Bill Gallagher won't seek re-election to PSC

KALISPELL (AP) — Montana Public Service Commissioner Bill Gallagher says he is not seeking re-election after the pancreatic cancer he was diagnosed with in June spread to his liver.

Gallagher, a 54-year-old Helena attorney, said Tuesday he plans to serve out his remaining term, which ends in January 2015.

Gallagher tells the Daily Inter Lake that with chemotherapy, his doctors have given him a 3 percent chance to live for the next five years. He tells Lee Newspapers of Montana he wants to focus on his work, his family and "beating this abominable disease" without undertaking a re-election campaign.

Gallagher is a Republican on the commission that oversees electricity, natural gas, telephone and water companies doing business in Montana. His district includes Lewis and Clark, Flathead, Lake, Glacier, Pondera and Teton counties.