State GOP vice chair says she's neutral on water compact

A letter released Monday and purportedly signed by 18 Montana state lawmakers blasted a fellow Republican, U.S. Sen. Steve Daines, for backing a historic water-rights settlement with the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes. The letter called Daines' sponsorship of the Montana Water Rights Protection Act "a clear betrayal of our state and of President Trump."

Now one of those lawmakers, state Rep. Lola Sheldon-Galloway, who is also vice chairwoman of the Montana Republican Party, says she never consented to have her name affixed to the letter and doesn't take a firm stance on the water compact, which Trump signed into law on Sunday.

The mix-up, which ruffled feathers within the Montana GOP the week before the legislative session is set to begin, involved miscommunication between an assistant to House Majority Leader Brad Tschida and Sheldon-Galloway's husband, incoming first-term state Rep. Steve Galloway.

"The letter and release were sent by a former legislative staffer who acted carelessly and without my approval," Sheldon-Galloway said in a statement Wednesday, noting party officials unanimously endorsed Daines for re-election.

The letter criticizing Daines was sent to news outlets Monday by Tschida's assistant, Drew Zinecker. The list of signatories included Tschida and 17 other current and incoming state lawmakers, including Sheldon-Galloway and her husband, who represent Great Falls.

On Wednesday, Galloway said he had given Tschida's office approval to add his name to the letter. Galloway argued the water compact should have received a vote in Congress as a standalone piece of legislation; instead it was tucked into a massive $2.3 trillion spending bill along with a COVID-19 relief package and other items.

Galloway, however, was not speaking for his wife, who has served in the Legislature since 2017.

"My husband knows better than to speak for me. We've been married almost 40 years. You know, you learn that early on," Sheldon-Galloway quipped in a phone call. She said she wasn't involved in any discussions about the letter before it was distributed.

Zinecker and Tschida corroborated that account and said it was a mistake to include Sheldon-Galloway's name on the letter.

"Long story short, her name should not have been used," Tschida said.

Zinecker worked as the communications director for Montana's Public Service Commission until early this year, when he was accused of leaking emails to a rightwing website that portrayed one of the commissioners as dangerous. Tschida said he examined "both sides" of that story and trusts Zinecker, who also worked on the gubernatorial campaign of state Sen. Al Olszewski, R-Kalispell.

Tschida said he was not aware of any other miscommunication regarding the names attached to his letter. The list of signatories included eight current or incoming lawmakers from the Flathead Valley, several of whom have been vocal opponents of the CSKT water compact, arguing it cedes too much of the state's water supply to the tribes.

The agreement that Trump signed, however, has been hailed as a bipartisan achievement and praised by several farming, ranching and conservation groups in Montana, as well as the CSKT. Daines sponsored it with Montana's Democratic Sen. Jon Tester, and it passed with support from Republican Congressman and Governor-elect Greg Gianforte. They say it avoids the need for costly lawsuits that could hurt off-reservation landowners and irrigators.

"Without this bill, thousands of Montanans would have been forced into very expensive litigation and Montana's economy would’ve taken over a 1 billion dollar hit," Daines' office said in a statement this week. "This bill is a win for all Montanans. Sen. Daines has been transparent with all Montana voters who overwhelmingly re-elected him about this bill, including working with folks on all sides of the issue to get feedback, and revised the bill to make it better for all Montanans."

The Montana GOP's executive board did not support or oppose the final version of the water compact that Congress passed.

"The Montana Republican Party opposed the original version of CSKT compact legislation," party spokesman Jack O'Brien said in an email Wednesday. "However, the MTGOP has not taken a position on the revised CSKT water compact legislation that ultimately received support from the Trump administration and was signed into law by President Trump."

Reporter Chad Sokol can be reached at 758-4434 or csokol@dailyinterlake.com