Candidate record check

County voters need to ask a lot more questions for the upcoming commissioner election. Interim commissioner and candidate in District 1, Cal Scott, seems to play fast and loose with the facts. He claims, and at least two local papers have reported, that he earned a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from the University of Nevada-Reno.

In fact, the record, according to the National Student Clearinghouse, shows Scott merely enrolled in the program and attended for only three months, from Sept. 11, 1963 to Dec. 15, 1963. Verification that he ever attained a degree in engineering, or in any subject, from UNR could not be found.

Scott also claims to have “served” on the Montana Board of Realty Regulation, implying an appointment to that regulatory body. When contacted to verify that, an MBRR staffer said, “Not that I can find.”

These fabrications, in addition to the local reporting just before June 6 primary election about Scott’s 2011 bankruptcy — with 22 credit cards and some $173,000 in unsecured debt, leaving creditors with $237,000 in unpaid bills — should give voters pause. So many claims and so little credibility surely calls into question both Scott’s personal integrity and his ability to honestly represent taxpayer interests administering the $75 million Flathead County budget.

If Scott intentionally inflates his resume to be appointed interim commissioner and now wants to be elected, despite his demonstrated irresponsibility with his personal finances, what does that say about his suitability for a position of public trust?

Ken Siderius

Kalispell