HELENA — Months of turmoil at the state commission that regulates utilities in Montana reached a climax Tuesday, as a narrow majority on the Montana Public Service Commission voted to remove its president.
Commissioners voted 3-2 to vacate the position of president – ousting current president Brad Molnar. It’s the latest step in an escalating series of controversies, dating back to Molnar’s announcement that he was being investigated over allegations of unprofessional conduct in the workplace.
(Watch the video to see more of the debate that led up to Molnar's removal.)
The commissioners who backed Molnar’s removal said Tuesday it was the only way for the PSC to move forward.
“We need to hit the reset button,” said Commissioner Jeff Welborn. “I think any reasonable person would agree that the mission of this has of late become very disrupted, and I feel a change in the president is necessary in an attempt to put the distractions behind us.”
The move also required commissioners to amend their internal policies to lower the threshold to remove an officer, from four votes out of five to three votes out of five.
The decision leaves Commissioner Jennifer Fielder, the current vice president, presiding over the PSC temporarily, until members choose a permanent replacement next week.
Molnar, who has consistently claimed the investigation into him is unfair and politically motivated, remains on the commission. He argued Tuesday that removing him as president wouldn’t substantially change the dynamics on the commission, and that he would remain committed to working for the public regardless of “a piece of plastic.”
“This is a show, it’s a sham, and I’m done,” he said.
Fielder, Welborn and Commissioner Annie Bukacek voted to amend the policies and to vacate Molnar’s position. Molnar and Commissioner Randy Pinocci voted against both moves.
All five PSC members are Republicans, but they have been at odds on a number of issues this year.
Molnar only rejoined the PSC in January, but he had previously spent eight years as a commissioner, from 2005 to 2012. His fellow commissioners elected him president.
After Molnar held a news conference in July announcing he was under investigation, PSC staff confirmed an outside agency was looking into his “interactions with others in the workplace.” Molnar refused to cooperate with the investigation, saying it was improper and he hadn’t been provided due process.
In August, Fielder signed onto a letter from the PSC’s “response team,” which handles internal reports of retaliation, harassment or other policy violations. It accused Molnar of interfering with the investigation and threatening retaliation against, and it called on Gov. Greg Gianforte to temporarily suspend Molnar from his duties so the investigation can continue.
Molnar went to court, claiming Fielder’s complaint was invalid. Last week, a district judge in Helena ruled against him, allowing Gianforte to take action on the complaint. Gianforte has yet to announce any decision on the matter.
Throughout this process, Molnar has argued he’s being politically targeted. He’s said his role on the commission is important because he has the most experience with major regulatory decisions like the proposed merger of NorthWestern Energy and Black Hills Energy, and that he would take a tougher stance on regulated utilities than other commissioners would.
Ahead of Tuesday’s meeting, Molnar held a news conference last week and sent out a release to reporters Monday, stating that he had taken a polygraph in support of his claims that he’s innocent of wrongdoing and was releasing the results.
As with several recent PSC meetings, Tuesday’s session was heated at times, with commissioners arguing over procedure. At several points while Molnar was speaking in opposition to the effort to revise the commission’s policy manual, Fielder and Bukacek attempted to raise points of order, claiming that he was attempting to litigate his own case and straying from the topic of the motion. As president, Molnar ruled against those points of order.
Bukacek objected again when Molnar brought up a 2011 situation in which PSC members removed their chairman on a 3-2 vote – a case where Molnar again was on the losing side of the vote.
“I’m done with your point of order,” Molnar responded. “If you don’t have one that is brand-new, I will hold you in contempt.”
“You’re making it personal again,” Bukacek said.
“I am using an example from the past as to what happens in the future,” Molnar answered.
Eventually, Fielder, Bukacek and Welborn voted to override Molnar’s decision and order him to keep his remarks to the subject of the discussion.
Molnar argued that lowering the threshold to remove a president would only create more chaos and dysfunction on the PSC.
“Because three people can tell two leadership what to do or what not to do, what’s allowed and what’s not allowed,” he said. “The fight never ended, until the adoption of 4-1.”
Fielder responded that the investigatory process laid out in the policy manual was no longer working the way it was intended to.
“I don't think anybody anticipated that the response team process would be this lengthy, this time-consuming, and we would deal with, frankly, such unreasonableness,” she said. “The amendments put here today are to ensure that the code of conduct process is smoother, it can be done more efficiently, it can be done more effectively, and that the democratic process of the majority rules will be restored on the commission.”
In addition to changing the number of votes needed to remove an officer, Fielder’s amendments also specifically called for members of the response team to be excluded from considering complaints against themselves, and they codified a procedure for sending a complaint to the governor if the team determines a commissioner is interfering – essentially formalizing the action Fielder took in Molnar’s case.
Commissioners set a vote next Tuesday, Oct. 28, to select a new permanent president.
Despite voting for his removal, Fielder said at the close of the meeting that she thanked Molnar for his work as president.
“I know you've put a lot of effort into your job; I do,” she said. “You gave it your all.”
“I shall continue to do my job with my all of my all,” Molnar responded.
