Commissioner Candidates
Tony Berget, Dennis Souther, Mike Munro, Jerry Okonski, Lee Disney and Don Cox (from left) participate in a forum for Republican county commissioner candidates last week at the library. Photo by Kootenai Valley Record.
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Commissioner candidates air views
by Brent Shrum, Kootenai Valley Record
May 28, 2008
The six Republican candidates for county commissioner showed general agreement on most issues during a forum held last Wednesday night at the Libby library and broadcast live over the KLCB radio station.
The majority of questions presented to the candidates – Tony Berget, Dennis Souther, Mike Munro, Jerry Okonski, Lee Disney and Don Cox – had been submitted by KLCB listeners over the station’s website, and most dealt with economic issues. The candidates seemed to agree that the answer to most of the county’s financial troubles lies in creating more jobs that pay good wages.
“Jobs create tax dollars, and that’s the best thing we can try to do,” Munro said in response to a question about potential cuts in county services due to loss of revenues.
Answering the same question, Berget said that as Libby mayor he’s used to working with a tight budget.
“There’s no simple answer,” he said. “There’s no silver bullet. It’s just hard work.”
Asked about ways to ensure the future availability of affordable housing, the candidates concurred that the county’s role should be to do what it can to stimulate the economy so more people can afford to buy and keep their own homes.
“You’re going to want government to start pricing housing now?” Disney asked rhetorically.
That’s not an option, Disney said, but what the county can do is provide the necessary services and manage things in such a way as to not deter businesses from operating here successfully.
Okonski said he agreed with Disney and added that more income needs to be generated from national forest lands to keep taxes down.
“We have to get back to our natural resource roots,” he said.
None of the candidates showed much support for the creation of any new designated wilderness areas. The forest needs to be managed, Souther said.
“I can’t see locking up any more,” he said.
Designated wilderness is “kind of like a trophy” for some people, Okonski said, but existing roadless areas could be protected with more local governance. He said there’s so much that needs to be done on “the working forest” that roadless areas don’t need to be touched.
Berget said he would favor a “wildlands” designation for the Scotchman Peaks area but wouldn’t favor full-fledged wilderness protection unless the people of the county voted for it. Munro said he’s against permanently locking up any more land unless the deal includes a “trigger mechanism.”
“If they get 50,000 acres of roadless, then we get 50,000 acres that we can use for timber and recreation,” he said.
Cox said he doesn’t see much economic benefit from existing wilderness.
“People don’t line up at the edge of the wilderness area every morning waiting for the gate to open so they can rush in to see how beautiful it is,” he said.
National parks have roads running through them so people can access them, Cox said, adding that most of Lincoln County’s tourism consists of people driving through on their way to somewhere else.
The candidates all agreed that the office of county commissioner is more than a full-time job; it requires 24/7 availability.
“If you’re not prepared to step up and do this, I don’t think any one of us would have put out name in the hat,” Disney said.
Berget, who served two terms on the Libby City Council before becoming mayor in 1997, said he enjoys working in government and would like to be able to do it as a full-time job without the need to dedicate time to other jobs to support his family.
“It’s exciting to have that opportunity to serve full-time, all the time as a county commissioner,” he said.
Berget said his experience in local government has taught him the importance of working collaboratively to get things done.
“I’ve realized that it takes all of us to do things,” he said.
Cox worked for his family’s machine shop business for 15 years after graduating from Libby High School, then went to school to become a chiropractor and ran that business for 18 years before retiring two years ago. He stressed his availability to be a full-time commissioner, along with his business experience and problem-solving skills.
“That’s all we ever did, was solve people’s problems,” he said. “People came in with things that were broken, and we fixed them.”
Disney has served 12 years on the Libby School Board and has owned and operated Hoodoo Mountain Pellets since 1989. He ran against Rita Windom in the 1996 primary but said he’s “in awe” of the work Windom has done as commissioner.
Disney said he’s always looking for “ways to help and build” and knows how to get things started and how to get them done.
“I’m a businessman,” he said. “I like to see things go and move forward.”
Okonski holds a master’s degree in forestry and since 1975 has operated related businesses around northwest Montana and northern Idaho as well as Virginia, British Columbia and Chile. He said Lincoln County is on track to be bankrupt in five to seven years and that natural resources play a “huge, huge role” in stabilizing the county’s finances.
“I’m motivated by not wanting to sit idly by and watch as our community deteriorates,” he said.
Souther moved to Libby in 1972 after serving in the Navy. He worked at the mill and owned and operated his own auto body shops over the years until starting Souther Construction 12 years ago, specializing in residential and small commercial projects.
“I believe I’m more of a listener and an analyzer, and I like to get the job done in a reasonable fashion so things don’t linger,” he said.
Munro said he has a proven track record as a successful businessman in logging, real estate development and as a restaurant and lounge owner. He said he has a strong will and would be ready to put his position as commissioner on the line if need be to do what’s right for Lincoln County. “I’m willing to take a stand for the people of our county,” he said.
No Democrats or third-party candidates filed for county commissioner. No one filed as a write-in candidate either, so any write-in votes will not be counted. The winner of the June 3 Republican primary will be the only name on November’s ballot.
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Editor’s Note: See the May 26, 2008 edition of the Kootenai Valley Record for the printed version of this story. The Kootenai Valley Record publishes once a week, on Monday, in Libby, Montana. They are a locally owned community newspaper, located at 403 Mineral Avenue in Libby. For in-county and out-of-county subscription information, call 406-293-2424, or e-mail kvrecord@gmail.com.
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