Gazette State Bureau
HELENA - Incoming Gov. Brian Schweitzer comes from a family of dreamers. His parents didn't graduate from high school, but they fulfilled their dream and sent their six children off to get college educations.
Schweitzer, 49, who will be sworn in Monday as the state's 23rd governor, said he wants to restore Montanans' pride and make it possible for families to dream again about brighter futures.
In an interview last week, Schweitzer outlined some ambitious goals, including some lofty ones.
"I want to give Montanans a sense of pride again about their state and about their leadership," he told the Gazette State Bureau. "That sense of pride will equate to Montanans being more likely to stay in Montana, Montanans more likely investing in Montana, Montanans having a better capability of attracting new investment in Montana. So philosophically, it's about believing in ourselves again."
In recent years, Schweitzer said, Montanans have heard a steady drumbeat of discouraging news about national studies that ranked the state 49th or 50th in categories such as average pay and per capita income.
"We need a new day in Montana that says it's all right to dream about the possibilities, and that's what we'll be doing," he said, echoing his campaign slogan.
Asked how he would measure that progress, he said it's probably not something that can be graphed on a chalkboard. As a businessman, the Whitefish farmer-rancher likes to talk about "deliverables" or actual results.
"But the main deliverable will be how we feel about ourselves again and the ability for every family to dream again, that it's OK to dream again, and those dreams are consistent with building families," he said.
Parents and grandparents dream that their bright children and grandchildren will be able to stay in Montana and prosper, not be forced to leave the state to find good jobs, he said. For businesses that employ two people, it's the dream of franchising their businesses and employing 10 times that many.
Schweitzer said his budget recommendations, released last week, are aimed at helping Montanans achieve their dreams.
Besides offering what he called a major increase in K-12 school funding, Schweitzer wants to create hundreds of college scholarships for Montanans.
He wants to put more money into the state program that helps low-income people and seniors pay for their winter heating bills.
On health care, Schweitzer has proposed fully funding the Children's Health Insurance Program to cover low-income kids. He favors income tax credits so small business owners can afford to provide health insurance for their employees and themselves. He wants of put more money into a prescription drug program for the elderly, but with an eye toward cost containment.
He plans to put more money into economic development. He praised Dave Gibson, Gov. Judy Martz's chief business officer, for getting the state Office of Economic Opportunity off on the right foot. Gibson began a dialog on the strengths and weaknesses of Montana's economy and where the state needs to head.
But Schweitzer said he wants to elevate that effort to the next level, and whenever he sees his chief business officer, Evan Barrett, and Commerce Director Tony Preite, he will ask: "Did you close a deal today?"
"That's what I'm looking for - closing deals, bringing investment to Montana," Schweitzer said. "They're going to get tired of me asking, 'Did we close a deal today.' Those are the deliverables."
Schweitzer is the first Democrat elected governor in 20 years, capping a marathon, 22-month campaign with a 50 to 46 percent win over Republican Secretary of State Bob Brown, who's also from Whitefish.
He is the first Montana governor never to have held elective public office previously. He had a transition team meeting secretly for months before the November election so he could hit the ground running if he won.
Schweitzer has said he wants to be a bipartisan leader. He is the first Montana governor to run with a running mate of the opposite party, Republican John Bohlinger of Billings.
He said he's serious about his goal of bipartisanship.
"Well, since I'm being criticized by both the Republicans and the Democrats, I think we have it about right," he said with a smile.
Schweitzer said he won't be a deskbound governor. He intends to hit the road often and will have the state airplane at the ready.
Montanans will be surprised because they'll see the governor in their hometown more often, he said. Former governors have had Capital for a Day programs in which the chief executive and some of his Cabinet members and aides would travel by bus or plane and visit a town once a month.
"I'm going to every courthouse in Montana and all tribal councils the first year" he said. "And you'll see me sitting at a table maybe as grandiose as this one and maybe not a rotunda as large as this, but similar, and meeting with folks."
Schweitzer said he will travel alone, perhaps accompanied by a junior staff member.
"So if you've got a beef with the government, talk to the governor," he said.
Schweitzer looks forward to working with legislators from both political parties. His family gave him a set of fancy poker chips for Christmas, and he intends to invite lawmakers over to the governor's mansion to play cards.
"It wouldn't be a bad idea for the governor to invite legislators over to play poker and then lose," Schweitzer said with a laugh. "I'll let them win the poker games."
List of Montana's 23 governors
Here is a list of the governors of Montana, their political parties and when they served:
1. Joseph K. Toole, Democrat, 1889-1893.
2. John E. Rickards, Republican, 1893-1897.
3. Robert Burns Smith, Democrat-Populist, 1897-1901
4. Joseph K. Toole, Democrat, 1901-1908.
5. Edwin L. Norris, Democrat, 1908-1913.
6. Sam V. Stewart, Democrat, 1913-1921.
7. Joseph M. Dixon, Republican, 1921-1925.
8. John E. Erickson, Democrat, 1925-1933.
9. Frank H. Cooney, Democrat, 1933-1935.
10. William Elmer Holt, Democrat, 1935-1937.
11. Roy Ayers, Democrat, 1937-1941.
12. Samuel C. Ford, Republican, 1941-1949.
13. John H. Bonner, Democrat, 1949-1953.
14. J. Hugo Aronson, Republican, 1953-1961.
15. Donald G. Nutter, Republican, 1961-1962.
16. Tim M. Babcock, Republican, 1962-1969.
17. Forrest H. Anderson, Democrat, 1969-1973.
18. Thomas L. Judge, Democrat, 1973-1981.
19. Ted Schwinden, Democrat, 1981-1989.
20. Stan Stephens, Republican, 1989-1993.
21. Marc Racicot, Republican, 1993-2001.
22. Judy Martz, Republican, 2001-2005.
23. Brian Schweitzer, Democrat, 2005-
Source: Montana Almanac by Andrea Merrill and Judy Jacobson
Copyright © The Billings Gazette, a division of Lee Enterprises.
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