Latest from the Genius who Tried To Require Job Applicants to Turn Over Facebook, Email Passwords

A couple of things for the record: (0.00 / 0)

Jeff Krause is no longer the "deputy Mayor".  As of Monday, he is The Mayor of Bozeman.  The way we do things here is that the Mayor-elect flrst serves on the commission for 2 years before serving his or her term.  In that time, that person is the deputy Mayor.

Second, to the best of my knowledge, he did indeed "materialize" on Fox and Friends Monday morning.  No, I didn't watch it.

Third, and this is the big one for me. Krause among all the City commissioners was the most vehement about correcting the online ID fiasco.  Your post makes it read like he was responsible for it in the first place.  For that, I think you might owe the man an apology.

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by: Rob Kailey @ Thu Jan 07, 2010 at 18:20:30 PM UTC

One more clarification (0.00 / 0)

It was Schweitzer who was first answering to Fox News.  

This is about state laws. It is the legislature that appropriates money.  That use was approved into law by the legislature and signed by the governor who had veto power and didn't exercise it (even though exercising line-item veto in this specific bill).  There are more than a dozen towns doing the same thing, including the City of Helena, which is spending a huge chunk of change just for a hand-painted mural on the clamshell in town.

There are laws.  This is bad because I certainly don't want to have the next Judy Martz doing the same thing.  Just because it's a Democrat doesn't make it ok.

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by: jhwygirl @ Fri Jan 08, 2010 at 01:11:22 AM UTC

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All the same, if there are going to be cuts, I'd rather have them cut tennis courts than food for seniors. (0.00 / 0)

When times are tough, you have to prioritize.  I hope anyone would do the same.

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by: Montana Cowgirl @ Fri Jan 08, 2010 at 02:05:57 AM UTC

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There were cuts (0.00 / 0)

were you paying attention to the legislature?

The budget was passed by passing budgetary cuts to public health & human services AND education, shoring it up with some stimulus funding - leaving it still with larger cuts, while maintaining the proposed smaller budget cuts of everything else.

stimulus funds are different from the budget - but if you want to look at problems, look at a budget that was negotiated out in the last few days of the legislature that had a split house accepting perm. cuts DPHHS (your food cuts to seniors....) while using stimulus funds for a long laundry list of things they made legal for the funds to be used for.

Go read the bill.  If you listen to the minutes, you can hear some good dems passionately arguing on the floor that if budget cuts were going to be made, it shouldn't be made at the expense of meals for senior citizens.  Seriously.  It's there.

That's not the Governor's fault, btw.  DPHHS was cut in the legislature.  And now, clearly, any chances of reinstating DPHHS' funding are just about nil, now, for the 2011 session.

It's far more complex than what the Fox News soundbites would lead you to believe.  People should know that.  

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by: jhwygirl @ Fri Jan 08, 2010 at 03:19:44 AM UTC

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I don't see how a tennis court built by a Minn. company helps Montana's economy. (0.00 / 0)

Facts are facts.

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by: Montana Cowgirl @ Fri Jan 08, 2010 at 03:59:27 AM UTC

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Here's some more facts (0.00 / 0)

we are a nation of laws.  As I said somewhere (at home or over here. maybe both) I sure don't want to have to stand by when the next Judy Martz gets elected and she goes cutting, say, sex ed funding because she thinks it's stupid.

Krauss - if you had seen him on Faux News (I taped it) - DID reply to the Minnesota issue. What they are getting isn't manufactured in Montana, and the firm actually uses Montana labor to do what they do.  

I will say that is common practice for a whole bunch of shit.  Do you think indoor swim facilities are manufactured here in Montana?  Plenty of those indoor pools around in several city parks....

Secondly - getting back to that nation of law stuff - it is illegal, under Montana law, to give preference to in-state contractors.

Look, I don't agree with the guy and he isn't my mayor...and he did vote against the anti-war referendum a few years back (I think he was the only one)...but in this case, Bozeman didn't do anything more than a shit load of other cities did in this state - and let me note that at no time during his Faux News interview did he fall back to a "well everyone else is doing it" defense.  Bozeman is doing it completely legally, since the law passed by the legislature and signed by the governor (who, again, had line-item veto power).

I am not going to double-standard my elected representatives.  

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by: jhwygirl @ Sat Jan 09, 2010 at 01:19:52 AM UTC

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Okay. So you are wanting to say he's doing something legal. Fine. (0.00 / 0)

I'm talking about doing what's right.

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by: Montana Cowgirl @ Sat Jan 09, 2010 at 02:48:42 AM UTC

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Actually (0.00 / 0)

I'm more focused on the fact that someone isn't following the law.  

You seem to have a personal thing with Krauss.  You post a post with a headline that is untrue, and you slam on Krauss as if he'd doing something that 15 other cities aren't doing - some to much larger amounts - around the state.

I've looked at it as a larger issue...while, to continue to defend your position, you offer that he should break the law to do what you like.

There's a cohesiveness that's lacking in your position.

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by: jhwygirl @ Sat Jan 09, 2010 at 03:27:52 AM UTC

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thanks to jhwygirl and wulfgar for correcting the record (0.00 / 0)

"Gov. Brian Schweitzer has said that state and federal law prohibits Montana from requiring that contract work be done in state. The governor cited the preference law, (Montana Code Annotated 18-1-102) as amended in 1991, which says a public agency will award a public contract for construction, repair or public works "to the lowest responsible bidder without regard to residency.""Billings Gazette, 11/4/2009 As jhwygirl points out, it's illegal to do what Montana Cowgirl suggests.

