(dramatic instrumental music) - [Parker] Coming up on this episode of "IMPACT"...

This State Supreme Court race is supposed to be nonpartisan, but where's the line?

- [Gustafson] And I think people in Montana are rather disgusted by the attempt to make this a political race - [Parker] We'll examine the tactics used during the campaign and go behind the wheel of a Montana outfit training folks to drive the big rigs as it tries to fill a growing need.

- [Tode] I think there's opportunities abounding greatly in this industry, and I think that if we don't fill them, then we're going to see a shortage on our shelves.

- [Parker] Those stories are next on "IMPACT."

- [Announcer] Production of "IMPACT" is made possible with support from the Otto Bremer Trust, investing in people, place and opportunities in our region.

Online at ottobremer.org.

The Greater Montana Foundat encouraging communication on issues, trends, and values of importance to Montanans.

And viewers like you who are friends of Montana Thank you.

(energetic music) - Welcome to "IMPACT," our new series delivering in-depth reporting on issues important to Montanans.

I'm Stan Parker.

(energetic music) For our first story, we turn to Montana's Supreme Court where two justices are running for reelection this fall.

By law, candidates for the state's highest court must run without partisan labels, but that hasn't stopped party politics and outside money from pouring into one of those races: the matchup between incumbent Ingrid Gustafson and challenger James Brown Montana PBS's Joe Lesar has been following these candidates and how they operate within the system.

- [Ad Narrator 1] Before Bi a gallon of gas cost a couple of bucks.

- [Ad Narrator 2] It's a trail of corruption.

- Ryan Zinke under investigation by the- - [Lesar] The all-too-familiar sound of the political ad.

- [Ad Narrator 3] Monica Tranel and Joe Biden's misnamed Inflation Reduction Act is outrageous.

- [Lesar] These are ads from Montana's First Congressional District race, on par for partisan ads you'd hear during election season.

- [Ad Narrator 4] Joe Biden's coming for our jobs, guns, way of life.

- [Ad Narrator 5] Corporate lobbyists and partisan politicians are- - [Lesar] And they sound a lot like these ads from the nonpartisan race for Montana's Supreme Court.

The race between Gustafson and Brown has taken a sharply partisan edge, an edge that's been sharpened out on the campaign trail.

- I am running against the incumbent justice in this race.

She was appointed by Steve Bullock to the bench in 2017, which should give you some of what her ideological bent is.

- And it should be concerning to every Montanan that you would have a political organization whose goal is to take over branches of government so they can promote a bran - [Lesar] A record amount of outside spending in a Montana Supreme Court means more ads on Montana's airwaves.

- [Ad Narrator 6] The conservative choice for Montana's Supreme Court, James Brown.

- [Lesar] Roughly $1.3 million has been pumped into the race so far, the majority by Republican groups in support of Brown.

The Montana Republican State Committee has spent more on Brown than the rest of the GOP legislative candidates combined, and the Republican State Leadership Committee, a national group, sunk $650,000 into the rac - [Ad Narrator 7] Liberal Ingrid Gustafson.

- [Lesar] While a group tie the Montana Trial Lawyer's Association has spent six figures on Gustafson, as has Planned Parenthood Advocates of Montanans.

- [Ad Narrator 7] On our s not corporate special interests.

- [Lesar] Partisan lines were drawn early in this race with Brown receiving heavy Republican support just days after filing in March.

From the start, Montana Republicans wanted voters to know that Brown is their party's candidate, though Brown is being careful to keep that support at arm's length.

- Certainly I've had endorsements from various people around Montana.

I have no control of who endorses me.

And of course, as you know the rules of judicial ethics even prohibit me from talking about certain people that have endorsed me.

- [Lesar] Those are the rules contained in Montana's Code of Judicial Conduct.

Judicial candidates cannot seek, accept, or use endorsements from political organizations or office holders.

It also bars judicial candidates from making speeches on behalf of a political organization.

No formal complaints h been filed against Bro but he pushed the boundaries of both of those rules while speaking at a Republican fundraiser in May when he said that Governor Greg Gianforte encouraged him to run.

- [Brown] In February.

