23 November 2017 — 0352 mdt

Shame on Flathead Basin Commission
saboteurs Steve Bullock and John Tubbs

Sometimes in war, disputes within an army are settled on the battlefield during the chaos of combat, with the deaths attributed to the enemy or to friendly fire. It’s a way of getting away with murder.

That’s what’s happening with the Flathead Basin Commission. Using saving money during a budget crisis as his excuse, Montana Department of Natural Resources Director John Tubbs is defunding the FBC to settle his disputes with the commission and its executive director, and to get rid of the FBC’s de facto oversight of the DNRC’s conduct in the Flathead basin.

He’s getting away with this dirty bureaucratic power play because he has the support of Gov. Steve Bullock.

There’s a way to correct this mistake outrage without raising an additional cent of revenue: fire Tubbs and leave his position open. That would free up money to refund the FBC, redeem Bullock’s green credentials, and free the DNRC of a bad manager. That solution ought to find unanimous support in the Flathead County and Lake County legislative delegations.