Vincent to run for state House in 2006

By WALT WILLIAMS, Chronicle Staff Writer

It has been 15 years since Gallatin County Commissioner John Vincent held a seat in Montana House of Representatives. Now he intends to go back.

Vincent, 62, announced Thursday he will run for the seat currently held by Rep. Roger Koopman, R-Bozeman, in 2006. It will be his first campaign for office since challenging Gov. Brian Schweitzer in the Democratic primary last year.

Vincent served as speaker of the House for two terms, including in 1985, the last time the chamber was evenly split between the parties. But the relationship between the two was far more cordial at the time, he recalled.

"I would like to see that restored," he said. "No one person can do that, but one person can set the tone and set an example."

Vincent won't seek re-election on the county commission when his six-year term expires next year. He wants spend more time at home caring for his wife, Peggy, who has multiple sclerosis and being a commissioner is a full-time job.

"That's just not going to work for Peg and myself," he said.

State lawmakers typically meet for four months every two years, which allows him to continue his 26-year career in public office while tending to his wife's needs.

Vincent served in the House from 1975 to 1990, and during his long stay the Democrats were both in the majority and minority. He was a Bozeman city commissioner for four years, serving the last two as mayor. His term as county commissioner began in 2001.

Vincent also taught government at Bozeman High School. He has lived in the county for 35 years.

He was the only Democrat to challenge Schweitzer for the party nomination for governor in 2004, but entered the race late. He joked he isn't making the same mistake this time, given the Legislature had wrapped up business the same day he made his announcement.

"Maybe I learned a little lesson because a lot of people said I would have done better in the governor's race if I started a little earlier," he said.

Vincent has already raised more than $11,000 in pledges for the campaign and plans to continue raising money for the rest of the year, but he won't start actively campaigning until after filing for office in 2006.

He had intended to hold off on an announcement until later in the year, but changed his mind after reading that Koopman had called lawmakers "lice on the body politic" during a debate over the state's main spending bill.

That remark diminishes Koopman's credibility and effectiveness as a legislator, Vincent said.

Koopman, like other House lawmakers, will be up for re-election next year. He couldn't be reached for comment Thursday about whether he intends to run again.

Koopman has earned a reputation as one of the most conservative and outspoken lawmakers in his first term in office, carrying bills requiring death certificates for abortions and exempting Montana-made firearms from certain federal regulations.

Koopman's district -- House District 70 -- covers West Yellowstone, Big Sky and Gallatin Gateway, where Vincent lives. People in the area have usually voted Republican in the past, but Vincent noted that the Democrat who challenged Koopman in the last election got 40 percent of the vote despite not campaigning.

The former lawmaker promised to be an advocate for local government and local control, and pointed to his commitment to protecting the Gallatin watershed for recreation, habitat and agriculture as a reason for being elected.

Walt Williams is at wwilliams@dailychronicle.com

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