Following opening remarks and introduction of dignitaries in attendance, the first business session of the Montana Tavern Association's 52 Annual Convention got underway with an enthusiastic welcome for Gov. Brian Schweitzer. In tow was Montana's First Dog, the Border Collie Jag.
The 2 p.m. Sept. 12 session was moderated by Mark Staples who reminded the crowd that last year when the Governor spoke he turned to his left and, shaking his finger in Staples' direction, admonished Jag, who was out of sight behind the dais, to "sit down and behave!" Staples at the time looked wryly at the audience and said, "I trust he's talking to the dog."
Staples also reminded the audience that the first time Gov. Schweitzer, at the time a candidate, addressed MTA members, he promised he would not allow a wholesale destruction of Montana's strict control of alcohol distribution, the state's license quota system and the concurrent loss of owners' business assets.
And the Governor has stood by his word, Staples said, to solid applause.
When taking the podium, Gov. Schweitzer received a standing ovation. After a humorous story about one of Montana's premiere attorneys being tossed unceremoniously from the famous M&M Bar in Butte for ordering drinks considered by the bartender to be too fancy, Schweitzer turned to business.
"You (license holders) didn't create the (state's quota) system," the Governor said, "but you bought your way in. That license has value and I will protect that system.
"There has been a legitimate concern that some chains aren't coming in because of expensive liquor licenses," he continued.
ut MTA in fact supported legislation in the last session that made well over 100 new restaurant beer and wine licenses available, Gov. Schweitzer noted.
"You did the right thing (by supporting the "cabaret' licensing law)," he continued. "Now we can all get a 'Pink Lobster' in our back yards."
Regarding gambling, the Governor said he has heard some advocate "pushing the envelope" to allow expansion of gambling, but others, notably MTA, he said, "don't want to open Pandora's Box; rather, leave it alone. As an organization, MTA has done the right thing–continue the status quo; it's working."
Gov. Schweitzer has been on record for years opposing any expansion of gambling anywhere in the state.
Schweitzer then singled out Rep. Harry Klock (R-Harlowton), a tavern owner, and a past president and board chairman of MTA, for specific praise.
"After 95 days of the (legislative) session, things were falling apart," the Governor recalled. "I called Harry and asked him to come and talk. We had a drink. Harry gave me some ideas on how to get the ball rolling. (In the special session) we put the pieces together (that got a budget passed) and it was Harry Klock that did it. Thanks, Harry!"
Then he told the audience, "Staples is a bulldog at the capitol. You've got the right guy working for you there."
In conclusion, Gov. Schweitzer said, "I'm going to stick with you," but then added a warning: "The economy is strong...for now. We've got 2 percent unemployment, wages are increasing, we've created 1,500 jobs a month for the last two and one-half years. The boom in the west end of the state is spilling into eastern Montana where there are now housing shortages in Miles City."
Business experts, Schweitzer said, including Dr. Paul Polzin, head of the University of Montana's Bureau of Business and Economic Research, "are saying Montana's economy cannot get better. Metals are strong, construction, cattle and wheat. Times are good right now."
ut Montana's economy has always been quite cyclical, the Governor noted. "Put some money aside, even though we've had four good years in a row. They can always be followed by bad years in the future. Put some money aside; that's what we've done in state government."
Source: The Montana Tavern Times, September, 2007, published monthly by Continental Communications, 125 W. Granite St., Suite 102, Butte, MT 59701.