Brian Schweitzer | |
|---|---|
 | |
| 23rdGovernor of Montana | |
| In office January 3, 2005 – January 7, 2013 | |
| Lieutenant | John Bohlinger |
| Preceded by | Judy Martz |
| Succeeded by | Steve Bullock |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Brian David Schweitzer (1955-09-04)September 4, 1955 (age 70) Havre, Montana, U.S. |
| Party | Democratic |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 3 |
| Education | Colorado State University (BS) Montana State University (MS) |
Brian David Schweitzer (born September 4, 1955) is an American farmer and politician who served as the23rd governor of Montana from 2005 to 2013. Schweitzer served for a time as chair of theWestern Governors Association[1] as well as theDemocratic Governors Association.[2] He also served as President of theCouncil of State Governments.[3]
Schweitzer was born inHavre, Montana, the fourth of six children of Kathleen Helen (née McKernan) and Adam Schweitzer.[4][5] His paternal grandparents wereethnic Germans fromKuchurhan in theOdesa Oblast (then inRussian Empire, now inUkraine); his maternal grandparents wereIrish.[6][7] He is a first cousin, once removed, of entertainerLawrence Welk (Schweitzer's paternal grandmother was Welk's aunt).[8]
Following his high school years at Holy Cross Abbey,Canon City, Colorado in 1973, Schweitzer earned his Bachelor of Science degree in internationalagronomy fromColorado State University in 1978 and a Master of Science insoil science fromMontana State University, Bozeman in 1980.[9]
Upon finishing school, Schweitzer worked as an irrigation developer on projects in Africa, Asia, Europe and South America. He spent several years working inLibya[10] andSaudi Arabia, and speaks Arabic.[11] He returned to Montana in 1986, settling inWhitefish.[12]
In 1993, the Clinton administration appointed Schweitzer to theUnited States Department of Agriculture's Farm Service Agency committee for Montana; he worked there for seven years.[13]
In 2000, Schweitzer ran for theU.S. Senate to challengeRepublican incumbentConrad Burns. Burns faced a difficult re-election campaign. In February 1999, he announced that he would break his 1988 promise to only hold office for two terms, claiming "Circumstances have changed, and I have rethought my position."[14] Later that same month, while giving a speech aboutU.S. dependence on foreign oil to the Montana Equipment Dealers Association, Burns referred toArabs as "ragheads". Burns soon apologized, saying he "became too emotionally involved" during the speech.[15] Burns faced trouble regarding deaths fromasbestos inLibby, Montana. While he initially supported a bill to limit compensation in such cases, he withdrew his support for the bill, under public criticism, and added $11.5 million for the town to an appropriations bill.[16][17]
While Burns attempted to link Schweitzer with presidential candidateAl Gore, Schweitzer "effectively portrayed himself as nonpolitical".[16] Schweitzer primarily challenged Burns on the issue ofprescription drugs, organizing busloads of senior citizens to take trips toCanada andMexico for cheaper medicine.[18] Burns charged that Schweitzer favored "Canadian-style government controls"[16] and claimed that senior citizens went to doctors to have "somebody to visit with. There's nothing wrong with them."[18]
Schweitzer lost narrowly to Burns, with a 51% to 47% margin, despite being outspent two-to-one.[16] Democratic presidential candidateAl Gore received just33% of the vote in Montana in 2000.[19]
When incumbent GovernorJudy Martz announced she would not run for re-election in 2004, Schweitzer announced his candidacy. His running mate wasJohn Bohlinger, a Republican state senator. He won the general election by defeatingMontana Secretary of StateBob Brown 50% to 46%.[20]
In 2008, Schweitzer and Bohlinger won re-election to a second term by a landslide over Republican State SenatorRoy Brown and his running mateSteve Daines; Schweitzer recurred 318,670 votes (65.4%), Brown received 158,268 votes (32.5%), and Libertarian candidateStan Jones received 9,796 votes (2.0%).[21]
As governor, Schweitzer was described as having a mixture of "progressive values, populist rhetoric, and Western self-reliance."[22] CommentatorBrink Lindsey classified Schweitzer as a mixture ofliberal andlibertarian, espousing "anti-NAFTA, Wal-Mart-bashing economic populism."[23] Both while campaigning and as governor, Schweitzer became known for a folksy public persona; his dog, aBorder Collie named Jag, regularly accompanied him on work days at the Capitol, as well as some other official occasions.[24][25]
