HELENA—Standing on the steps of the state Capitol on Wednesday, Republican gubernatorial candidate Roy Brown called on Gov. Brian Schweitzer to "demand a full investigation" into the controversial comments Schweitzer made at a speech in Philadelphia earlier this year.

Schweitzer's campaign dismissed Brown's press conference as an attempt to jump-start a faltering campaign.

Schweitzer came under fire last week for a speech at the American Association for Justice annual convention in Philadelphia in which he said he used his position as governor to "turn some dials" to help fellow Democrat Jon Tester defeat incumbent Republican Conrad Burns in the 2006 U.S. Senate race.

"As I meet with people across the state in coffee shops and have meetings and discussions, one of the first issues that comes up in almost every occasion is the speech that the governor gave at trial lawyers convention," Brown told a handful of reporters at the capitol. "Montanans are faced with a difficult decision: Do we believe what he said, or do we find out what the truth is? I think it's time for Brian Schweitzer to step forward and set the record straight."

Brown said if Schweitzer has nothing to hide then he should call on Attorney General Mike McGrath and U.S. Attorney Bill Mercer to investigate whether he had any undue influence over the outcome of the 2006 election.

"We need to get the air cleared. The governor has yet to look the people in the eye and tell them what really happened," Brown said.

Schweitzer's campaign spokesman Harper Lawson characterized Brown's press conference a desperate political move.

"The state's chief law enforcement agents has looked at this issue and made a public decision that the complaint was based on politics, not facts," Lawson said. "Undoubtedly people like Roy Brown will want to politicize the issue for their own gain by crying foul."

In his much-publicized July speech, Schweitzer claimed he played a role in removing GOP poll watchers from Montana's Indian reservations; that he influenced the timing of the release of the election results in Butte-Silver Bow; and that he pressured the Associated Press to call the race for Tester to head off calls for a recount in the close election.

Schweitzer has since repeatedly apologized for the comments, which he said were a poor attempt at humor and were not actually true.

Butte-Silver Bow Clerk and Recorder Mary McMahon told the Tribune that Schweitzer's statement about a phone conversation she had with him on election night was untrue, and Associated Press Denver bureau chief Jim Clarke said Schweitzer's comments about a conversation they had were also inaccurate.

Meanwhile, despite widespread media coverage of the controversial speech, no GOP poll watchers have come forward to verify Schweitzer's claim that they were threatened with arrest if they didn't leave reservation polling places the morning of the election.

But Brown said there are still unanswered questions that only an investigation will clear up.

"We should have a full and fair investigation," Brown said. "The attorney general has refused to look into it even before he chose to look at the facts."

McGrath, a Democrat, last week dismissed the idea of investigating Schweitzer. In response to Republican Secretary of State Brad Johnson's request for an investigation, McGrath said the complaints were based on partisan politics and had no basis in fact.

Lawson said the reason Brown and the Montana GOP continue their calls for an investigation is to try to keep the issue in the headlines and to distract voters.

"Those who realize that it was nothing more than a bad joke have moved on," Lawson said. "(The governor) has apologized and said that from now on he'll leave comedy to the professionals. That answer didn't satisfy Mr. Brown's political ambitions."

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Efforts to bring free Montana Public Broadcasting Service programs to the Great Falls area gained a big boost this week.

U.S. Rep. Denny Rehberg, R-Mont., Wednesday announced a grant of $406,875 from the federal government's National Telecommunications and Information Administration, raising to $906,875 the amount of grants the Great Falls project has received so far.

"That's just outstanding," said Sally Newhall of Great Falls, co-chairwoman of a fund drive to bring a digital television transmitter to the area.

The nonprofit Corporation for Public Broadcasting earlier announced a $500,000 grant from its Digital Distribution Fund.

Great Falls is one of the nation's largest cities to lack a free public television signal. People in Great Falls and Kalispell must subscribe to cable or satellite TV service to obtain PBS programming.

Total costs to install a digital television transmitter in Great Falls are estimated at $1.2 million, so MontanaPBS backers suddenly are much closer to their goal.

