“Darned poor judgment” is the rating I give Gov. Steve Bullock for infrastructure performance during the past four years!

Clear back in 2013 the governor’s bad judgment became obvious. The Legislature passed a fix for oil boom infrastructure by a heavy margin, only to have the governor kill it with a veto. In 2015 I chaired the Appropriations Subcommittee for Long Range Planning. That gave me a close up look at his one way thought process. Take it or leave it. No changes. No discussion. It’s the exact opposite of how a leader should behave.

I discovered the account for school district projects was already over spent, in part because it was used to repay earlier bonding debt. The governor’s answer was to rack up more debt for the state. He refused to use available cash. Sad story, but in the end nothing happened for school repair and maintenance.

In 2015 the governor demanded a bloated infrastructure bill with $205 million debt to be repaid by our children and grandchildren. I called it the “Bubba Burger Bill: too big to bite, too big to chew and a sure thing gut bomb belly ache.”

Much of it was for a museum in Helena and other buildings. It was a far cry from roads, bridges, and water systems resulting from the oil boom. He wanted us to borrow money for schools and bridges even while he bragged about a surplus of $300 million to $400 million in the bank.

Besides that, the governor’s office crafted the Bubba Burger Bill so it required a 75 percent yes vote. The governor refused to work with anyone, and it failed.

Rep. David Hagstrom and I carried traditional bills with funds dedicated to infrastructure. The governor’s budget director threatened to kill our bills, and he stopped talking to me. For the first time, state employees were ordered to avoid Appropriations Committee when we presented these bills. Ordinarily, they provided program details.

Our bills passed. Millions of dollars went all over the state for water projects, sewage systems, bridges, reclamation projects and more.

SB 416, which I supported, was still heavy to bonds for buildings. I offered changes, such as adding cash for rural areas and reducing bonds. The budget director said no way. It failed.

Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. The governor had two legislative sessions to show his stuff. He came up with too little too late, thanks to darned poor judgment. Montana deserves a governor with common sense who will work with the Legislature for the betterment of Montana. We need a business executive like Greg Gianforte as governor. —Mike Cuffe, Libby Republican, House District 2