"Bozeman citizen Gerri Westrick told the commission that Bozeman became the butt of international ridicule but complimented the city on a speedy response.
"Wasn't last Thursday morning a beautiful day? And then 1 o'clock hit and I got the emails and we saw it. My city, where I chose to move to, was the butt of ridicule internationally. And by Friday afternoon this commission, especially Mr. Krauss, had taken steps to rectify that." KZBK.com "City of Bozeman Hiring Practice Brouhaha". As wulfgar points out, I was on the record first and up front apologizing and demanding that the practice stop. ABC news, that Thursday, has me on the record on the subject. Saying it was my idea? That's just wrong.

And, jhwygirl, both Commissioner Jeff Rupp (a well known Bozeman liberal, affordable housing activist, and Exec Director of HRDC) and I voted against the surrender ordinance. I was Mayor at the time and I did refuse to sign it.

What is right is listening to constituents. What's right in Montana is calling neighbors and finding out what's going on before talking out of your ass, and, in Montana, we are all neighbors. What's right is the legislature letting Montanans choose what projects are important, and appropriate, for them. What's right is listening to those citizens, rather than throwing them under the bus to make a splash on Fox News.

The people in Bozeman supported this project and wanted it done. The Recreation and Parks board, and the Parks staff, brought this project to the Commission. The Mayor at the time wanted all the money spent on parks (on the record) but we put most of the money into sidewalks and ADA accessibility. We are spending $1.3 million of other stimulus funds on the 53 million dollar wastewater treatment plant.

But some of the stimulus money, like some of the annual budget, went to parks and recreation infrastructure, a climbing rock for the northside, and rehabilitation of multi use courts (basketball and tennis)in Bogert park. Those courts were unsafe and money would have been spent to fence them off or turn them into parking, but with this stimulus project, the people of Bozeman now will have additional recreation opportunities in one of our best parks.

I'm not the least bit defensive or ashamed of that decision. For that matter, my apology to the people of Bozeman for the facebook issue gives me no pause, either. Somebody had to apologize, and I thought it should be the city leadership, no matter who it was who was actually responsible.

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by: JeffK @ Sat Jan 09, 2010 at 16:25:43 PM UTC

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Heh (0.00 / 0)

One more minor quibble.  I wouldn't call Fox and Friends "news".

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by: Rob Kailey @ Thu Jan 07, 2010 at 19:26:20 PM UTC

true (0.00 / 0)

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by: Montana Cowgirl @ Thu Jan 07, 2010 at 19:55:19 PM UTC

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Also (0.00 / 0)

I really don't want to get too far off the actually topic of the post, but we do kinda need to put this ID/password thingy to rest.

It was not possible at the time for the City Commission to have prevented the fiasco because they could not have prevented the policy in the first place.  The policy was set at the HR level, under Patty Berg, and signed off on by the City Attorney.  All those functions are in the domain of the City Manager, Kukulski.  Berg and Kukulski were suspended without pay for a period of time (Kukulski a week and Berg's suspension was kept private from the public as an internal matter to the City.)  The fact is, the Commissioners didn't know about the procedure until the national press and the Internet started beating their doors down, so to speak.  Jeff Krauss was correct in his apology, that the city response was too slow.  That is what he should have apologized for because that is what he and the Commission had a hand in.  The City Commission also moved that all such hiring practices now have to be cleared through the Commission.

It would be easy for the cynical to claim "oh, right.  The Commissioners knew NOTHING about it.  ~wink~, Sure they didn't..."  Here's the disclosure part of this; I know Jeff Krauss personally, and many in the Montana online know him as well though he does comment mostly anonymously.  It is possible that some on that body knew of the policy and favored it, but I seriously doubt Jeff was one of them.  His actions tell me that.

Further, it would be wise to keep in mind that the City of Bozeman is currently facing lawsuit because a city police officer was stupid enough to write about his busts on Facebook in a very derogatory and possibly culpable manner.  Though that tort action has yet to be resolved, it isn't a mystery that Berg would have instituted this heinous policy in a misguided attempt to protect the city.  That doesn't make the policy 'right' (it wasn't), but it does show a depth to the issue that most of the outraged haven't bothered to consider.

Finally, I want to apologize to Jeff for misspelling his name.  It's "Krauss", not "Krause".

I now return you to your regularly scheduled blogging.  

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by: Rob Kailey @ Thu Jan 07, 2010 at 19:58:44 PM UTC

Thanks again for the inside perspective! (0.00 / 0)

If you know this guy, I think it would help him to point out  how silly his current actions are making him appear.  He's making national press in a bad way and if he is a good guy he deserves to know that he's not helping himself on the tennis court front.

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by: Montana Cowgirl @ Thu Jan 07, 2010 at 23:52:15 PM UTC

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Just because I know him (0.00 / 0)

Doesn't mean I always agree with him.  In fact, I got to know him because I called him a "whore" on my blog, and he called me on it.

He's already made his case in the national press.  Now he is at odds with the Governor.  I'm not convinced that he desires to help himself, but I am convinced that he wants to help Bozeman, whether I agree with how he does it or not.

If he wishes to defend himself here or not is a small matter.  It won't make one iota of difference to whether or not I think he's a "good guy".

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by: Rob Kailey @ Fri Jan 08, 2010 at 00:10:58 AM UTC

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