Commissioners choose Mowbray for SD-6 seat
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POLSON —Lake County commissioners and their counterparts in Flathead County chose Carmine Mowbray to replace John Brueggeman for SD-6. Brueggeman resigned his state senate seat on Nov. 29, 2010, to pursue a career with corporate giant 3M.
In a vote held in the Lake County commissioners' office on Jan. 19 at 10 a.m., the Flathead commissioners cast their three votes by phone for Swenson while Lake County commissioners voted unanimously for Mowbray.
The lion’s share of SD-6 is in Lake County so Lake County’s votes counted for 89.325 percent, and Mowbray was selected.
The commissioners voted by ballot before a full house, and some audience members were unhappy. Although the vote was unanimous, attorney Bill Schreiber who was present, asked commissioners to state how they voted, verbally.
“Why don’t you want to tell me how you voted?” Schreiber asked.
Also questioning the commissioners, candidate Rory Horning asked about the voting process.
Specifically, he wanted to know about the Jan. 5 vote in which one Lake County commissioner abstained. Horning wanted to which commissioner had cast the abstention.
In a time-consuming process, the Lake County Republican Central Committee submitted two sets of three names each. First the commissioners interviewed Janna Taylor, R-HD 11, Rory Horning and Darold Schaffer on Jan. 3. The commissioners then asked the central committee for three more candidates and received the names of Dale Gillespie, Mowbray and Rob Swenson on Jan. 14.
Both Flathead and Lake County commissioners had five days to choose from all six candidates, even though Taylor withdrew her name from the pool of applicants.
After her selection, Mowbray waited to be certified. Republican party members contacted Senator John Petersen about getting a Montana Supreme Court Justice to swear Mowbray into office on Jan. 20 or 21.
Lake County Republican chairman Brent Matson said, “Carmine is a rock solid conservative. She will go to Helena to remove the barriers that prevent our small businesses from creating jobs, to pass laws for responsible resource development, and most of all to restore our individual freedoms.”
Mowbray is a local small businesswoman who previously owned a publishing group. She also used to work in the timber industry, setting chokers for loggers.
“Her commitment to natural resource development is unquestionable,” Matson said.