I'm pleased to say that the governor of the State of Montana called me and asked me to consider running for the State Supreme Court of Montana.

- [Lesar] The Republican support of Brown has ultimately painted Gustafson as a liberal candidate in this race.

She's attempted to counter that narrative by centering her messagin around her experience on the bench and her fairness as a judg She's publicized an endorse from former Republican governor Marc Racicot, a move that's within the r since he is not a current office holder.

Partisan influence has made judicial independence a major theme in this race - You need to have judges that will act independently, that don't owe political parties or partisan organizations or special interest group some sort of payback for getting elected.

I'm going out there and I'm talking to voters, and I think people in Montana are rather disgusted by the attempt to make this a political r - I would not have made the decision to run for this position, and I don't think I would be qualified to serve in this position if I felt that partisan consideratio were going to guide my decision-making.

- [Lesar] Meanwhile, two formal complaints have been filed against Gustafson.

On October 14th, longtime Republican consultant Jake Eaton filed the complaints w Judicial Standards Com accusing Gustafson of failing to recuse herself in a case involving attorneys who contributed to her camp and plaintiffs who endorsed her.

The Gustafson campaign released a statement several days later calling the complaints a "gross, blatant, and obv 'October Surprise' political stunt," while Brown said the accusations "absolutely undermined the public's confidence in the fairness of the judicial system."

So, how are voters suppose to cut through the partisan noise?

Let's take a look at the candidates.

Brown currently serves as the chairman of the Public Service Commission.

He also runs his own law firm in Dillon where he grew up.

He served as legal counse for the Montana Republican Party from 2009 to 2015, and also represented American Tradition Partnership, a conservative group, in a high-profile campaign finance lawsuit in Montana in 2011.

- My judicial philosophy is known as an Originalist, which means that the role of the justice is to merely apply the law and facts as they come to the court and not to do any kind of extra judicial decision-making.

For years, the Montana Supreme Court has been criticized by those who practice before the court and by academics for being an activist-type court, and that needs to change.

That's the reason I'm runn is to restore balance to the court system in Montana.

- [Lesar] Gustafson, from Billings, was appointed to the Yellowstone County District Court in 2004 by then-Governor Judy Martz and then to the Supreme Court in 2017 by Steve Bullock.

During her time at the district court level, she helped form the first felony drug court in Billings and was involved in child welfare work.

Running in her first contested election, she's received broad support from the legal community and has notched endorsemen from five retired Montana Supreme Court justices.

- I have a lot of experience as a judge.

I have a nearly 20-year judicial career.

In that time, I've handled in the district court level nearly 15,000 cases.

I've participated in almost 1,100 cases on the Montana Supreme Court.

I've been involved in all areas of our judicial system.

I have the experience that I think makes a huge difference in this r - [Lesar] So, how will this amount of partisan influence affect the outcome of this election?

Will the Republican support of of Brown be enough to unseat an experienced incumbent?

Montana voters will answer those questions in less than two weeks.

For "IMPACT," I'm Joe Lesa - The role of elections in picking judges is a matter of constant study and debate in legal circles.

Joe Lesar continues that discussion with political analyst Lee Banville from the University of Montana School of Journalism.

- So, what is the argumen for keeping partisan politics out of these judicial elections?

- The Montana Constitutional Convention was very clear that they didn't want this to be partisan, and the argument is that for the voter out there who has to make decisions between Republicans and Democrats and Libertari and you're basing a lot of these decisions on the party platforms and the positions that these parties have adopted.

The idea of the judiciary being different, being less aligned to a specific policy goal and rather to making sure the laws of the land are fair and apply equally to everyone, that we adhere to what the Constitution says, and if we want the Constitution to be different, we should change that before we change the way the court reads it Makes the system, I'd say less turbulent, ri Because then if we elect a Democratic governor and we have a Republican c and we have a Republican legislature, then we get these sort of arbitrary battles between the branches, when really, what the court is there to do is not to say who ultimately wins in this political fight, Democrats or Republicans.

It's what should the laws of Montana be and do they align with the constitutional rights that are enshrined in our constitution, that are protected there.

You know, it's like having two baseball teams, and suddenly the umpire is one of the team members, right?

