Missoula Independent Columnist Quits Lobbying Job
By AAN Staff
january 15, 2007 12:53 pm
After roaming the halls of the Montana legislature for more than 20 years as a professional lobbyist, George Ochenski leaves it all behind to focus on his career as a political analyst for Missoula's alt-weekly. Ochenski announced the decision in his latest column, in which he admits that his dual role created problems. "As a writer, the obvious conflicts between what I wanted to be able to convey and the sometimes not-so-good reactions those stories elicited from one party or another within the Capitol, certainly had the potential to create problems for a lobbyist trying to get legislation passed or funded," he writes. NOTE TO READERS: Last week, based on an
inaccurate report in The Billings Outpost (see second item), AAN News briefly reported that Ochenski had decided to quit writing.