Serving the Flathead Valley & Montana since 2006. A reality based independent journal of observation & analysis. © James Conner.
Given how bitter the battle was, it’s no surprise that the losing side in the Kalispell City Airport referendum has filed a complaint with Montana’s Commissioner of Political Practices, alleging that members of the anti-airport expansion group, Quiet Skies of Kalispell, committed campaign finance violations. The InterLake’s story has details, and you can download the complaint here (scroll down to number 31, Welch v. Davis).
Columbia Falls based Sandy Welch, the former Republican candidate for Montana’s Superintendent of Public Instruction, and now a political consultant with Whitefish based Checkered Flag Strategies, filed the complaint, naming Quiet Skies associated Scott Davis as the defendant. She managed the losing Save Our Airport campaign.
According to the InterLake:
…Quiet skies has not filed as a ballot committee, even though there were expenditures for yard signs, Welch said. She quoted the commissioner’s accounting and reporting manual for political committees, which states “a ballot issue committee must certify the name of its treasurer and properly file a statement of organization within five days after it makes an expenditure.”
Welch further alleges the yard sign disclaimer, which stated “Paid for by Quiet Skies members of Kalispell,” didn’t meet state rules that require including the name of the committee treasurer and mailing address of either the committee or its treasurer.
The complaint also alleges the treasurer of Quiet Skies has not been certified and the yard signs weren’t paid for in accordance with state law.
There may well have been technical violations — we’ll have to wait for the CPP’s decision — but I doubt that, figuratively speaking, hanging offenses were committed. The complaint may have merit, but it’s hard to dismiss the possibility it was filed to punish Davis, an outspoken critic of the airport.
As interesting to me as the complaint is why Davis chose to produce his Quiet Skies yard signs when a group called Repeal the Kalispell City Airport Expansion produced a ton of highly visible signs. (Examples of both signs are below.) Was there a falling out among airport expansion opponents? Or was it simply that Davis, who worked many years on the issue, wanted a Quiet Skies sign of his own and therefore had several printed? Thanks to modern printing technology, having half a dozen signs printed wouldn’t cost very much, and perhaps Davis thought, rightly or wrongly, that no report was required for so little money. I hope we find out.
I also hope that people on both sides of the issue will give it a rest now that the election’s over. The online comments on the InterLake’s stories on the issue have been ugly and vicious and utterly bereft of redeeming value. They’re an embarrassment to the community and powerful proof that anonymous commenting brings out the worst in people.