And that is a system that we're really not supposed to have, and so I think that f voters who are worrie the reason to be worried is, well, what happens if the um a member of one of the Because how can you really feel confident in their call when you know that deep down inside they're that one, they're that team or they're that team?

Then all the decisions become political decisions rather than legal ones.

- What is the risk of this level of partisanship seeping into a judicial election?

- I think that's a really open debate.

You know, on the one hand if you talk to some of the folks who were involved in the Montana Constitutional Convention in 1972, they would be very clear that they were like, "We don't want these be partisan positions But if you look at other states, there are actually other st that elect Supreme Court justices with partisan affiliations and so it's not like this race is somehow, you know, some bizarre outlier of all judicial politics in the country.

What it is is it's a shift in Montana, that Montana was very clear that at one point it wanted the judiciary to be a nonpartisan entity, and it feels as though that is a shift that is at least being tested in this race.

But again, it will take many cycles for us to really see if we're actually moving towards essentially having partisan identifications on candidates for judges and justices But I think it's too early to tell if that's where we're headed yet, but I will say you can look at other states and see what has happened there, and it's different, but it's not as though those states are dumpster fires of partisan attacks.

It's just that structurally, it's different.

I think it is important to have perspective on this race.

I mean, there's a lot of heat and not a lot of light around the Supreme Court race, and I think that the idea that this shift to a partisan judiciary is somehow horrible, I think is one that I we need to be careful about because I do think you can look at other states that have really just gone that route, and I think what I would like to see Montanans do is to really look at that and say, "Are we comfortable with that That's a conversation we really haven't had, and this race is not the place where we're going to have that conversation, but I think it's one that Montana really should have because to kind of slipping into that is worrisom If you decide to do it, that's one thing, but if you just sort of drift into a partisan judiciary, that might be much more unstable than we really want it to be.

- Justice Jim Rice, The court's longest-serving Justice, is also up for reelection this fall, challenged by Billings attorney Bill D'Alton.

Election Day is Tuesday, November 8th.

(energetic music) Truck-driving is a skill in high demand these days.

Industry insiders say the U.S. is short 80,000 drivers right now and will be short twice that by 2030.

While there isn't a single cause for drivers leaving the industry, experts say the only solution is getting a new generation committed to careers in the cab.

Montana PBS's Breanna McCabe met a few Montanans on the road to a commercial driver's license to see what it takes and where it takes them.

- Look how good you're doing.

- [McCabe] Renee Kelly used to drive a city bus in Seattle.

Now she's learning how to handle a truck and trailer in Missoula College's Commercial Driver's License Training Program.

- [Tode] Good job, good job, good job.

- I've always liked bigger vehicles.

It makes me feel powerful being taller than all the other cars.

(laughs) - [Tode] It's nice and straight.

- [McCabe] If she passe the test in a few weeks Renee will earn her Class A commercial driver's license or CDL, meaning she can drive any combination of big rigs.

- I want to be able to do all the jobs, as far as not only just driving the heavy equipment, but I also want to be able to drive the trucks that haul the heavy equipment - [Tode] Okay, straighten - [McCabe] Renee and her classmates are part of a nearly threefold increase in program participation in the past year.

- There you go.

- With students ages 19 to 58, they represent an evolving industry.

- [Tode] The face of the truck driver is changing.

- Little more.

- [McCabe] Head instructor Andrew Tode says accelerating pay is driving this trend.

- It's kind of going through the roof.

- [McCabe] Some of Tony's students have gone straight from earning their CDL to making six figures.

- There's really good money in the industry right now, and that's local.

They didn't have to move to a big city or out-of-state to do that - [McCabe] He couldn't help but recruit his 21-year-old son Daniel to seriously examine the job potential.

- I don't make that much money and I want to be able to use this to fast-track or propel me into the next stage of my life - [McCabe] 43-year-old Wade Humphries is newly-married and enticed by the money he can make outside of his desk job.

- I probably have about 15 years of good hard labor left in me and by that time, I won't be moving as fast as the younger guys, but I can still drive a truck And there's a lot of careers out there where driving a truck will essentially put food on the table.

