Top Secret

November 14, 2007 in 2007 Election, Ed Childers, Ethics, Lewie Schneller, Missoula City Council

by Rebecca Schmitz

Lewie Schneller defended his campaign against Councilman Ed Childers recently, in response to a complaint filed with State Commissioner of Political Practices Dennis Unsworth. While the heart of the Ed’s complaint is the fact that Lewie may have misrepresented his votes on City Council, I was struck by this:

[Lewie] said he relied on his supporters, including some council members, to proof his material, but he declined to name them…“I am unaware of any legal requirement to disclose sources that I have consulted with…”

While it’s illegal to conduct an anonymous campaign against a political opponent, it’s not illegal to provide simple assistance to a candidate for office.  However, this isn’t Dick Cheney’s infamous 2001 super secret squirrel Energy Task Force meetings.  It’s a campaign for a City Council seat in a small Montana city.  What’s with the hush-hush crap?  Why can’t a sitting member of City Council admit to providing analysis and advice on a colleague’s voting record?  It’s a savvy political strategy on the part of a challenger.  I don’t think there’s anything wrong with it.  Unless, of course, that Councilman is trying to hide the fact his information about the colleague’s voting record was not, as required by law, accurate and true.