The Republican Party claims to value fiscal restraint. However, Flathead Republicans have appointed a new County Commissioner who not so long ago couldn’t manage his own budget.  Republican Cal Scott declared bankruptcy after racking up hundreds of thousands in loans and credit card debt.  The new Commissioner replaces a commissioner who died unexpectedly this spring.

Mr. Scott had touted his budget and financial planning experience as among the reasons he should be appointed to the post.  In a letter to the Republican Central Committee tasked with nominating candidates, Mr. Scott touted his financial counseling and planning experience as among the reasons he should be chosen. It appears as though he has an interesting approach to planning his own finances and budget, relying heavily on credit card transactions, which have resulted in a bankruptcy declaration several years ago.

As one of his first acts as an interim commissioner, Mr. Scott voted with the other Republican commissioners to increase the Commissioners’ pay, the Flathead Beacon reported.

Mr. Scott was selected as interim commission by the remaining County Commissioners, who were aware of his past financial troubles, the Daily Inter Lake reported. Scott says the bankruptcy is irrelevant, but voters tend to want to have a sense of a candidate’s personal ability to tackle the job.  How will she or he deal with millions of dollars of tax payer money?  How well does she or he understand budgets and prioritizing? Basically, voters want to know if candidates can manage their own affairs. If they can’t, voters will wonder how they can manage the county’s.

Mr. Scott will fill the post until November, when he must face Democrat Gil Jordan in the general election.