'Man of the soil’ heads Gaming Advisory Council
Pub Date: 11/1/2005
By Paul F. Vang
I d been on the farm most of my life and I decided I wanted a little change, is how Rep. John Witt (R-Carter) recalls his initial campaign for county commissioner for Chouteau County.
This led to election to the Montana Legislature, and a current assignment as chairman of the Gaming Advisory Council, the statutory committee made up of legislators, citizens, local government and gaming industry representatives.
The Council provides oversight to the gaming industry and makes reports and recommendations to the Department of Justice.
Witt is currently serving his fourth term in the legislature and is beginning to see a light at the end of the public service tunnel, as he will be unable to seek re-election because of term limits.
Looking back at a career as a farmer and rancher and years of elective public service, Witt, now age 63, is wondering what might come next, though he s not sure about his future directions.
My wife tells me that after 40 years, it s time for me to get a real job, he wisecracks, though I don t know how I d handle that.
Witt is a man of the soil and has been involved with farming and ranching all his life, a tradition that is continuing, as all three of their sons are involved in farming in Montana s Golden Triangle.
One son also has a trucking business and at the time of our conversation, Witt had been working long hours driving a truck for his son hauling grain.
We kind of put our own stuff on the back burner and I m working for him, he says of the rush to get this year s bumper crops to market.
Witt s service on the county commission turned out to be a stepping stone to varied experiences.
He became president of the Montana Association of County Commissioners, and also was appointed to the Advisory Committee of the Joint Center for Sustainable Communities, an assignment where he served alongside mayors of Chicago, Minneapolis, Atlanta and other large cities.
That was an interesting experience, he says.
I decided to get off the commission and run for the legislature, he recalls, and became a key player in the then Republican-controlled legislature.
He also decided to get involved with gaming issues and secured an appointment to the Gaming Advisory Council.
I ve always been interested in the bar business and gaming, he says of the appointment. I thought it would be interesting to get involved with it and learn how it all works, especially with all the technology changes going on, he says.
In the 2003 legislative session, Witt stepped into a hot-button issue when he agreed to sponsor of HB 757, the Destination Montana bill that would have established a wide open gambling district in Butte.
We had hearings in the Old Supreme Court room and the walls were lined with people, and we never knew when we might get hit with a brick or get a pat on the back.
A lot of legislators told me privately that they d support the bill if the gaming district would be in their own community, but not in Butte.
While the bill went down in defeat, Witt looks back at the controversy as a fascinating political experience. It was interesting I sure met a lot of people. Then, when I d go home, I got all sorts of comments.
Witt notes that the tavern industry at large appeared divided over Destination Montana, although the Montana Tavern Association took no position.
There was a real mixed bag among tavern owners. Some were for it, some against it. One small town operator said, If a couple people a day would stop in on their way to Butte, I'd be all for it.'
When asked how a Hi-Line farmer/legislator got involved with Destination Montana, Witt says, A lot of my family lived and worked in Butte, and I remember how many people in the Great Falls area worked in the smelter, and how a lot of farm families were able to hang on, because they d go to work in the mines or the smelter in the winter months.
While Witt acknowledges there were unanswered questions in the Destination Montana issue ( there are a lot of promoters out there ), he says he has no regrets and predicts, Maybe we ll take another look at it some day.
He went on to say, It bothers me with what s happening with reservation gaming in other states. I d like to try some other approach to get more money for the state and our counties. If we re going to open up gaming on reservations, maybe we should open it for everyone.
He sums up the Destination Montana episode by saying, It needed to be talked about.
While Destination Montana was a controversial issue, Witt talks fondly of the many relationships he s established with tavern operators and Montana Tavern Association members.
Most folks I ve met through MTA are good people. They ll put their opinions on the line and tell you what they think, he says. They re not very wishy-washy. I like that. I like to think I m kind of the same way, myself.
As an observer of Montana s gaming business, Witt expresses concerns about some issues, especially people with gambling problems.
