Letter of Introduction

Letter

Letter of Introduction: John Driscoll

I have advised the Montana Commissioner of Campaign Practices that I will not "accept donations or make expenditures" in support of my candidacy for the Democratic nomination to the U.S. House of Representatives. To actually do this requires that I only campaign during the primary in a way that is close to my normal pattern of living and travel. This was a difficult, but reasoned, decision. To pursue this major break with accepted practice, I am hoping that enough Montanans have watched me perform public service in the past to feel confident to vote for me.

To those who don't know me, I offer these facts:

My wife, Kathryn was raised in Billings and is the granddaughter of two families, Anderson and the Ickes, that homesteaded the Tullock Fork of the Big Horn River. I was raised in Butte, Miles City, and Hamilton, the product of Butte and Anaconda families named, Driscoll, Green, Downey and Henderson. This is why we have helped tell Montana's stories with a non-profit organization called The Steward at: http://www.stewardmagazine.com/

I was first elected to the Montana House of Representatives, 36 years ago, when I returned home to the Bitterroot Valley from two years of active military service with the U.S. Army. My experience in the legislature, including as Majority Leader and as Speaker of the House, was during a period of Montana's history that veteran reporter Chuck Johnson calls "Montana's Modern Progressive Era." I subsequently served for 12 years as a Democrat from Southwestern Montana, elected to the Montana Public Service Commission. I chose not to seek a fourth term that would begin in 1993, several years before deregulation.

Ignoring numerous and repeated suggestions that I run for the House of Representatives, I instead ran against Max Baucus three times. Twice I failed to gain the Democratic nomination for what would have been my first statewide office. The last time I ran was after "I had got out of politics." I had just returned to Montana, after the March 2002 filing deadline, from my second tour of duty as a Montana National Guard Officer assigned to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. I felt it desperately important to warn Montanans against supporting the pending invasion of Iraq. My only option then was as a general election write-in candidate. Though I received more votes than any other write-in candidate, the benefit of my experience fell on deaf ears.

The rest is history.

Max and I have since buried the hatchet, because in the context of our nation's present circumstances we have more in common than our differences. Long ago I came to the personal conclusion that some people, like Max, are tremendous as natural campaigners, and lots of people are more comfortable with fundraising than I am.

I was raised to be myself.

Earning the vote of a Majority of Montanans, my way with no money at all, will be the clearest possible message to the rest of the nation that its time for significant change. I feel strongly that sending a representative to Washington with such a credible credential will begin the complex changes that our nation desperately needs. You'll find my view on many issues at http://www.votesmart.org/ If I am nominated, then I will then shift to a more traditional campaign, but as pledged at http://change-congress.org/.
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Very Respectfully,
John Driscoll
Montana First, Democratic Candidate,
United States House of Representatives