Public Service Commission candidate Galbreath speaks in Havre

K. Webb Galbreath, a candidate running for District 1 Public Service Commissioner in this year's Republican primary, spoke at North Central Pachyderms Friday where he talked about his political positions and criticized his opponent, incumbent Randy Pinocci.

Galbreath said he was born and raised in Browning, where he went to high school before joining the U.S. Marine Corps, which he stayed in for 10 years, retiring as a sergeant.

He said he's also worked in construction and later as a police officer with the Bureau of Indian Affairs, later eventually becoming a police chief.

He said he has degrees in political science and Native American studies from the University of Montana as well as a minor in constitutional law, and after obtaining them he worked with the Blackfeet Tribe as their security director.

Galbreath touted his conservative bona fides, saying he worried foremost about money, his elders and the future.

He said he is not an ideological supporter of alternative energy like wind and solar power, but does feel they should be investigated, claiming that the coal industry is dead thanks to President Joe Biden and former President Barack Obama.

Galbreath said he's not an expert on nuclear power, but given the recent advancements he's heard about it may well be the future of power.

He also talked about his conservative beliefs that aren't relevant to the position he's running for, such as his belief that "life begins at conception," and that changing ones gender is impossible.

He also said going to college was a fascinating experience and it was amazing to see how liberals think.

Galbreath said he's not a politician and he's not here to ask people for their votes, but to tell them who he is and to assure people that he will work hard for them.

"I think it's important to never forget who we are and where we come from," he said.

While Galbreath spent some time detailing his own political positions, he also spent time criticizing the current Public Service Commission, as well as his opponent specifically.

"The public service commission has become a resting place for termed-out politicians," he said.

He said the commission cannot be a springboard for people who want to run for higher offices, that Montana power customers can't afford that kind of situation, especially those on fixed income.

Galbreath also talked about a Legislative Audit Division report released last year about the commission which found that commissioners bucked state policy with excessive travel expenses, questionable purchases and attempts to falsify documents.

He said the audit found the current commission had created an unhealthy organizational culture and its leadership was ineffective, and, if something isn't done to improve the overall environment there, the next audit could be even worse.

He said some have asked whether responsibility for the behavior of PSC staff should fall on the staff or PSC leadership, and he said staff behavior is a direct reflection of leadership.

When asked whether he supported making PSC positions appointed rather than elected he said he thinks that would allow governors to give seats to political donors, friends and political hacks who have no clue what the job entails because they're not affected by it.

On the subject of the newly redrawn PSC districts, he said he thinks it's unlikely that the Legislature will bother to change the districts during the upcoming session.

These districts were recently redrawn after a lawsuit was filed against Montana Secretary of State Christi Jacobsen alleging that the district were outdated and did not have an even enough number of people in them, violating the "on-person-one-vote" principal.

The suit, brought by three Montana voters including former Republican Montana Secretary of State and Senate President Bob Brown, was found in favor of the plaintiffs and required that the districts be redrawn to better reflect the populations of Montana.

The judges drew new districts very close to a proposed map provided by the secretary of state's office, bringing their populations close enough to pass constitutional muster, but the judges did not preclude a special session being called for the Legislature to draw the new districts.

As well as criticizing the PSC in general, Galbreath had a number of criticism of his opponent specifically.

When the Havre Daily News reached out to Pinocci for a response to his opponent's criticism he initially said he wanted to respond, he later said HDN has printed things about him that are untrue in the past and he's afraid that will happen again so he would not comment.

Pinoocci did not specify what was misreported in the conversation Saturday and did not respond by printing deadline to a request for specifics.

At Friday's meeting Galbreath said Pinocci earlier this year voted against a proposal to grant trash removal company L&L Site Services a certificate that would allow them to operate in Missoula County, a vote he said was counter to Republican values.

Pinocci was one of the two commissioners who voted against the proposal that would allow the company to expand its garbage hauling operations into the area.

He also claimed Pinocci "flip-flopped" on Senate Bill 331, which scaled back the commission's regulatory authority over NorthWestern Energy's operation at Colstrip, a proposal PSC staff advised the commissioners to oppose.

Pinnocci, along with three other commissioners voted to support the bill in March of 2019.

At a Pachyderms meeting in April of that year Pinocci said he supports the bill but was working with NorthWestern Energy and legislators to amend it so it wouldn't pass on cleanup and decommissioning costs on to consumers.

Galbreath also criticized Pinocci's voting record in general, saying he votes too often with Democrats and called him a, Republican in name only.

He also said Pinocci takes a lot of money from NorthWestern Energy, the very company he's largely tasked with regulating, pointing to the website https://www.followthemoney.org which tracks political donations.

The website lists a donation of $170 from NorthWestern Energy to Pinocci's candidacy.

At the meeting, audience member Bob Sivertsen said not enough people are talking about the subsidies given to companies for developing solar and wind power and the affect it has on utility rates.

Galbreath said he generally thinks the U.S. government is too big and has too many social programs.

After Galbreath's address Hill County Republican Central Committee Chair Andrew Brekke said the Pachyderms is values-based and clearly Galbreath is too, and they appreciate him running.