With $50,000 in pledges from individuals and businesses so far, that leaves a balance of $243,125 to raise. Newhall said the exciting news should reassure potential contributors that the fund-raising effort is solid and has an excellent chance for success.

In addition to the two big grants, supporters of the Great Falls Channel 21 effort also have applied for a grant from the M.J. Murdoch Charitable Trust. They expect to hear from that charity later in the fall on a possible grant award.

Matching money is required by granting agencies, so contributions from individuals and businesses will make up the balance of the project's costs.

Rehberg, a member of the House Appropriations Committee, said he was happy to assist efforts to bring public television to the Great Falls area.

"This grant will help provide thousands of Great Falls residents without cable or satellite TV with access to quality television coverage, including educational programs such as 'Sesame Street,' " Rehberg said in a news release. The release noted Rehberg bucked the Bush administration last year when it proposed cutting Corporation for Public Broadcasting dollars by 50 percent. Instead, Rehberg voted to increase funding by $10 million.

MontanaPBS estimates 26 percent of Great Falls area residents do not subscribe to cable or satellite TV service. That means these residents cannot watch PBS programs at home.

"MontanaPBS is thrilled to be bringing free public broadcasting, including our award-winning educational programming and local produced Montana programming, to the citizens of Great Falls and the surrounding area," said Eric Hyppa, general manager for MontanaPBS. Hyppa said the project was a great example of cooperation among citizens, educators and the government.

Great Falls' Kerry Callahan Bronson, chairwoman of Friends of MontanaPBS, said she is confident the transmitter project will happen, even if the remaining amount of money backers must raise is "a chunk of change."

"It's just a wonderful, wonderful reception that we've gotten from everybody," Bronson said.

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It’s puzzling why Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer made the remarks he did in Philadelphia regarding the 2006 election, and some people are even more puzzled over what to do about it.

A Republican activist from Bozeman is demanding an investigation, alleging that Schweitzer’s remarks indicate he was “tampering” with the election that put Sen. Jon Tester in office over incumbent Republican Conrad Burns.

But the governor says he was just “joking around” to make his speech before the American Association for Justice “more colorful.”

Montana Republican Chairman Erik Iverson said the comments were “inappropriate and breathtakingly foolish.”

At the very least, Schweitzer’s remarks were careless.

Many people know that the governor is quite the talker, so some will predictably dismiss the incident as a case of Schweitzer just being Schweitzer.

But others are taking his remarks very seriously. Schweitzer told the trial lawyers a story about tribal police officers chasing Republican poll watchers from reservations with trumped up threats of arrest.

Schweitzer has since said that he knows of no incidents of intimidating poll watchers on reservations. So why did he say it? Just to enjoy the bemused laughter of the crowd? To stroke his own ego?

Schweitzer also told the trial lawyers that he called the Butte-Silver Bow County election office on election night to find out about the vote count in seven precincts. The perception among Schweitzer critics is that the governor had some kind of influence in how votes were being counted and when the results were being released.

Schweitzer also took a jab at The Associated Press, for failing to declare Tester the winner the morning after the election. Schweitzer told the trial lawyers that he told the AP that morning that he would be holding a press conference to announce Tester as the winner himself because “you’re not doing your job.”

And that’s what he did, with the AP declaring Tester the winner two minutes before the press conference.

This was a dose of boasting, obviously, on the weight Schweitzer can bring to bear on the media. But is it really necessary, especially for a skilled politician like Schweitzer? Probably not.

In any case, the governor has vowed not to make any more jokes about the election process. A late call certainly, but like the AP’s call on the Tester-Burns race in 2006, ultimately the right one.

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Gov. Brian Schweitzer and Republican challenger Roy Brown touted their respective tax-cutting records, while voicing strong support for higher education in Missoula at the first of their five debates.

If elected, Schweitzer said he would keep lowering taxes, Brown suggested he would cut them even more, particularly for businesses. The third candidate, Libertarian Stan Jones, was mostly against all taxes and government spending.

The candidates squared off before a sometimes boisterous crowd of 400 people at the University of Montana. A couple of times, Brown supporters yelled “Foul” when Schweitzer answered a question. Schweitzer supporters cheered loudly for some of his answers.

