HELENA – Critics are slamming the hiring of Democratic state Rep. Art Noonan to a post as deputy director of the Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks, saying the move smacks of cronyism by Gov. Brian Schweitzer’s administration.
The three-term Butte legislator had been executive director of the Montana Democratic Party until he was hired for the FWP post late last month at an annual salary of $85,000.
House Minority Leader Scott Sales, a Bozeman Republican, said FWP demoted a well-qualified veteran to make room for someone without training in the field.
“The fact that they took a super-qualified Chris Smith, who had a lifetime of experience, and demoted him and put Noonan in is not right,” Sales said.
Unlike Smith, Noonan “is not a sportsman and not an educated or field-trained biologist,” Sales said.
Noonan’s defenders point to his years of experience in Washington, D.C., where he worked on Forest Service and National Park Service issues as a staff member for two Montana Democrats, former U.S. Rep. Pat Williams and Sen. John Melcher.
Republicans note that since 2006, eight lawmakers have accepted job offers in Schweitzer’s administration and those of three other Democratic statewide elected officials. All the legislators were Democrats, except Republican Sen. Sam Kitzenberg, who later switched parties.
Others include the recent hiring of Rep. Dan Villa, D-Anaconda, by Schweitzer as his education policy adviser.
Noonan said no one asked him to apply for the deputy director’s job.
“I salivated when I saw the notice,” he said. “It was stressing communications between the feds and us, the Legislature and us, putting together coalitions.”
The selection committee was made up of Fish, Wildlife and Parks Director Joe Maurier, Parks Administrator Chas van Genderen, and Mike Volesky, natural resources policy adviser to Schweitzer.
Williams said he had followed the appointments of all the Democratic legislators to state executive branch jobs.
“I truly believe of all of them, Artie is the most qualified to take his position,” Williams said. “Noonan knows Montana’s public lands like the back of his hand. For almost 18 years, Artie dealt with public land issues in Congress and became one of the true Capitol Hill experts.”
Williams recalled that when President Bill Clinton took office in 1993, members of the administration called Noonan for advice on public land issues.
Noonan was one of 11 applicants for the deputy director’s job. He insisted he’s qualified for the post.
“I would hope people would look at both my resume and my life experience and see that I am dedicated to the preservation of natural resources in Montana,” he said.
Noonan said he has fished a lot but is not much of a hunter.
A check of state records found no evidence that Noonan had purchased a Montana hunting or fishing license since 1989, which is how far back records go.