Tropila: example of absurdity of term limits
The 2009 legislature has ended and Montanans in the hospitality
business can breathe a sigh of relief; they came away without any tax
increases or significant new regulatory burdens.
But they also
should breathe sighs of regret and exasperation. The asinine ballot
enactment of “term limits” is forcefully retiring dozens of deeply
experienced and publicly supported legislators at a time in our state’s
history when we need them more than ever.
It is an absurd proposition to spend our time and tax money educating
Montana public servants (and their time and money also) to do the
extremely complex and crucial job of legislating, and then just when
they get competent...automatically retire them! What a waste!
If you ran any business that way, it’d fail miserably.
Finally got your managers, secretaries, marketing people, accountants,
maintenance and servers to a high level of experience and
productivity? Sorry, gotta can em’, for no reason other than their
length of service.
It’s not as if there wasn’t already a
personnel management mechanism in place for the public to deal with the
legislature. It’s called voting. However, term limits has strangled
that process by eliminating one crucial feature: after a quite short
“term,” you can’t vote to return a legislator to a job well done.
If we could, of the many legislators MTA members would vote to
retain—if term limits didn’t eradicate that right—Great Falls Sen. Joe
Tropila would be at the front of the line. We’ve had many champions in
the Montana Legislature, but none more steadfast and effective than
Joe.
He belongs in the pantheon of long-time MTA legislative
heroes with the likes of Bob Pavlovich and Dave Brown of Butte, Jerry
Driscoll of Billings, and Vickie Cochiarella of Missoula.
Joe
served our country in the Air Force, our industry as the owner of
several noted establishments, served in county government,
served—longer than just about any other legislator—in both the State
House and Senate, and he’s been a valued member of the state Gaming
Advisory Council.
Joe never shied away from taking on the
tough assignments for licensed beverage businesses in Montana, but
always did so with civility and dignity admired by both parties. Oh
yeah, by the way, to my knowledge, he never once failed in those
pursuits—not once.
Joe is now at such a level of experience and
knowledge of the legislative process that he makes his way around the
capitol (and state) with what appears to be minimal effort. However,
what you’re really seeing there are the purposeful steps of a seasoned
pro. It’s a pleasure and honor to watch someone work at that level of
expertise, particularly when it’s on our behalf.
Joe’s not just
MTA’s hero, he’s also been a mainstay for veterans, for the Great Falls
State School for the Hearing Impaired, and of course for his direct
constituents in Cascade County. He’s also been a mentor for countless
legislators who have soaked up his readily available counsel.
That a public servant such as Joe Tropila, who is still at the top of
his game, upon whom so many rely for aid and assistance, who is the
overwhelming choice of his electors to continue in that role, and who
so clearly relishes serving others, is now constitutionally prohibited
from doing what he does so well, and what we all want him to continue
to do, is a travesty of true democracy.
We’d like to chant,
“Say it ain’t so, Joe,” but alas, we know it is. So, we’ll say instead
“Joe, here’s a toast to you. Thanks for everything.”
Source: The Montana Tavern Times, May 2009, published monthly by Continental Communications, 125 W Granite, Suite 102, Butte, MT 59701.