- [McCabe] Tode and his team removed college credit requirements to open the program to the public.

- But we've really taken the lid off, looked at the program and gone "How are we going to accommodate as many people as we possibly can?"

Straighten out.

- That's meant offering students training sessions on nights and weekends.

- It takes a lot of fuel.

It takes a lot of just standing outside no matter what the weather is and telling people to turn a little sharper next time, you know?

- So, your first exercise is gonna be straight-line backing.

- [McCabe] after an average eight weeks of training, it's test time with the state - I feel a little nervous, but I feel like I can pass this.

- [McCabe] Knock a cone, it's a point.

Get too many, it's a fail - So, out here, the cones, they can hit the cones, run 'em over, and replace the cones.

Out there in the real world they're gonna be damaging the truck.

- [McCabe] Renee passes the straight-backing no problem, (Renee blows horn) then it's onto the 90-degree backing.

- [Test Administrator] Who - Ah.

- She would've just hit the wall with the back of the trailer.

- [McCabe] As the points start to pile up.

Renee's future dreams hinge on a single maneuver.

So it is for everyone in this seat.

By test time, many drivers already have careers waiting with employers who pay for the training and testing.

Companies like Great Western Petroleum see Missoula College's training program as a solid pipeline to filling its fleet.

- You know, I have seven full-time drivers and I could always use more - [McCabe] Driver and maintenance manager Derek Miller recently hired two drivers directly out of Missoula College's program, hitting the road earning 75 grand a year.

He says the skill set is worth that and more.

- Minimum coming out of the gate with a Class A CDL, if you're making less than $25 an hour, then you're not doing something right.

And I also think it's up to the company to realize what they have If you're underpaying your Class A or any CDL holder and you have constant rotation of drivers leaving, you need to look at your own company.

You're not valuing them enough and you're not paying them enough.

- [McCabe] Miller says our society has undervalued the importance of the trades that keep our infrastructure functioning, and CDL drivers are a big part of that.

- Any establishment.

How did that product get th A commercial driver' license got it there A truck and trailer got it there by a driver.

Without drivers, I'm not gonna say the world ceases to exist, but it definitely changes the landscape.

- I think that here in Montana I think there's opportunities abounding greatly in this industry.

If we don't fill them, then we're going to see a shortage on our shelves.

- [McCabe] Even one missed delivery can make a big difference for businesses like Grizzly Grocery in Missoula.

- We're left to piece things together or just kind of wait, and telling our customers, "We didn't get a produce truck.

We'll hopefully have broccoli next week."

- [McCabe] Lately, Grizzly Grocery's produce deliveries have been coming in like clockwork, though, thanks to Wade Humphries.

After earning his CDL, he landed just the job he was looking for, a local route that keeps him close to home.

- I don't make the big bucks that the over-the-road drivers make, but I'm making more than I ever have in the past and I get to be home every night.

It was the right move.

It really was.

- [McCabe] Now at 22, Daniel Tode also left his office job and is making more money than ever.

He just signed on with a major beverage company driving a Western Montana route.

- There's so many different avenues of employment that you can be home every day and stuff, and if you want to be gone and see the country, you can.

- And take your time.

You've got it.

- [McCabe] If Renee Kelly clears this final exam obstacle, she'll join the 7% of women working as commercial drivers.

With not another strike to spare, Renee passes her backup test.

- Woo.

I'm exhausted.

Holy cow.

If I hit a cone, tha would've put me over so I'm just very, very happy that I'm done with it and I can actually get my license and move on.

- [McCabe] Eight months later Renee is using her CDL to carve her own path.

She bought heavy equipment started a hardscaping and landscaping business, and jobs are lining up.

- Just being a young business already, I'm staying busy.

I have people that are waiting on me and I can't get there in time I should have done it sooner.

I shouldn't have waited so long.

- [Tode] I think if we can train truck drivers to not just be somebody who has that idea that we're just gonna hold the steering wheel and drive down the road but we can train somebody who's going to try and climb that ladder, gonna go start that business like Renee has done, somebody who's going to figure out a better way to transport those goods, not just keep going down the same path.

That is what I want to see Change in the industry.

