Blames new commissioner

For the past two years, it has been obvious who the most powerful county commissioner in Flathead County is — Democrat Joe Brenneman. All you have to do is count the number of times Republican county commissioner Gary Hall has sided with this practitioner of the green anti-property rights religion, all too often over the objection of his former Republican colleague, Bob Watne.

Many of us had high hopes in the election of Republican Dale Lauman to the commission. Lauman ran on a property rights platform. With Lauman's election, our hope has been that in just two more years, after the election of our next county commissioner, the property owners in Flathead County might actually be represented by a true "Republican" majority, a majority that is concerned with the rapidly dwindling concept of individual property rights that began under Brenneman's leadership and Hall's lack of leadership.

Yet, as incredible as it may seem, with two "Republicans" in the commissioner's office, during the recent growth policy process, we watched Brenneman succeed at gutting the property rights sections of the new Flathead County Growth Policy. His success came not just with the support of commissioner Hall, which was expected, but at times with help from our newly elected Republican county commissioner, which wasn't.

If you believe in private property and private property rights, this is cause for concern. Does commissioner Lauman truly believe in that which he espoused?

Perhaps commissioner Lauman's poor performance can simply be chalked up to inexperience. I hope so. But if this growth policy fiasco is any indication, it appears that at least for now Democrat Joe Brenneman has launched a successful new career: He's gone from herding cows to herding "Republicans."

Dick Skees

Columbia Falls