Since Travis Kavulla joined forces with Gail Gutsche in 2010 the Public Service Commission has become a cauldron of political intrigue and manipulation that survives to this day; ratepayers be damned. After forming a cross party alliance Travis announced his intention to be Chairman his first day on the job. According to Travis the alliance fell apart when Sen. Tester and Gov. Schweitzer nixed the deal. Three days of standoff in early January ensued resulting in Bill Gallagher becoming Chairman and I reluctantly accepting the Vice-chair position. (PSC video archives Jan.3-4-5/2011 and Butte Standard 1/5/2011)
Four months later they decided Travis should hold the meaningless title of Vice Chairman. With one minute left in the day Gutsche scheduled the vote for the next business day. Their rational for the challenge was that Gallagher had not notified them of my plans to attend a Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) meeting. And that I had been censured by FERC. When the smoke cleared they had appointed themselves Chairman and Vice Chairman. (PSC 4/15/2011 video archives and Missoulian 4/16/2011)
A week later they were given another week to produce proof that Gallagher needed to inform them of my travel plans (they were properly logged on the PSC site) and evidence I had ever been censured by any federal agency. When asked to produce the proof Gutsche sat silent and Travis said he had said all he was going to say. They had blatantly lied to grab miniscule power. This is all on the PSC video archives. Do you want these two back together?
Shortly thereafter we reversed a controversial rate making model instituted in the waning days of liberal control of the PSC. Commissioners Gutsche and Vincent wanted to take it to court for reinstatement. Denial would have made a great campaign issue. I voted to join Gutsche and Vincent in the request to appeal to the courts stating that I was sure the courts would strike it as unconstitutional. Chairman Kavulla refused to accept my vote. I insisted. Gutsche asked for adjournment. Kavulla adjourned recognizing “the sensitive nature” of the issue.
As I returned from the break room Gutsche and Vincent were in the hall and Gutsche said into the phone, “Molnar joined our vote. What should we do?” Of course this was a serious violation. When we reconvened I asked for the number she had dialed during the ten minute break. She refused to give her political contact. Also on the PSC video archives is Vincent entering the meeting room right after the phone call and huddling with Kavulla. They had forgotten that the camera stays on (just like when Kavulla was caught pilfering my work papers during a previous break). When we reconvened Kavulla argued against getting the phone number dialed during PSC business and the name of the recipient exposed. (PSC video archives 6/8/2011 and Gazette State Bureau 6/9/2011 and Helena IR 6/11/2011 archives)
Gutsche is using the same issues to defeat Bob Lake that Kavulla used to defeat fellow Republican Commissioner Kirkman sans physically missing commission meetings. But Gutsche physically missed all but two meetings after her defeat. So she collected about $15,000 for not attend meetings and representing her constituents. One attendance was the late Christmas Party and the other tied with her coming in to repeal the vicious and probably illegal rules she and Kavulla imposed to try and silence opposing comments. With Kavulla now in the minority he did not want to live under his own rules and Gutche wanted to help.
Before his passing Gallagher told me all five Republicans had agreed to stop taking out editorials against each other thus creating one sided fodder for coming elections. He also told me that Kavulla was the first to break the pact. He broke it the following week.
So if you want a commission that is the laughing stock of the nation, dysfunctional, politically motivated, and anti consumer then take Gutsche off the bench and re-unite her with Kavulla to re-institute their self serving alliance.
Reader Comments(2)
gjergeson writes:
It has been brought to my attention that the Pathfinder published a letter from former PSC Commissioner Brad Molnar inserting himself into the contest for PSC District 4 between current Commissioner Bob Lake and former Commissioner Gail Gutsche. I was appalled, though not surprised, at the ugly vitriol and revisionist history contained in his letter. I say “not surprised” because during the six years I served as chairman of that body. Molnar's demeanor was marked by erratic, disrespectful and threatening behavior towards his colleagues, and the PSC staff alike. During my tenure, his dreadful approach culminated in his shaking down corporations subject to PSC jurisdiction to fund an “event” that clearly was intended to bolster his upcoming campaign for reelection. He magnified the error of this charade by collecting thousands of dollars from those companies, placing the money in his own personal checking account, and maintaining no records accounting for how the money was spent. After citizen complaints filed against him and a subsequent hearing, these activities earned him an ethics violation from the Commissioner of Political Practices for which he was assessed fines and court costs in excess of $20,000. That decision of the Commissioner of Political Practices was upheld upon Molnar’s appeal to State District Court, and by a unanimous decision of the Montana Supreme Court. If, as I have been told, Molnar has yet to pay those fines affirmed by the Montana Supreme Court, I believe he ought to be found in contempt of court. In any case, that sorry episode demonstrates Molnar has no credibility to opine on the fitness of any other person to hold public office in this state, and residents should discount anything he says. It is true that Commissioners Gail Gutsche (D), John Vincent (D), and current commissioner Travis Kavulla (R) formed a bi-partisan working majority when the three served together on the PSC from 2011-2013. Together they brought more energy conservation and renewable energy onto Northwestern Energy's system, at a cost less than legacy resources, which kept the lid on power bills. And, they worked to increase broadband build out to the furthest reaches of our state to ensure that rural Montanans can compete in the global economy. Nothing about their work during that period in any way reflects the conspiracy-laden screed penned by Molnar. I appreciate you may have printed Molnar’s letter because of your commitment to American’s first-amendment rights to free speech. Unfortunately, you did not afford the target of his barrage with an opportunity to respond before the court of public opinion is rendered in this election. I served with Gutsche in both the legislature and on the PSC. She is competent, well-studied, intelligent and diligent. Neither she nor, my friend Travis Kavulla, deserve to be pilloried the way they were. Former PSC Commissioner Greg Jergeson
11/05/2016, 8:51 pm
straightarrow writes:
Oh Molnar: http://helenair.com/news/local/supreme-court-uphold-ethics-violation-fines-for-former-public-service/article_7975d184-be68-11e2-9f6f-0019bb2963f4.html
11/03/2016, 4:20 pm