- Yeah.

Sounds good.

- [McCabe] And that's a future he sees for his students now and down the road.

For "IMAPCT," I'm Breanna McCabe.

- The increased demand for evaluating drivers has created a bottleneck at the state's testing sites.

That means hopeful drivers are sometimes stuck waiting for a test rather than behind the wheel.

Breanna McCabe sat down with Montana's Driver Services bureau chief Rebecca Connors to see what solutions the state has for speeding up the process.

- We know that there is a backlog.

I know that as soon as students enter the Missoula College program, they're actually booking out their test dates because they're months out sometimes.

Who stepped up to say we need more help with the testing?

- Sure, the Department of Justice administration definitely sees commercial driving as a priority.

We don't want to impede business.

We want to make sure that our truckers are able to get on the road be able to go through our process, go through all the requirements, and us be the quick proces We naturally have our own challenges and constraints.

Number One is staffing.

We are experiencing staffing shortages up to 20% across the state or in just some stations, and when that happens, we have to cut back our services a little bit.

But we are pulling other people from other stations, trying to get creative in how we can step up and be able to serve these Montanans w want to get out on the road Again, we don't want to be the hindrance to that.

We don't want to get in somebody's way of employment, so we are trying to be creative and figure out group-testing ways to be able to get people in on a large scale and be able to test them all at one time.

Or expanding those third-party services to allow people to do that testing component on our behalf.

- Does this feel like a wave of new energy really coming into the field on your end?

- Absolutely.

The current administration has been very supportive of expanding those third-party testing, expanding that business to be able to help us support the customers' demands in Montana, so we've seen our third-party testing expand significantly since 2021.

Prior to that, it was maybe one or two third-party agencies that were providing that, and that was just for their own CDL folks that would eventually work for them.

So, we have a lot more public access now.

Even just within this last year, it felt like Miles Community College is getting ramped up.

Highlands Community College down in Butte, Missoula College.

There's a lot of interest to Helena College, and they're just able to help us in meeting the demand across the state.

- It seems like, boy, this is an easy career to get into.

You do maybe eight weeks of training, but it does seem like the test itself isn't just cake.

- No, no.

You really need to have the foundational knowledge in there for the general knowledge testing.

So, all the different traffic laws, understanding your commercial vehicle.

You need to be able to go through and read that.

We have the manual online You can walk into any of our stations and get a paper copy, so the resources are there We just encourage folks to study and really take it serious so they can be successful in the testing process.

You also need to know all the requirements when it comes to the pre-trip and understanding your commercial vehicle as well as the skills in being able to drive your vehicle correctly.

So, there's definitely some pieces that go into it.

Training has helped set those folks up for success.

That has been a benefit But yeah, it does take the person, a willing participant t study and really embrace all of the requirements and knowledge.

- As we look even farther down the road, we know that the American Trucking Associations expects that this deficit of 80,000 is going to double, so what does that mean in Montana and what does that mean for your office?

- Sure.

It just means that we'll continue providing the great service that we do currently and expanding those third-party testing opportunities, being able to be creative and provide group testing opportunities for our drivers, prioritizing those CDL drivers in our scheduling system, whether they need a written test or being creative in how we can get more skills testers through the door.

So, we're always looking to be able to try to accommodate of those folks out the and our mission is driving customer service, and we want to keep fulfilling that for all the people of Mont - Missoula College has more interest than it can handle right n and plans to have its public CDL testing site open by early next year Well, that's all the time we have in this show.

On the next "IMPACT," we'll examine Montana's housing affordability crisis through the eyes of one young family.

And as more attention comes to the painful legacy of federal Indian boarding schools, we'll look at efforts to keep native language and culture alive into the next generation.

Thank you for joining us.

I'm Stan Parker.

(energetic music) (energetic music continues (energetic music continues - [Announcer] Production of "IMPACT" is made possible with support from the Otto Bremer Trust, investing in people, place and opportunities in our region.

Online at ottobremer.org.

The Greater Montana Foundation encouraging communication on issues, trends, and values of importance to Montanans.

And viewers like you who are friends of Montana PBS Thank you.

(bright instrumental music)