Schweitzer was known for his unsparing use of theveto, a power exercised 95 times during his tenure. He vetoed 74 bills in the 2011 legislature, none of which were overridden.[26] For instance, in April 2011, Schweitzer made news with his unconventional use of abranding iron to publicly veto several bills passed by theRepublican-controlled legislature.[27] He denounced them as "frivolous, unconstitutional and just bad ideas" that were "in direct contradiction to the expressed will of the people of Montana."[28][29] The bills vetoed by Schweitzer includinganti-abortion legislation[30] and legislation that would have repealedMontana's 2004 legalization of medicinal marijuana.[31]
Schweitzer has pointed out that Montana has had the highest ending fund balances in the state's history under his administration, with an average ending fund balance of $414 million. The average balance of the eighteen years prior was $54 million.[32]
Schweitzer consistently held one of the highestapproval ratings amonggovernors in the nation, with polls regularly showing a rating of above 60 percent.[33][34]
Schweitzer was elected chair of theDemocratic Governors Association in 2008.[35]
As governor, Schweitzer emphasizedearly childhood education,[36] and in 2007 signed into law a voluntary full-time kindergarten program.[37][38]
In 2005, Schweitzer signed into law "Indian Education for All" funding, which provided for the first time funding for schools to fulfill a mandate passed in 1999 to teach tribal history in Montana schools.[39][40]
Under Schweitzer, from 2009 to 2012, Montana achieved the country's highest rate of increase in the proportion of its population with college degrees.[41][42] The increase was attributed to a variety of initiatives backed by Schweitzer,[41][42] including increased investments in the state's two-yearcommunity college system (including an increase in state funding, allowing two-year colleges to freeze tuition),[41] better skills and practical training,[41] additionalonline courses,[42] adual enrollment program for high school students,[42] and reforms to make it easier for students to transfer academic credits, such as from a two-year to a four-year college.[41][42]
During his term as governor, Schweitzer focused on expanding Montana energy production, including bothfossil fuels such as coal and oil andrenewables such aswind.[43][44][45] Schweitzer helped arrange financing for theRim Rock Wind Farm, which opened in September 2012 as the state's largestwind farm.[43] He strongly supported the proposedKeystone XL pipeline project, which was opposed by environmentalists.[46] In 2008, Schweitzer expressed support for a "25x'25" proposal to transition at least 25% of U.S. energy production to renewable sources by the year 2025.[47]
In 2009, afterGeneral Motors voided its contracts withStillwater Mining Company for the development ofplatinum andpalladium mines in Montana followingGM's reorganization in bankruptcy, Schweitzer strongly criticized GM's decision to withdraw from the project. Schweitzer called upon the Obama administration to force GM to continue with the project and expressed concern that the cancellation would harm Montana's mining industry and create a national security risk, as platinum and palladium were mined in only two other nations (Russia andSouth Africa).[48][49]
As governor, Schweitzer was an outspoken opponent ofgun control proposals,[45][50][51] and enjoyed the endorsement of theNRA Political Victory Fund.[52][53]
In April 2009, Schweitzer signed into law theMontana Firearms Freedom Act,[54] a bill that attempted to declare guns manufactured and possessed in Montana as exempt fromfederal gun regulation.[55] This attemptednullification legislation[54] was emulated by several other states, which passed similar legislation, but never went into effect, because the federal courts struck down the law onfederal preemption grounds.[55][56][57]
During his tenure in office, Schweitzer proposed the introduction of state-levelsingle-payer health care in Montana, based on theCanadian model.[58][59] Under Schweitzer, Montana opened a government-owned but privately contractedprimary care clinic for state employees, but did not succeed in obtainingHHS permission for the state to import prescription drugs from Canada as acost-savings measure.[60] Schweitzer was critical of theAffordable Care Act (ACA), the federalhealth care reform legislation championed by PresidentBarack Obama, saying it did not go far enough in controlling health-care costs,[60] and describing it as a "corporatist" policy,[61] but did not outright oppose the ACA.[60]
In May 2006, Schweitzer granted posthumouspardons to 78 persons convicted in 1918 and 1919 ofsedition duringWorld War I for makingcomments critical of the war. These were the first posthumous pardons in Montana history. The individuals had been convicted under Montana's 1918 Sedition Act (which was subsequently repealed), one of the broadest and harshest of its time: one man went to prison for calling food rationing a joke, while others were targeted because they refused to kiss a U.S. flag or to buyLiberty Bonds. Schweitzer described his pardons as an important reminder of the importance ofindividual rights in wartime.[62][63]
