Remembering Libertarian Mike Fellows

From the dome to your home. Ramblings, mutterings, keen observations and things you ought to know out of Helena from the mind of Phil Drake.

SAD NEWS: It was about 9:30 p.m. on a night not too long ago when the telephone rang. I was plopped on my couch, sipping a drink and watching TV. It was Mike Fellows, the Libertarian candidate for the House of Representatives. He told me he had just gotten out of the hospital and was working his way through the long list of unanswered telephone calls. We chatted briefly and I asked if it would be OK to call him the next day. He said sure.

I now wish I would have kept him on the line.

I’m certain most of you have heard about his death in an automobile crash Sept. 19 after a candidates’ forum in Seeley Lake. The Libertarians have a replacement candidate in place, Rick Breckenridge. I wish I could say something glowing or eloquent about Mr. Fellows. I thought of him as the Montana Libertarian Party and it’s nice to see these other candidates rise to the challenge. I found him to be very courteous and friendly. He kept me guessing as I never knew which direction his answers would take. And I think he made the elections a little more interesting.

Maybe that’s enough.

DEBATE RECAP: So what did you think of the debate last Monday between Democratic Gov. Steve Bullock and GOP challenger Greg Gianforte? I thought the questions tossed their way were pretty tough. I thought Gianforte came across as more assertive than the first debate in calling for the resignation of department heads. I still think neither candidate has made a huge gaffe. I wonder if this will be one of those elections in which a candidate wins by not saying the right thing, but by not saying the wrong thing.

Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump face off Monday for what I am sure will be a lively debate.

STATE FACERS: I just want to give you a heads up that if you are looking for some live debates between the candidates. The “Face the State” TV show featuring Montana State University professor Dave Parker and reporter Mike Dennison is posting them on YouTube. They had one with the attorney general candidates, Republican Tim Fox and Democrat Larry Jent, that I watched the other week. And they did one with the secretary of state candidates. I found a selection at http://bit.ly/2dg9liU.

HOW ABOUT A DO OVER? I hear members of the Montana Association of Counties had a good laugh at a recent get together. Someone told me Democratic Gov. Steve Bullock and GOP lieutenant governor candidate Lesley Robinson both attended. I was told the governor was asked to pull a winner in a drawing for a cooler and was having some fun before the winner was picked. As it turned out, Robinson was the lucky winner. I’m told the governor and Robinson took it in good stride.

I CAN’T WIN: I got two compliments last week, kind of.

I had one person tell me a solar power story I wrote was “mostly” good and another person said a story I wrote about a court hearing was pretty good and maybe I should write for a living.

Thanks, I guess. Just kidding, I think they mostly meant well.

ON DECK: The Legislative Consumer Committee meets 10 a.m. Sept. 26 in Room 152 of the state Capitol.

•The Legislative Finance Committee meets 10 a.m. Sept. 9 and 8 a.m. Sept. 30 in Room 102.

Dome Lights appears Sunday, unless the villagers catch me. Email me at pdrake@greatfallstribune.com or call 406-422-0772. I’m based in Helena. Mail me at P.O. Box 1601, Helena, MT 59624.