17 June 2022 — 0827 mdt

An earlier return would not have improved flood response.

Prior to his vacation, did Gianforte formally ask Lt. Gov. Juras
to serve as acting governor while he was gone from Montana?

By James Conner

Probably not. We know from a report in the Montana Free Press that on Monday, 13 June, Gianforte in writing asked, which is to say, directed, Juras to act on his behalf in his absence, but limited her power to do so to matters regarding flooding:

Article VI, Section 14, Subsection 2, of Montana’s 1972 constitution controls when a lieutenant governor can serve as acting governor:

Whether a lieutenant governor can serve as an acting governor only on certain issues is a question for which I have no answer and on which Subsection 2 is silent. But I would argue that an acting governor with only a subset of the full powers of a governor is not a good idea.

Was there a contingency plan to transfer power?

Prior to his departure from Montana, did Gianforte and Juras have a written understanding, that is a contingency plan, setting forth the circumstances under which he would request in writing that she serve as acting governor? Again, if such a document exists it’s a public document that must be released to the public without delay. If such a document does not exist, why does it not? And when will such a document be drafted and signed by Gianforte and Juras?

There’s no question that Gianforte’s staff handled this matter, possibly at his explicit instruction, with a minimum of transparency and a maximum of arrogance (see Mike Brown’s remarks today at The Western Word).

But would an earlier return by Gianforte have made an on-the-ground difference?

No. Disaster management is a local matter. Regardless of his whereabouts, the same people would have been in charge at the county and city level, and would have done the same things. Moreover, as Rebecca Solnit observed in her classic study of disasters, A Paradise Built in Hell: The Extraordinary Communities That Arise in Disasters, the real first responders are the people living in the disaster area. They rescue themselves before the sheriff, search and rescue, and FEMA arrive.

The fundamental criticism of the timing of his return derives not from a convincing argument that his presence in Montana would have made a material difference in flood response but from a visceral sense that it just was not fair for him to be enjoying himself somewhere far away while Montanans were suffering and in danger of losing their homes, their livelihoods, their possessions, their sense of self-worth, and all hope.

Not rushing back was a political mistake. But I’m cutting him some slack because an earlier return would not have made a difference on the ground.

Still, I wish he had returned sooner (news reports said he was returning last night), as his presence in the flooded communities would have reassured people that Montana’s highest elected official had their backs. Providing that kind of reassurance is part of a governor’s job description.

A wildly successful businessman, Gianforte is a skilled administrator, but he is not a man with the intuitive political savvy of Franklin Roosevelt, Ronald Reagan, Bill Clinton, or Joe Biden, Larry Hogan, or numerous southern governors who deal with hurricanes on a regular basis. And he seems to lack staff with the wit and clout to get him to do the right thing when he needs that kind of help. He may need to do some hiring and firing, and to move some people around.

Presumably, he and his staff will learn the right lessons and act according the next time the rivers escape their banks.

The next flood

The questions raised in this post require answers. But as we demand those answers, let us also demand that our civil servants and our elected officials devise plans for making flood victims whole again and for rebuilding roads, and for minimizing the damage from future floods. As surely as the sun rises, the rivers will rise again. Let’s not have as our only response another paroxysm of high dudgeon over the governor’s whereabouts and alleged cold heart.