A NEW APPROACH: [MT gov. elect] Schweitzer meets with [MT] high court

[keithjx]

Schweitzer meets with high court

By JENNIFER McKEE
Gazette State Bureau

HELENA - Gov.-elect Brian Schweitzer made a bit of history Tuesday when he met with all seven members of the Montana Supreme Court to talk about judicial money problems and to introduce himself. No incoming governor has ever met with the Supreme Court at least since 1991, said Chief Justice Karla Gray, adding she doubted if any governor had done it before either.

...

For his part, Schweitzer said he called the meeting just to get to know the members of the court while respecting the inherent tension between the court and other branches of government. "I'm the new guy in town,'' he said. "I just want to get to know my neighbors.''

Schweitzer said he didn't know previous governors had never met with the court. He invited the justices to submit names for the hundreds of vacancies on government boards and other posts the new governor must select.

Gov.-elect Brian Schweitzer has also invited all Montanans to submit names for people for government posts. He has an website of: http://www.ideas.mt.gov> for any Montanan to nominate people for a government post or submit their ideas on how to make state government run better.

(Good to see a NEW approach in MT. I can't wait until Judy is gone. -KJ)