Preite nominated to return to USDA Rural Development

Montana's U.S. Sens. Max Baucus and Jon Tester said Thursday they have nominated a Havre native with decades of economic development experience for the position of Montana state director for the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Rural Development.

Baucus and Tester said in a press release they have nominated Tony Preite for the job, pending appointment by President Barack Obama.

Preite would take the place of Matt Jones, who left the USDA Rural Development position to take a job as a communications director for Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway.

"Tony's a great candidate because he's focused on good-paying jobs and he's dedicated to public service," Baucus said in a press release. "Tony knows how important it is to be proactive about economic development and I hope the president moves forward quickly on his appointment."

"Tony's long record of creating jobs and bringing new businesses to Montana make him the right man to strengthen rural Montana's economy," Tester said in the release. "Smart, responsible leadership will keep rural Montana moving in the right direction, and I look forward to working with Tony to bring new economic opportunities to our state."

Preite's resumé is lengthy, including a stint as Montana's Rural Development director in the 1990s. He took that position when he retired in 1993 as executive director of Bear Paw Development Corp., a position he had held since shortly after the economic development agency was created in 1968.

In 1999, he became regional office director for Economic Development for the U.S. Department of Commerce in Denver, and after retiring from that position, he became director for Space Commercialization and Economic Development Outreach at University of Montana in 2003, then Gov. Brian Schweitzer appointed him director of the Montana Department of Commerce in 2004.

In 2010, he resigned from that position, and soon became director for outreach and economic development at Montana State University-Northern in Havre — he graduated from Northern in 1963, while it still was Northern Montana College.

Preite also worked with Baucus in the senator's "Call to Action in the Bakken," serving as a multi-agency coordinator to help local communities find which programs would help them address the impacts of the oil and gas boom.

USDA Rural Development works in conjunction with the state and local partners to leverage resources for expanding infrastructure in rural Montana and supporting jobs, the senators' release said. In fiscal year 2011, Montana projects received more than $333 million in USDA Rural Development funds, including $191 million for rural housing, $71 million for expanding telephone and broadband services. More than $7 million in USDA Rural Development funds helped rural Montana communities maintain and expand essential services such as libraries, hospitals, and emergency services.