OFFICE SEEKERS MEET DEADLINE

HELENA -- With minutes to spare, Republican Melvin " Skip" Hanson of
Kalispell filed for the U.S. Senate and Libertarian Mike Fellows of
Missoula entered the U.S. House race Thursday, the final day to enter
Montana political races this year.

It was hectic as usual in the secretary of state's office on the deadline
day, with 47 candidates filing for office. Unofficially, a total of 322
candidates tossed their hats in the ring for the statewide and legislative
offices this year.

Hanson, who filed by fax, was the last candidate to file. A Republican
legislative candidate, Roy Hollandsworth of Brady, filed by fax at 4:57
p.m., but Secretary of State Bob Brown had to reject his application for
the Senate District 45 seat. Hollandsworth had failed to fill out the
application right and didn't get it notarized as required.

Politicians of all stripes, party workers, elected officials and aides,
lobbyists, reporters and the curious onlookers gathered in the secretary of
state's office for what has become an every-other-year ritual with a party
atmosphere. They munched on cookies and a lemon cake decorated with an
American flag on the frosting. Brown's office provided coffee and bunch.
Democrats were friendly with Republicans, and vice versa, but that will
change when the campaigns begin in earnest.

Pat Wise, coordinator of Democratic legislative filings, arrived with a
late bunch of Democratic filings, and Joe Lamson, Democratic strategist and
press secretary to Superintendent of Public Instruction Linda McCulloch,
had a color-coded system to analyze the filings. Wise's GOP counterpart,
Rep. Roy Brown of Billings, was closely watching the filings and jotting
the new ones on a large piece of graph paper.

At 4:55 p.m., Brown issued the five-minute warning.

At 4:59 p.m., Brown yelled, " Last call! Last call!"

One minute later, Brown said, " The hour of 5 p.m. of March 21 has arrived,
and I now declare the filings closed."

Supreme Court Justice Jim Rice was had a wide grin on his face because no
one filed against him. He was appointed to the Supreme Court in January
2001 by Gov. Judy Martz to fill a vacancy and must run for election this year.

" Do you see this grin," Rice said. " I would have never guessed that
someone who goes to the court by appointment would not be opposed in the
first election."

U.S. Rep. Denny Rehberg, RMont., might have cracked a smile if he had been
there because no prominent Democrats filed against him in his bid for a
second term. His Democratic opponents are Steve Kelly of Bozeman, who has
run on the Republican and Independent tickets, and surprise candidate
Robert Candee of Richey, a political newcomer. Fellows is running as a
Libertarian.

The Senate race grew to four Republicans trying to unseat Democratic Sen.
Max Baucus. Republicans are Brad Johnson of Bozeman, Hanson of Kalispell,
former legislator Jack McDonald of Helena and state Sen. Mike Taylor of
Proctor. Baucus is unopposed in the Democratic primary. Third party
candidates running are Libertarian Stan Jones of Bozeman and Green Party
candidate Bob Kelleher of Butte.

After Hanson filed, Brown, a longtime Flathead County legislator, was asked
if he knew the Senate candidate.

" I wouldn't know him if he fell in my soup," Brown said.

In a telephone interview, Hanson, 51, said he used to haul mail but is now
disabled. He said he is running because he doesn't agree with Baucus on the
issues.

" After a great deal of consideration and watching the statements made by
Senator Baucus that I disagreed with and watching him over the years, I
feel he hasn't done enough for the people of Montana," Hanson said. " I
just decided to run after saying, why doesn't someone get him out of there."

Hanson said his chief issues are restoring the health of Montana's timber
industry, fighting for gun and hunting and fishing rights and helping
disabled people to get access to the forests on four-by-fours and snowmobiles.

A political newcomer, Hanson said he originally was going to file by
submitting 10,997 signatures of voters to avoid paying the $1,500 filing
fee, but a number of the signed petitions disappeared or got lost in the mail.

Fellows, 45, is president of the Montana Libertarian candidate and a
frequent candidate for state and local office.

" We need to get some of these gun laws repealed," he said, citing the
Brady law and the ban on assault weapons.

The Missoula man, who works in communications and health care, criticized
some of the legislation, particularly the Patriot Act, passed after the
terrorist attacks on Sept. 11.

" Are we going to trample the Constitution and Bill of Rights just for a
little bit of security?" Fellows asked.

He also criticized the war on drugs.