Following the suicide of Iraq war veteran Chris Dana in 2007,[64] Schweitzer started the Yellow Ribbon Program, a joint program between theMontana National Guard and theU.S. Department of Veterans Affairs that helps military personnel returning home from overseas to transition back to civilian life.[65][66]
In a 2008 biography, Schweitzer expressed support for some form ofsame-sex civil unions, and in 2013 he expressed support forlegal recognition of same-sex marriage.[67]
On foreign policy and national security, Schweitzer took positions to the left ofHillary Clinton.[68] In a series of speeches in Iowa in 2013, Schweitzer criticized Clinton and other Democrats who supported the 2002Iraq War Resolution and called on Democrats to "keep the Iraq war vote in mind" when nominating a presidential candidate in 2016.[69] Schweitzer also occasionally criticized the Obama administration's foreign policy, referring to it as supportive of the "military-industrial complex."[70] In 2014, Schweitzer expressed opposition todomestic surveillance, asserted that "a lot of people that are working within the CIA and the NSA" of "spying illegally on American citizens,"[68] and called forEdward Snowden to be granted clemency.[68][71]
The same year Schweitzer completed his term as Montana Governor he was named to theboard of directors ofStillwater Mining Company on May 2, and subsequently chosen as non-executive chairman on May 17, 2013.[72][73]
During his gubernatorial tenure, Schweitzer was mentioned by some political pundits as a potential running mate forBarack Obama in the2008 presidential election.[74] Schweitzer spoke in a prime-time slot at the2008 Democratic National Convention, addressing the topic of American energy independence.[75][76][77][78][79]
After leaving office at the end of 2012, Schweitzer was mentioned as a possible candidate forpresident.[80][81] In February 2013, theNational Journal reported that he indicated he was leaning towards a run for president in2016 instead of running for the U.S. Senate in 2014; a Senate bid would have involved challenging Democratic U.S. SenatorMax Baucus in a primary election.[82] In April 2013, Baucus decided to retire. Soon thereafter, aDemocrat associated with Schweitzer stated that Schweitzer was leaning toward a Senate bid in2014.[83] After Baucus' announcement, Schweitzer stated that he was concentrating on helping a dissident investor group take control of the Stillwater Mining Co. in south-central Montana.[84] He subsequently became the chair of the Board of Stillwater Mine.[85] When asked about the Senate race in June 2013, Schweitzer expressed uncertainty; however, Montana political analysts generally believed that he was considering a Senate run.[86]
On July 13, 2013, Schweitzer stated he would not seek the U.S. Senate seat in Montana in 2014.[87] In February 2015, Schweitzer stated that he has "no plans" to run for president in 2016.[88] In October 2015, Schweitzer endorsed former Maryland GovernorMartin O'Malley's campaign for the Democratic nomination for president and was named a national co-chair for O'Malley's campaign.[89]
Schweitzer married Nancy Hupp in 1981.[90] The Schweitzers are the parents of three children: Ben, Khai, and Katrina.[91]
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Brian Schweitzer (incumbent) | 316,509 | 65.4 | +15.0 | |
| Republican | Roy Brown | 157,894 | 32.6 | −13.4 | |
| Libertarian | Stan Jones | 9,790 | 2.0 | +0.3 | |
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Brian Schweitzer | 225,016 | 50.4 | ||
| Republican | Bob Brown | 205,313 | 46.0 | ||
| Green | Robert Kelleher | 8,393 | 1.9 | ||
| Libertarian | Stan Jones | 7,424 | 1.7 | ||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Conrad Burns (incumbent) | 208,082 | 50.6 | ||
| Democratic | Brian Schweitzer | 194,430 | 47.2 | ||
| Reform | Gary Lee | 9,089 | 2.2 | ||
| Party political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Democratic nominee forU.S. Senator fromMontana (Class 1) 2000 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Democratic nominee forGovernor of Montana 2004,2008 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Chair of theDemocratic Governors Association 2008–2009 | Succeeded by |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Governor of Montana 2005–2013 | Succeeded by |
| U.S. order of precedence (ceremonial) | ||
| Preceded byas Former Governor | Order of precedence of the United States | Succeeded byas Former Governor |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Other | |
