Brian David Schweitzer (born September 4, 1955) is an American farmer and politician who served as the 23rd governor of Montana from 2005 to 2013. Schweitzer served for a time as chair of the Western Governors AssociationGovs. Schweitzer, Otter elected to lead WGA, energy and climate change high priorities , www.westgov.org. as well as the Democratic Governors Association.Begins following the 2010 election, www.democraticgovernors.org. He also served as president of the Council of State Governments.
Early life, education and early career Schweitzer was born in Havre, Montana, the fourth of six children of Kathleen Helen (née McKernan) and Adam Schweitzer.Kathleen H. Schweitzer obituary, legacy.com; accessed February 17, 2015. His paternal grandparents were ethnic Germans from Kuchurhan in the Odesa Oblast (then in Russian Empire, now in Ukraine); his maternal grandparents were Irish. He is a first cousin, once removed, of entertainer Lawrence Welk (Schweitzer's paternal grandmother was Welk's aunt).Brian Schweitzer genealogy, library.ndsu.edu; accessed February 17, 2015.
Following his high school years at Holy Cross Abbey, Canon City, Colorado in 1973, Schweitzer earned his Bachelor of Science degree in international agronomy from Colorado State University in 1978 and a Master of Science in soil science from Montana State University, Bozeman in 1980.
Upon finishing school, Schweitzer worked as an irrigation developer on projects in Africa, Asia, Europe and South America. He spent several years working in Libya and Saudi Arabia, and speaks Arabic. He returned to Montana in 1986, settling in Whitefish.
In 1993, the Clinton administration appointed Schweitzer to the United States Department of Agriculture's Farm Service Agency committee for Montana; he worked there for seven years.U.S. Department of Agriculture's Farm Service Agency committee for Montana
2000 U.S. Senate election
In 2000, Schweitzer ran for the U.S. Senate to challenge Republican incumbent Conrad 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."George Will, "...Terms Unlimited", The Washington Post, June 24, 1999 Later that same month, while giving a speech about U.S. dependence on foreign oil to the Montana Equipment Dealers Association, Burns referred to Arabs as "ragheads". Burns soon apologized, saying he "became too emotionally involved" during the speech.Al Kamen, "Burns' A List: African Americans, Arabs", The Washington Post, March 12, 1999. Burns faced trouble regarding deaths from asbestos in Libby, 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.Al Kamen, "Town Getting $11 Million in Salve From Burns", The Washington Post, May 12, 2000.
While Burns attempted to link Schweitzer with presidential candidate Al Gore, Schweitzer "effectively portrayed himself as nonpolitical".Michael Barone, The Almanac of American Politics 2004, National Journal Group. Schweitzer primarily challenged Burns on the issue of prescription drugs, organizing busloads of senior citizens to take trips to Canada and Mexico for cheaper medicine.William Booth, "Mont. Rancher Mounts Brawny Challenge; Crusty GOP Incumbent Finds Race Tightening Against an Equally Rough-Hewn Opponent", The Washington Post, October 31, 2000. Burns charged that Schweitzer favored "Canadian-style government controls" and claimed that senior citizens went to doctors to have "somebody to visit with. There's nothing wrong with them."
Schweitzer lost narrowly to Burns, with a 51% to 47% margin, despite being outspent two-to-one. Democratic presidential candidate Al Gore received just 33% of the vote in Montana in 2000.
Governor of Montana (2005–2013)
Elections
When incumbent Governor Judy Martz announced she would not run for re-election in 2004, Schweitzer announced his candidacy. His running mate was John Bohlinger, a Republican state senator. He won the general election by defeating Montana Secretary of State Bob Brown 50% to 46%.
In 2008, Schweitzer and Bohlinger won re-election to a second term by a landslide over Republican State Senator Roy Brown and his running mate Steve Daines; Schweitzer recurred 318,670 votes (65.4%), Brown received 158,268 votes (32.5%), and Libertarian candidate Stan Jones received 9,796 votes (2.0%).2008 Statewide General Canvass - November 4th, 2008, Compiled by Secretary of State Brad Johnson, Montana Secretary of State.
Policy and public image As governor, Schweitzer was described as having a mixture of "progressive values, populist rhetoric, and Western self-reliance." Commentator Brink Lindsey classified Schweitzer as a mixture of liberal and libertarian, espousing "anti-NAFTA, Wal-Mart-bashing economic populism." Both while campaigning and as governor, Schweitzer became known for a folksy public persona; his dog, a Border Collie named Jag, regularly accompanied him on work days at the Capitol, as well as some other official occasions.
