LEWISTOWN - Trevis Butcher, director of Montana's in Action, today condemned a report filed by the Commissioner of Political Practices Dennis Unsworth as "nothing more than a political payback vendetta for stepping on the toes of big government by supporting term limits on Montana politicians."
The Butcher charge came in response to a report filed last week by Unsworth in which the commissioner charged that three ballot action groups had failed to properly report contributions and expenditures. Butcher's controversial action came as a result of a complaint written by Governor Brian Schweitzer's Helena attorney, Jon Motl. Unsworth is a Schweitzer political appointee who began his targeting of the ballot action groups immediately after assuming office, apparently at Schweitzer's request.
"I'm appalled, but I guess not too surprised," said Butcher after reviewing the Commissioner's report. "This is the kind of petty bureaucratic harassment we have been dealing with from Helena and Unsworth's office for three years. They do things a whole lot differently down there than normal folks."
Butcher took particular issue with charges by Unsworth attorneys and bureaucrats that the groups being pursued were not "cooperative enough."
"Those spurious charges are simply absurd," according to Butcher. "We produced copies of documents in our files that were already filed with the Commissioner. They wanted statements, wire transfers, and other documents and we provided them. They were given hand written notes and invoices from anyone paid by the campaign. We produced over 3,000 pages of material in response to a seven page complaint that was meant to investigate the first few months of the 2006 election. I don't know when enough is enough with these people down in Helena."
Butcher said he was particularly surprised by the amount of discussion given to the fight to pass and maintain term limits in Montana. "Term limits had nothing to do with the 2006 complaint or the 2006 election, but you can sure see we got under their skin."
Butcher asked, "Is this is payback for term limits? Or is this an attempt to silence groups who stand up to politicians and bureaucrats in Helena?
Butcher then stated "Count on this-we are not going away!" said Butcher.
According to Butcher, "This isn't much different from the heavy-handed approach taken by the Commissioner in the Canyon Ferry Road Baptist Church Case." In that case, following years of attacks by the Commissioner, the US Ninth Circuit Court found the Commissioner violated constitutional rights, prompting one federal judge to refer to the Commissioner's tactics as "petty bureaucratic harassment." The church defeated the Commissioner, but it took hundreds of thousands of dollars to defend what the courts ultimately ruled were their constitutionally protected rights.
"These Helena folks just don't seem to like it when you do things differently to give citizens and taxpayers a say in their government," Butcher charged. "Helena special interest groups say to citizens, 'Go ahead propose whatever you want' -- groups like Motl's Common Cause and the so called Public Interest Research Group with the help of politicians and appointed bureaucrats will stop you."
According to Butcher, those holding political power in Helena block citizens' actions by not allowing a vote at the ballot box. They prefer to use "petty bureaucratic harassment."
"The Commissioner's office uses what are supposed to be the peoples' courts," said Butcher, "to say, 'We'll ignore you and the signatures of 125,609 registered Montana voters. We'll make you waste hundreds of thousands dollars in legal fees. And we'll continue to do things just the way we want. Welcome to Helena, your state Capitol. Oh, and if you happen to get one by us, like term limits, we will punish you by any other means at our disposal then, now, and in the future'."
The three measures challenged by Schweitzer's attorney involved a spending cap, protection from government taking of property, and a measure to allow the recall of elected judges. "The Governor and his allies may have had some success in 2006, but we're not going away," Butcher reiterated. "We'll stand up to Helena and keep pushing for ideas we think will move Montana forward."
"There is a process. I will meet with our attorney right away to review in more detail what the Commissioner said, what our legal options will be, and prepare to vigorously defend our constitutional rights to free speech," said Butcher.
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Trevis Butcher
Chairman, MIA
(406) 462-8500
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