Updated. Derek Skees, the pro-nullification Republican representing Whitefish centered House District 4, is leaving the legislature to run for state auditor — but a Republican hoping to succeed him — Dr. Rollan Roberts II — may prove to be equally colorful.
Tom Muri and Ed Lieser, filed for the HD-4 Democratic primary several weeks ago. Filing ends on 12 March 2012. As far as I know, Muri still does not have a campaign website.
Roberts describes himself as entrepreneur, author, motivational speaker, son of a preacher and teacher who grew up in West Virginia, and iDream interviewer of another local politician, Chuck Baldwin. His doctorate is in “International Business and Entrepreneurship,” but I’ve not been able to identify the institution that granted him the degree.
The LinkedIn website reports that he studied at California College (2009–2011), Liberty University (2005–2007), and Crown College (1997–2000). The Wikipedia lists four Crown Colleges. Liberty is Jerry Falwell’s outfit. California University appears to be the school located in California, PA.
He’s involved in a number of commercial adventures. On his campaign’s website, we learn:
…he began investing in real estate achieving great success in a short period of time. He soon began building businesses and before long, became the CEO of a biotech company and leading public and private companies between $100 milion and $2 billion to strong and profitable growth.
Update. Roberts took down his Internal Recovery Service website, but it’s still cached on Google. But we do not learn that he also runs a Whitefish firm called the Internal Recovery Service. It’s a collection agency for the medical industry. Here’s part of Internal Recovery’s pitch:
If you have account receivables, we can help. Using third party collection services can motivate delinquent accounts to pay. It may also be the difference between your company and practice scraping by or thriving. Our transformational collection strategies generate exceptional results for our partners while preserving their relationships. Our recover rates are among the highest in the industry because of our proprietary blend of technology and strategy. No other collection agency delivers the service, results, and satisfaction like IRS.
So if you’re down and out, behind on payments for an appendectomy, and Dr. Roberts knocks on your door, you can be forgiven for wondering whether he’s there to ask for your vote or to collect your money.
But he won’t be there to promote national healthcare:
I do not believe in mandatory healthcare or telling Montanans they have to have healthcare or what kind of healthcare to have. If you don’t want healthcare, you don’t have to get healthcare. I do not have under-the-table relationships with any interests, much less insurance or pharmaceutical companies, that incentivizes me in any way to enact legislation like Obamacare that essentially steals your God-given right to decide what is in your best interest.
Translation: it’s okay not to buy health insurance even if you can afford it, but God forbid your joining with your fellow citizens to create a we-the-people run health care system that covers everyone.
He strongly supports education, but does not offer specifics on the changes he would make:
I believe in funding schools to the extent possible. We should have nice and safe learning facilities with well-paid teachers who love what they do and are good at it. Teaching is a high calling and deserves our respect for those who influence our future in such a direct manner.
I want curriculum taught that makes sense for the real world. Practical education and common sense that prepares our young people for the Information Age is imperative to our economic self-sustenance. Merely educating our children in the same manner that was done twenty, thirty, forty years ago in the Industrial Age is no longer relevant when competing with ideas, companies, and individuals from around the world on projects, careers, and entrepreneurship opportunities.
Given his background, it’s fair to ask his views on science; whether he believes in evolution; whether he believes Creationism should be part of the curriculum.
His website features the inner circle of the Great Seal of Montana set on a deep blue background. You can decide for yourself whether he’s violating the spirit or letter of the law prohibiting the use of the seal in political campaigns.
He registered the domain name on 20 February 2012. It seems hastily put together. There are spelling errors, typos, omitted spaces — all signs of haste. That suggests the possibility of an impulse candidacy.