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| Jul 29, 2010 - 06:40 PM |
Queen City News - Helena's FREE Weekly Newspaper |
Helena, Montana |
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Claiming that Montana’s 1912 initiative-passed ban on corporate campaign spending violates First-Amendment rights, lawyers for a Denver-based organization and a Bozeman small business filed a lawsuit Monday in Helena District Court to get rid of the law.
Western Tradition Partnership (WTP), a Denver-based natural resources development group, and Champion Painting, a Bozeman small business owned by Ken Champion, state that because of the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent decision in Citizens United vs. Federal Election Commission, Montana’s spending prohibition is unconstitutional.
Champion, a member of the Bozeman Tea Party and a former Republican legislative candidate, stated that he would like to use his firm’s financial resources to “exercise First Amendment rights.”
He and the WTP are represented by Margot Barg of the Wittich Law Firm in Bozeman. They are asking District Court Judge Jeffrey Sherlock to decide the matter. Defendants are Attorney General Steve Bullock and Political Practices Commissioner Dennis Unsworth.
Powell files for judge
Helena attorney Karen Powell, chair of the Montana Tax Appeal Board, has announced her candidacy for the newly created First Judicial District Court judge position.
Powell said she presides over both complex multi-billion-dollar tax matters, as well as appeals from individuals across Montana and also manages the docket and budget for the state tax appeal board and the 56 county tax appeal boards. She was appointed to the position by Gov. Brian Schweitzer and confirmed by the Montana Senate.
"I know firsthand how to be an effective, independent and fair judge before, during and after a trial,” Powell stated. “Because of my work, I deeply understand the critical importance of the trial process and the need to respect the people who come before me. And I fundamentally believe in the fair and equal enforcement of Montana's Constitution and its laws.”
Powell has also served as Montana's Deputy Commissioner of Insurance and Securities and worked for the Montana Attorney General's Office as a Special Assistant Attorney General, at the U.S. Attorney's Office in San Francisco, and the U.S. Department of Justice Tax Division (criminal and civil division).
Powell currently serves on the board of the Lewis and Clark County Cooperative Health Center and has also served on the Friendship Center board. Her law degree is from Stanford Law School. She lives in Helena with her husband and two children.
Reynolds seeks judge job
James P. (Jim) Reynolds of Helena filed March 3 as a candidate for judge of the First Judicial District serving Lewis and Clark and Broadwater counties.
The founding partner of Reynolds, Motl & Sherwood, Reynolds graduated with honors from the University of Montana Law School in 1978, clerked for the Montana Supreme Court for one year, and entered private practice in Helena in July 1979.
Reynolds said his varied legal experience would serve him well in dealing with issues that come before the First Judicial District Court and that serving in the position would be the “honor of my life.”
“The First Judicial District courts have a dual function serving the people of Lewis and Clark and Broadwater counties and also resolving issues, often complex, dealing with the role of government in the State of Montana,” Reynolds said. “My experiences have taken me through all the motion, hearing, trial and appellate levels of the First Judicial District and Supreme Court. I have represented over a thousand individuals on their issues in the courts of this District and before the Supreme Court. I have also represented a number of environmental, open government, good government, disability rights and civil rights groups in their governmental role-related issues at the trial court and appellate court levels.”
Reynolds is married to Niki Whearty and lives in Helena.
Johnson running for PSC
Former Secretary of State Brad Johnson has filed as a candidate for the Montana Public Service Commission in District 5. He joins fellow Republican candidate Bill Gallagher of Helena and incumbent Democrat Ken Toole of Helena in the race.
Johnson stated that his campaign would be about protecting the ratepayers of Montana and that he would bring fairness and balance to the commission.
“The Public Service Commission is responsible for protecting the interests of the people of Montana,” he stated. “The people come first every time. We have an obligation to be fair as well. We must keep the interests of the ratepayer at the forefront and at the same time preserve an environment in which utility providers can function effectively.”
“Low rates for the ratepayers, reasonable profits for the providers, and balance for the people of Montana. That's a good Public Service Commission, and those are the goals I will work tirelessly to achieve as a member of the PSC,” Johnson stated.
GOP hires new director
Bowen Greenwood has been named executive director of the Montana Republican Party, GOP Chairman Will Deschamps announced Tuesday.
Greenwood is a long-time conservative activist who has worked for the campaigns of former U.S. Rep. Rick Hill and current U.S. Rep. Denny Rehberg, former Secretary of State Brad Johnson, and most recently the House Republican Caucus in the 2009 legislative session. He’s a former journalist who began his career at the Yellowstone County News in Huntley.
Emergency benefits okayed
The short-term 30-day extension of emergency unemployment benefits passed by Congress and signed by President Obama on March 2 will benefit approximately 5,900 Montanans, according to the Montana Department of Labor and Industry.
“This extension not only helps the unemployed workers put food on their table, the benefit payments are spent in local communities helping to stabilize those local economies as well,” said Labor Commissioner Keith Kelly.
Unemployed workers who exhaust their regular Montana UI benefits can file for Emergency Unemployment Compensation (EUC) benefits until week ending April 3, 2010, under this legislation. Congress is currently considering a longer extension of EUC benefits.
Claimants already on the EUC program should continue to file their biweekly requests for payment, department officials stated. Claimants who have exhausted their Montana current claim should file an EUC claim by logging on to www.UI4U.mt.gov or contact the Unemployment Insurance Claims Processing Center at 444-2545.
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The Queen City News is published every Wednesday in Helena, MT, by Mossback Media, LLC.
Contents are copyrighted and cannot be used in any form without prior permission from the QCN.
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