Wesern Writers

An Interview with Greg Lemon

By Jenny Shank, 8-25-08

Greg Lemon grew up in La Grande, Oregon, and after college, moved to Missoula in 1998 to work with the Forest Service’s Technology Center.  He attended graduate school in journalism at the University of Montana, and after graduating in 2004, he took a job with the Ravalli Republic newspaper in Hamilton.  This year Lemon published his first book, Blue Man in a Red State, a biography of Montana Governor Brian Schweitzer.  I recently interviewed Lemon via email about how he became interested in politics, how he came to write the book, and what he learned about Schweitzer in the process of writing the biography. Lemon will discuss his book at the Borders in Bozeman on September 6 (2 p.m.).

New West: How did you start writing about politics?

Greg Lemon: I started writing about politics at the Ravalli Republic newspaper in Hamilton. I was the natural resources reporter, but we didn’t have a large staff, so I took on politics as well. I never really wanted to cover politics, but once I got into it I liked it. Politics is about people and I think the best political reporters remember that.

NW: Why did you decide to write this book?

GL: This book was a surprise to me in a way. My editor Allen Jones called me one day and asked if I was interested in writing a book about Schweitzer. I didn’t know Allen at the time and had never considered writing a book on Schweitzer. But it was a great opportunity. Allen and I worked out the details and combined his vision for the book with mine and started work.

NW: What was the most challenging aspect of writing a biography?  Would you consider writing another biography?

GL: The hardest thing about writing this biography was asking people about their thoughts on a sitting governor. The national pundits I interviewed about Schweitzer were really honest and frank about him and his position in national politics. But they didn’t have any relationship or dealings with Schweitzer. The state legislators and Montana citizens I interviewed still deal with Schweitzer and I think at times they were weighed their words carefully. That was hard because I could tell at times they weren’t telling me how the really felt – good or bad.

NW: Did your relationship with Schweitzer change over the course of writing this book?

GL: It did. I got to know him better than I had before. We didn’t get really chummy, but we went from being on a first name basis to teasing each other in public, which is fun. As I said in the book, there’s a level of familiarity that I just didn’t get to with Schweitzer. He kept me at a safe distance and still does. 

NW: You moved from Oregon to Montana in 1998. What differences do you find between politics or politicians in those two states?
GL: In Oregon I didn’t pay attention to politics. I didn’t really start looking at politics until I got to Montana and went to the student leadership forum in the summer of 1999. 

NW: You place Schweitzer in the context of two other Democratic governors in this region, New Mexico’s Bill Richardson and Colorado’s Bill Ritter.  Do you see these three governors as being part of a regional turn toward Democrats, or did each of these election victories arise out of particular, local circumstances?

GL: I think Ritter, Schweitzer and Richardson were unique to the circumstances of their state, but they reflect a larger trend in the region and possibly the nation. The political landscape has become so divisive since the Clinton years, maybe even during them, that average people with average political attention spans began to push back against the ultra-partisan rhetoric. In my book, Jon Cowan, who heads up the non-partisan, progressive think-tank Third Way, addressed this when he said people are finally looking at the either/or brand of politics as bankrupt way of thinking.

That political landscape nationally coupled with the change demographically in the Rocky Mountain West made room for politicians who were more moderate in their positions like Richardson, Ritter or Schweitzer.

I think if any of those three governors were moderate Republicans rather than moderate Democrats, they would still have been elected and still be considered influential. I’m certain that’s the case with Schweitzer. I think they are all smart enough to see that people in their states want leaders who can speak to their concerns whether it is education, tax breaks or environmental stewardship. I also think they were smart enough to run as themselves not as figureheads for their political party. I also believe that all three are willing to stand up to their party if need be.

NW: You write that one of Schweitzer’s colleagues in graduate school at MSU, Marie Boehm, said that “she remembered one faculty member as having said that Schweitzer would end up either in jail or as governor.” Why jail?  Did he have a wild streak?

GL: I really don’t know if he had a wild streak in college or not. But it wouldn’t surprise me. I was with him once in Stockmen’s Bar in Missoula and he had a grand time telling stories, drinking beer and slapping backs. I could see how a younger Schweitzer might have been a little wild.

I think the statement by Mary was more hyperbolic than anything.

NW: At the end of the book, you ask your friend, a Helena pastor, his opinion of Schweitzer, whom he meets briefly, and he replies, “He just doesn’t seem to be at peace.” You characterize this as “perhaps the single most insightful thing I’ve heard said about him.” Why is that?  What aspects of Schweitzer’s personality or actions are reflected by this statement?

GL: I had quite a bit of heartburn over putting that sentence in the book. It’s such a rich statement and I think insightful. If you stand next to Schweitzer while he’s speaking on anything from energy to prescription drugs to education, there is a sense that he’s straining at the bit to go faster. I guess to me, that is one meaning of the “not being at peace statement.”

Another meaning could be deeper and point to a general sense of just not having accomplished as much in life as he wants to yet.

I’ve never really seen him sit still and just be relaxed (that big, deep breath and sigh with your hands behind your head relaxed.) However, he spoke briefly about having those moments with Nancy and I included that in the book.

NW: Do you care to offer any prediction for the presidential election results in this region?

GL: I think Obama is going to lose Montana by less than 5 percentage points. But he’s going to win Colorado, New Mexico and Nevada. I think McCain will take Wyoming, Utah, Arizona and Idaho. However, I do think Idaho will be as close as Montana and I think it will serve to be a huge wakeup call to Republicans in that state.

NW: What are you working on now?

GL: I just started as editor of The Sun newspaper in Bozeman. It’s my first job as editor and it’s a lot of work, but I’m really enjoying it. Plus my wife is pregnant with our first child, due in January. Needless to say, I’m really excited to be a father.

I do think I’ve got another book in me, but no plans for one right now.

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