Democrats push for success in 2016

With optimism and a fierce sense of urgency about making gains in the upcoming elections, Hill County Democrats gathered at the Eagles Club Wednesday night for the annual Pasma-Peck dinner, headlined by Gov. Steve Bullock.

Named after legendary Havre Democratic political organizer Jim Pasma and state Rep. Ray Peck, the dinner serves as a major fundraiser and a chance to rally the party faithful.

"If we don't get Steve Bullock re-elected and we don't get more Democrats in the Legislature this state is in for troubled times," said former State Rep. Jon Musgrove, D-Havre, who was once chair of Hill County Democrats.

Tickets were $35 for adults and $15 for those 18 and under. Those in attendance dined on prime rib and were able to bid on items in a silent auction as well as a so-called "Republican auction." During the Republican auction tickets were sold for a dollar and while multiple people paid into it, very few walked away with anyything, which participants said jokingly is reflective of the Republican economic policies.

Event organizers said 67 people bought tickets to the dinner, which was up from between 40 and 50 last year. The event had been moved from its slot during Festival Days Weekend in late September when it has been held recently, to its traditional October timeframe in hopes of boosting attendance.

Bullock, who is up for re-election next year, took on Republican critics who say he has vetoed more legislation during his three years in office than any other governor in Montana history.

"I think there more things as well, but I know there are folks that actually want to turn back the clock," said Bullock. "They want to fundamentally change the state we love."

In his speech, Bullock touted the state's strong economy as well as a string of legislative successes, such passage of legislation requiring political campaigns and outside groups to disclose the names of donors, expanding access to Medicaid, record funding for K-12 education and freezing college tuition.

But he lambasted Republicans for blocking an infrastructure bill, frustration with the inability to get state funding for universal pre-kindergartm education and attempts to sell off public lands. He labeled the agenda pushed by many conservative state legislators as out of sync with mainstream thinking in the state.

So far, former Montana Secretary of State and current chair of the Montana Public Service Commission Brad Johnson has been the only Republican to officially launch a bid to take on Bullock next year, though conservative philanthropist and businessman Greg Gianforte is mulling a possible candidacy.

Though Democratic candidates for statewide office and current elected officials were invited to the dinner, Jesse Laslovich, a former state legislator from Anaconda who is running for state auditor, was the only one to show up.

Two, however, Melissa Romano, a candidate for superintendent of public instruction, and Sen. Jon Tester, who was unable to come to the dinner due to business in Washington, D.C, sent letters that were read to the audience.

In his letter, read aloud by Musgrove, Tester, a Big Sandy farmer, railed against the influence of dark money groups and expounded on issues such a protecting a woman's right to choose, preventing the sale of public lands and protecting veterans services.

"We need to take back the Legislature by electing folks to Helena who will invest in public infrastructure and strengthen public education, and not ban yoga pants or sell off public lands," wrote Tester, referencing an unsuccessful effort by a Republican legislator to strengthen Montana's indecent exposure law.

Tester also urged Democrats to come out in force next November to re-elect Bullock and other Democrats. He said Democrats need to win the state's lone seat in the House of Representatives currently held by Republican Rep. Ryan Zinke. Though they have come close on some occasions, Democrats have not held that seat since 1998.

Tester donated $500 to the party's central committee to be used in the upcoming elections.

Currently Democrats do not have a candidate to take on Zinke in the 2016 elections.

Much of the conversation, though, addressed the stinging defeats faced in the 2014 midterm elections, including the loss of an open U.S Senate held by Democrats for a century when Republican Steve Daines won the seat following the retirement of longtime senator Max Baucus.

Closer to home, many Hill County Democrats remain stunned. During the past several election cycles, Hill County, especially in Havre, has gone from being Democratic strongholds to being represented by Republicans in both houses of the state legislature.

Laslovich said Havre is similar to Anaconda, the blue collar town where he grew up that regularly elects Democrats and remains firmly in the Democratic column.

Laslovich extolled Democrats such as Musgrove, former state Sen. Greg Jergeson, who was also in attendance, and Tester, who also served in the state Legislature. But he said that in the past few cycles Havre has strayed from that tradition.

"We have the same values," Laslovich said. "Families want the same for their kids as they do in Anaconda. Working families, yet the people who are representing you in the legislature are not sharing our values."

He pointed to the election of state Sen. Kris Hansen and state Rep. Stephanie Hess, both Republicans from Havre, to the state Legislature. Even on reliably Democratic Rocky Boy's Indain Reservation, Republican Bruce Meyers won an upset victory in 2014 to a seat in the state Legislature.

Despite the setbacks, though, many of those at the dinner were motivated and optimistic about their chances in 2016, with many party officials saying that while they might be outspent by groups friendly to Republicans, their own determination will be unmatched.