Crowder toes all-out in crusade for property rights

Russ Crowder loves property rights and loathes liberals.

Property rights are a crusade to him.

"I believe there's a major effort to attack individual property rights, to attack individual freedoms," Crowder said.

Crowder's gung-ho on the issue. He's a true believer who enjoys political combat and is not afraid to go for the throat. He also does his homework.

Others argue he goes way too far in demonizing those with whom he disagrees, characterizing him as nasty, intellectually dishonest or out of bounds.

With a dozen years of Flathead County politics under his belt, Crowder is now head of the year-old American Dream Montana - a primarily Flathead-based organization that is preparing to push some legislation in Helena. Crowder declined to say what that proposed legislation would be.

The organization also plans to oppose any tighter land-use bills introduced in the Legislature.

American Dream Montana's highest profile has been nine full-page advertisements during the past 13 months in The Daily Inter Lake.

The ads slam some Flathead County officials on growth-related matters, especially ripping into county commissioners Gary Hall and Joe Brenneman. The ads don't mention commissioner Bob Watne, who is the most conservative of the three commissioners and is leaving office next year.

The advertisements blast land-use controls, support family transfers in subdividing properties, and argue that the county government is attacking property rights and economic development.

The ads accuse Hall and Brenneman of "hypocrisy," of being a "Royal Court with the power to rule by decree," of being liberal, of supporting a "radical green agenda," and supporting "smart growth" as a "dark art" of the "extreme left."

Liberal-bashing Fox News commentator Bill O'Reilly "is kinda moderate for me" Crowder said. "Hall and Brenneman are a liberal tag team when it comes to property rights."

The advertisements stab into a sensitive nerve in Hall.

"It's been the hardest part of my 3 1/2-year tenure [as a county commissioner], opening up the pages of the newspaper and see these full-page ads. … because it's half-truths and personal attacks that accuse me as someone I'm not," Hall said.

Hall described himself as an advocate of property rights and of less government being better government. But Flathead County's rapid growth means that steps must be taken to prevent new developments from infringing on their neighbors, he said.

"If it wasn't personal and just over issues, it wouldn't bother me," Hall said. "But he makes it personal."

Crowder responded: "Gary - one of his main character flaws is that he takes politics personally." Crowder said he lives by the saying "politics should be taken seriously, but not personally."

However, Hall contends there is a personal element to the full-page ads.

Hall defeated fellow Republican Dale Williams in 2002 for county commissioner. Williams, the incumbent, lost the Republican primary and then unsuccessfully ran in the general election as an independent. Crowder is a friend of Williams and worked on his campaign.

"It's been sour grapes since I won the election." Hall said. Crowder countered that he also worked on behalf of Republican Henry Broers when he lost a primary election to Williams in 1996, with Williams going on to win the general election that year.

"Why didn't I go after Dale Williams when I supported Henry Broers?" Crowder said.

Brenneman said American Dream Montana's full-page ads don't disturb him personally, but he doesn't appreciate their venom.

"Russ is a bully. That's the No. 1 thing he does. He's a bully," Brenneman said. "The people who are the victims of Russ' bullying are people who participate in the public process."

Crowder argued he is holding the commissioners accountable. "They don't like their record being exposed," he said.

Crowder, 59, moved to Flathead County in 1969.

He grew up next to Mount Shasta in California - climbing the 14,162-foot mountain five times.

An aviation buff, he served in the U.S. Navy as an aircraft technician in Vietnam and on Washington's Whidbey Island. He was a flight instructor for Flathead Valley Community College for five years before going into the heating and air-conditioning business. Today, he works for General Sheet Metal.

The father of four and grandfather of five flies a small plane and skydives on his spare time.

"Your destiny is totally in your hands. All the cobwebs are gone," he said of skydiving.

He got into land-planning issues in 1993 because he didn't like how an update of Flathead County's master growth plan was evolving. He didn't believe his neighborhood's growth and character should be controlled by a countywide planning office.

Consequently, Crowder linked up with the Flathead-based Montanans for Property Rights, eventually becoming the organization's vice president. The organization's headquarters later moved to Plains.

Crowder went into local government. He served two years on the since-dissolved Flathead County Zoning Regulations Review Board, which tended to make recommendations against tighter land-use regulations.

He then served five years on the county planning board, including one year as its chairman. His trademark was showing up at meetings with a thick briefcase. The county commissioners did not reappoint him to the board two years ago.

But when people approached Crowder last year about forming another version of Montanans for Property Rights, he helped create American Dream Montana.

American Dream Montana was conceived as a philosophical counterpart to Citizens for a Better Flathead, which supports "smart growth" with in-depth planning for environmental, population, traffic and other land-use effects.

Crowder declined to say how many American Dream Montana members there are, other than saying: "I always assume we have one more member than Citizens for a Better Flathead."

He accuses Hall and Brenneman of having close ties with Citizens for a Better Flathead, and says they are strangling county growth and property owners with too many regulations. That's in contrast to Kalispell planning board members and other city leaders who grumble that the county is too loose in regulating growth.

Brenneman and Hall said they frequently disagree with each other, and each frequently disagrees with stances by Citizens for a Better Flathead. The organization's chairwoman Mayre Flowers said she was too busy last week to discuss Crowder's accusation, but indicated that Citizens does not work in concert with the county commissioners.

Crowder contends property rights should take precedence over other land-use controls - including zoning - unless there is an overwhelming reason to supersede them. This is based on a philosophical stance that a property owner should be able to do what he or she wants with his or her own land.

"For 'smart growth' to succeed, it depends on taking choices from people," he said. "When you're controlling growth, you're taking control of private property."

Criticism of Crowder focuses less on his politics than on his style. Depending on who's talking, he is described as either well-prepared and hard-hitting or mean-spirited and half-truthful.

Hall criticized Crowder's attitude as a planning-board member toward people with whom he disagreed.

"He treated the public horribly. He called them communists. He called the Citizens for a Better Flathead Nazis," Hall said.

Brenneman said Crowder's tactics discourage creative and civic-minded people from getting involved in government matters because they don't want to face abuse.

Crowder countered he has been merely well-prepared and asked tough questions.

He does confess to sometimes being weary of being involved with land-use controversies, dreaming about a more relaxed lifestyle with his wife, Sharon.

"Every day my wife asks me when I go to work in the morning: Do I have a meeting tonight?"

Reporter John Stang may be reached at 758-4429 or by e-mail at jstang@dailyinterlake.com