ‘silly,’” he said.

Brenneman noted in his press release that the Sept. 28 Inter Lake advertisement didn’t list its treasurer, “as required.”

According to the Commissioner of Political Practices office, however, a candidate’s campaign treasurer may be included in advertisements but is not required. Political committees such as political action committees must include the name of the committee treasurer and mailing address of the committee or its treasurer.

Features editor Lynnette Hintze may be reached at 758-4421 or by e-mail at lhintze@dailyinterlake.com