Schweitzer was known for his unsparing use of the veto, a power exercised 95 times during his tenure. He vetoed 74 bills in the 2011 legislature, none of which were overridden.Charles S. Johnson, Schweitzer vetoes all survive override, Helena Independent Record (June 3, 2011). For instance, in April 2011, Schweitzer made news with his unconventional use of a branding iron to publicly veto several bills passed by the Republican-controlled legislature."Gov fires up VETO brand", Helena Independent Record, April 14, 2011. He denounced them as "frivolous, unconstitutional and just bad ideas" that were "in direct contradiction to the expressed will of the people of Montana.""'VETO" Schweitzer fires up branding irons to veto bills", Billings Gazette, April 13, 2011.Schweitzer setting records with his veto pen ... and branding iron, Missoulian (April 17, 2011). The bills vetoed by Schweitzer included anti-abortion legislationMontana Governor Vetoes Invasive Parental Notification Bill (press release), Center for Reproductive Rights (May 13, 2011). and legislation that would have repealed Montana's 2004 legalization of medicinal marijuana.
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."Gov rips GOP for 'lies' on budget", Helena Independent Record, August 1, 2012.
Schweitzer consistently held one of the highest approval ratings among governors in the nation, with polls regularly showing a rating of above 60 percent.Baucus approval rating slides in MSUB poll, billingsgazette.com; accessed March 1, 2015.50 State Governors: Sort By State, SurveyUSA, October 19, 2006; accessed September 17, 2015.
Schweitzer was elected chair of the Democratic Governors Association in 2008.Schweitzer to lead Democratic governors, United Press International (December 3, 2008).
As governor, Schweitzer emphasized early childhood education,Betsy Cohen, Schweitzer stresses early education, Missoulian (July 14, 2006). and in 2007 signed into law a voluntary full-time kindergarten program.Senate backs Schweitzer's schools plan, Billings Gazette (January 23, 2007).Schweitzer goes back to school to tout full-day kindergarten, Missoulian (September 27, 2007).
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.Montana Schools Must Teach Indian History, Tribal College: Journal of American Indian Higher Education, Vol. 17, No. 4 (summer 2006).Jodi Rave, Schweitzer meets with tribal leaders in Helena, Missoulian (January 5, 2009).
Under Schweitzer, from 2009 to 2012, Montana achieved the country's highest rate of increase in the proportion of its population with college degrees.Jon Marcus, In Montana, small changes spur nation's biggest jump in college graduates, Hechinger Report (June 27, 2012).Montana's improved college-graduation rates lead U.S. average, Billings Gazette (July 12, 2012). The increase was attributed to a variety of initiatives backed by Schweitzer, including increased investments in the state's two-year community college system (including an increase in state funding, allowing two-year colleges to freeze tuition), better skills and practical training, additional online courses, a dual enrollment program for high school students, and reforms to make it easier for students to transfer academic credits, such as from a two-year to a four-year college.
During his term as governor, Schweitzer focused on expanding Montana energy production, including both fossil fuels such as coal and oil and renewables such as wind.Dillon Tabish, State's Single Largest Wind Farm Powers Up, Flathead Beacon (September 25, 2012).Patrick Mazza, "Montana moving to top ranks in renewable energy, Gov. Brian Schweitzer tells Harvesting Clean Energy Conference", Climate Solutions (January 30, 2009). Schweitzer helped arrange financing for the Rim Rock Wind Farm, which opened in September 2012 as the state's largest wind farm. He strongly supported the proposed Keystone XL pipeline project, which was opposed by environmentalists. 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.
In 2009, after General Motors voided its contracts with Stillwater Mining Company for the development of platinum and palladium mines in Montana following GM'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 and South Africa).Matthew Brown, Montana gov blasts GM mine contract cancellation, Associated Press (February 17, 2015).
As governor, Schweitzer was an outspoken opponent of gun control proposals, and enjoyed the endorsement of the NRA Political Victory Fund.
In April 2009, Schweitzer signed into law the Montana Firearms Freedom Act,Jeff Taylor, Politics on a Human Scale: The American Tradition of Decentralism. (Lexington Books: 2003), p. 76. a bill that attempted to declare guns manufactured and possessed in Montana as exempt from federal gun regulation. This attempted nullification legislation was emulated by several other states, which passed similar legislation, but never went into effect, because the federal courts struck down the law on federal preemption grounds.9th Circuit rules against 2009 Montana Firearms Freedom Act, Associated Press (August 23, 2013).Montana Shooting Sports Ass'n v. Holder, 727 F.3d 975 (9th Cir. 2013).