I realize people have to be responsible for their own actions, but I m concerned about the problem. I m also concerned that we re saturating the market in Montana. You drive down 10th Avenue South in Great Falls and it seems like all you see is casinos. In Montana we have a population of less than a million people, and I m not sure that gaming brings a lot of tourist traffic.
"Still, it s a way of life and it generates income, but I m concerned. In any event, we (State of Montana) have become dependent on gambling money. It better not go away or a lot of people s taxes will go up.
Of his assignment to the Gaming Advisory Council, Witt talked about his fellow members, including the mayor of Kalispell, and the Garfield County attorney. It s a fun mix of people" he says.
He expresses regret that when his legislative term expires a year from now, he ll have to leave the council, unless he should be appointed back as a private citizen.
The 2005 legislative session, with a Democratic-controlled Senate and a 50-50 Democratic/Republican split in the House, was, as even casual observers noticed, a contentious affair.
Witt notes that if Republicans held control of the House, he would have been chairman of the powerful appropriations committee. With the even split and Democrat Brian Schweitzer as Governor, Democrats ended up with the chairmanships and Witt became vice chairman. While he was disappointed, he made the best of it.
I did pretty well, I thought'; all except one of the bills I sponsored were enacted, he says. Included in the bills he sponsored was HB 2, the appropriations bill that funds state government for the biennium.
I had a lot of success, Witt says matter-of-factly. I try to communicate with them, he says of his Democrat colleagues. It s all about communications, and it takes all of us to make things work.
He adds, I think I have a lot of respect on the other side.
He s a dyed-in-the-wool Republican, there s no doubt about that, says freshman legislator Art Noonan (D-Butte), but he isn t an ideologue, either. Noonan went on to give Witt credit for getting funding for new construction on the Montana Tech campus in Butte.
With term limits ending his career in the House of Representatives at the end of 2006, Witt is seeing a possible end to his years of elective service.
I m going to miss it. I don t know what I m going to run for next, though my wife says I should run from, not for. While he could run for a seat in the state Senate, he says the incumbent in his district is a Republican so he wouldn t want to compete against him. Of course, he adds with a chuckle, if he wanted to step aside...
He is considering a possibility of getting work as a lobbyist in some future legislative session, a not-unheard of alternative among former legislators.
I think I could be effective as a lobbyist. Someone might need an old dirt farmer from up north for something, he says.
In any event, Witt expects to stay active in public issues.
I like to be involved in civic things, he says, noting he s on the board of directors for the Fort Benton Historical Museum and the McLaughlin Center in Great Falls.
Over the years he s also served on the county fair board and has been active with Marias River irrigation development and on a large irrigation project in Liberty County.
Even if he retires from public life, John and his wife Joanne won't lack for activity.
They have six grandchildren, all busy with school activities. In fact, they ve established a second home in Fort Benton, in part so the grandchildren can have a handy headquarters in town after school and between school activities.
Naturally, they continue to make a lot of trips to the ranch, as well. Some people have a cabin on Georgetown Lake. We go out to the ranch, he quips.
The Witts enjoy attending high school athletic events, and the day before our interview, they d gone to a football game at Cascade.
It s a lot of fun, he says.
He also enjoys fishing and most years he goes on a major fishing trip to Canada s Northwest Territories. He also enjoys hunting, though gets a little frustrated.
Every year I apply for permits'; moose, sheep, goats, the whole bit. I m convinced the Fish, Wildlife and Parks computer is programmed to screen out legislators, because I never get drawn.
Whether he draws any special permits or not, he still enjoys his annual outing to an elk camp in the mountains near Dillon.
While Witt has mixed emotions about possibly ending his legislative career, he has no regrets about the varied directions he has gone over the years.
This old life... he says, If I had to do it all over again, I don t know as I d do anything different.
The words of a satisified man.
Source: The Montana Tavern Times, Nov. 2005, published monthly by Continental Communications, 125 W. Granite St., Suite 102, Butte, MT 59701.