Denley Loge has worn many hats throughout his career, including 45 years working for the Montana Department of Transportation; he raises cattle; is the co-founder of the famed Missoula Maggots rugby club; plays trombone for the University of Montana Alumni Band; and served on several committees, including the Mineral County Conservation Board and Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks Region 2 Citizens Advisory Committee.

However, one of his hats will remain the same — that of House District 14 Representative. Midterm elections were held on Nov. 6 and county residents put Loge, a Republican, in a solid lead — capturing 74 percent of the votes to his Democrat challenger Diane Magone, who received 26 percent.

This is Loge’s second term representing District 14 in the Montana Legislature, where he served on the Transportation, Business and Labor, and Fish, Wildlife & Parks committees. He will continue to be on those same committees for the 2019 session and has been chosen to chair the Transportation committee. He’s going into the session with more confidence, he said, “I learned a lot during the last session (in 2017) including how to read a bill. There’s a certain way to read one and a certain way to ask questions in order to get the answer you want.”

The legislative session runs from January until March, and he said it takes about a month for people to get to know each other and find those who can be trusted. Last time, he was advised to get to know as many fellow legislators as possible, as well as the lobbyist.

“I used to support term limits for legislators, but now I realize that there is a lot of knowledge in some of those positions, and it’s good to keep that knowledge base in place,” Loge said. “You are only there for 90 days and you can’t know everything.”

As a University of Montana student in the early 1970s, he majored in geography and was certified in secondary education. He also played for the UM rugby team, the Jesters. As a St. Regis High School graduate, it was Loge who suggested the team wear the colors of the Tigers, green and gold.

“We wanted to be different than the traditional maroon and gold UM teams wore,” he explained.

NOW, NEARLY 50 years later, Loge is representing his hometown, as well as the rest of District 14, which includes Sanders and Mineral counties.

Two initiatives on the ballot this year, I-185 and I-186, lost and Loge supported a “no” vote on both.

I-185 would have raised taxes on tobacco products and would dedicate a percentage of those funds to health-related programs, including the renewal of Medicaid Expansion.

“Most legislators know this issue will need to be dealt with in the upcoming session and feel they will write a better bill,” Loge said. “Just because 185 didn’t pass doesn’t mean the issue of Medicaid Expansion won’t be addressed. I don’t think attaching it to a cigarette tax was the solution.”

However, he’s certain there will be a cigarette bill coming up. “We need some tax overhauls and I do agree that there are some very high associated medical costs connected with cigarette smoking. But is that the solution to make people stop smoking? I’m not sure,” Loge said.

There was also the question as to whether 185 was legal. “It says right in the Montana constitution in article 3, section 4, that initiatives cannot appropriate money. This probably would have ended up being sent to the Montana Supreme Court,” he said.

Initiative 186 would have required the Department of Environmental Quality to deny a permit for any new hardrock mines unless the reclamation plan provided clear objectives to keep water clean.

“Montana already has strict rules in place,” Loge said. “This bill would have cut jobs. Montana is a resource-based state. I’m not saying that these companies can rip and tear and disregard all regulation, but let mining happen.”

He also pointed out that some of the regulation in that bill would have been unfair to the mining companies. “There are some sewer systems in the state that would not pass those regulations. Initiatives are a good way for people to express their thoughts and opinions but those initiatives have a bias. If addressed in legislation as a bill, it has better options and can be changed, rather than an initiative which cannot be changed or modified,” he said.

ONE BILL Loge supported in the last session was an increase in the state’s gas tax. However, he did receive some backlash for supporting it. The tax added four-and-a-half cents to a gallon of gas, which will eventually increase to six-and-a-half cents.

“I feel it was a success because it brought some funds down to the county and city level. We are seeing the streets and pot holes fixed and that’s only with a half-a-year’s worth of tax to-date,” he said.

Always the innovator, Loge knew he would be tied up in Helena over the winter months and decided to lease his cows. They come home during the summer months and then go to a ranch in Plains for the rest of the year. When the calves are shipped out for sale in the Midwest, the profits are split. It was this same innovation that he used as the co-founder for the Missoula Maggots.

After graduating from the UM, Jester team members decided to start their own club and the Missoula Maggots were born. The coach for the UM Jesters, Rex (Tubby) Thompson, was from New Zealand and also helped form the Maggots. “His coaching style was the basis for the team,” Loge said.

The Maggots got their name from neighbors to the north, the Canadians. “They used to say ‘here comes those maggoty Missoula players,” and the name stuck,” he said.

The club also opened doors to a lot of international travel for Loge, including games in New Zealand, England, Australia, France, the Bahamas, Cayman Islands and Wales. However, his playing days came to an end in 1987 when he crushed two vertebra in his neck during a game. However, he remains active with the club and still travels with the team when his schedule allows the time.

Though the national mood toward politics feels split and at times hostile, Loge is optimistic about the upcoming 2019 session.

“Montanans tend to put aside partisan differences and works together,” he said.

He’s also hopeful in seeing an increase in jobs and sees a bright future for both Mineral and Sanders county.