Neither Schweitzer nor Brown proposed any new taxes, but each said he supports the 6-mill property tax levy for university funding that goes before voters once a decade. The measure, on the November ballot, raises about $13 million a year out of the university system's total annual, all-funds budget of $2.2 billion.

Schweitzer said he had cut more taxes than any governor in history and cited his $400-per-household property tax rebate last year. Brown said he would eliminate the property tax on business equipment for all businesses, something Schweitzer has blocked, to stimulate the economy and make Montana more competitive with neighboring states.

Schweitzer and Brown plowed no new ground in the debate. They continued their ongoing debate over budget and spending issues and natural resource development that they've had since Brown, a state senator from Billings, jumped into the race in November 2007.

Schweitzer said the state's economy has boomed since he took office in January 2005. He said Montana has gained 50,000 new jobs during his office and he has led efforts to attract energy project, both coal-based and alternative energy.

Brown said Schweitzer's energy development claims have not produced much in the way of energy or jobs. He suggested that many of the projects were started under the previous governor, Republican Judy Martz.

Brown took a few shots at Schweitzer for his July speech to a national trial lawyers group, a controversial talk that hit the news last week.

In the speech, Schweitzer boasted that he had helped Democratic U.S. Sen. Jon Tester win the 2006 general election through tribal law enforcement intimidating Republican poll watchers on Indian reservations, by trying to tell Butte-Silver Bow election officials when to release some election results and by trying to force the Associated Press into declaring Tester the victor over Republican Sen. Conrad Burns before the wire service was ready.

The first question referenced the Schweitzer speech and asked the candidates how they would be ambassadors for Montana and portray Montana.

Schweitzer, who has said he was joking in the Philadelphia speech, said Monday night: “Well, comedy can be a double-edged sword. I think I'll leave comedy to the professional comedians in the future.”

Schweitzer quickly moved past that issue and said as an ambassador he has helped create 50,000 new jobs in Montana, build the biggest budget surplus and cut taxes more than any governor in state history with his $400-per-household property tax rebate in 2007. He said the three national bond rating agencies had raised Montana's bond ratings because of its sound financial management.

Brown pointed out that Schweitzer hadn't answered the question and he vowed to run the most open, honest and accessible administration in state history.

“I will be an ambassador to Montana that you can be proud of,'' Brown said. “You won't see me at the trial lawyers' association making fun of Native Americans, making fun of our election process and making fun of Montana.”

He added, “The election process is not a joke and should not be treated as such.''

Jones said he would turn Montana back into a constitutional government.

On other issues, here's where the candidates stood:

- Climate change. Brown said scientists don't agree on the cause of climate change but said it is in everyone's best interests to keep carbon emissions as low as possible. He said there isn't available technology to sequester all carbon emissions.

Schweitzer said 95 percent of scientists in the world believe climate change is human-caused and questioned whether any coal-fired plant will get the financing for construction until ways are found to sequester carbon emissions. He said that's why he has been so aggressive promoting alternative energy.

Jones said there is no human-caused climate change, but that it's part of a natural cycle.

- Universal health care. Schweitzer drew applause when he said the next president, referring to Barack Obama, would deliver universal health care. Brown said no one has all the answers on health care, which is why he wants to appoint a task force to study the issue. Jones warned that bureaucrats would run the nation's health care system under universal health care.

- Natural resource production. Schweitzer reeled off a number of energy developments that have been proposed since January 2005. However, Brown said a number of oil rigs have moved from Montana to North Dakota for a variety of reasons, particularly because Schweitzer board appointees are delaying projects. Jones was a strong advocate of developing coal. Schweitzer criticized Brown for opposing some of his proposals to provide tax incentives for alternative energy development.

Before the debate, a dozen Republicans stood near the entrance and waved signs critical of Schweitzer, including one that said, “Investigate Schweitzer.''

About twice as many Democrats, holding Schweitzer campaign signs, shouted slogans supporting the governor.

It was the first of five debates in the governor's race. It was broadcast statewide live on Montana Public Television and Montana and Yellowstone Public Radio, the Northern Ag Network, and on the Missoulian newpaper Web site, www.missoulian.com.

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