Mark Morse is a man of many talents, and now that he is retired, he wants to apply those talents to help run county government.
Morse has announced that he will run as a Republican candidate for Yellowstone County Commissioner for the position currently held by County Commissioner Denis Pitman.
“I want to lead us into the future,” said Morse, who has few criticisms about how the county and the community are run, but he does see some challenges that he believes have to be met, and he believes he is qualified to help meet those challenges.
First among those challenges is the need to support law enforcement given the inordinate level of crime being experienced in the county. The need extends throughout the law and justice sector, including courts, judges and attorneys, as well as officers on the street, he explained in an interview with Yellowstone County News.
“This is a quality of life issue,” declared Morse. It must be resolved before most other issues can be resolved, such as economic growth and other quality of life issues.
As a former US Postal Inspector, there is little doubt about Morse’s commitment to supporting law enforcement. Postal inspectors are special agents very much like the FBI, only they focus exclusively on crimes that impact the US Post Office. Most people do not realize the extent of crime with which the postal service must deal. There are internal crimes and external crimes, fraudulent mail and mailing of prohibited materials.
A highlight of Morse’s career was being an active investigator in the Montana Unabomber case.
Given the level of radical calls across the country to “defund the police,” Morse said he wants to make sure that that “cancer” doesn’t get a foothold here. That takes the commitment of local citizens who hold those values, stepping up to the plate, believes Morse, who describes himself as “a humble guy just wanting to do his part.”
Morse began his career with the US Postal Service in Albany, New York, in October 1985. In 1987 he was transferred to Milwaukee, Wisconsin. And, then between 1987 through 1993 he was again back in New York –New York City. In 1993 he made the choice to transfer to Great Falls, Montana.
After being in Montana awhile, Morse said he became impressed with Yellowstone County and saw Billings and Yellowstone County as the center of growth and the future of the state. Because of that progressiveness, he urged that the US Postal Inspection Service to centralize their operations in Billings, which in 2001 brought him to the community, still in his role as a postal inspector. In 2009, Morse retired.
Not willing to give up the challenges of law enforcement, Morse became a reserve deputy for the Yellowstone County Sheriff’s Department. The transition in that role has been challenging and interesting. It requires a different skill set from that of postal inspector, said Morse. Situations confronted as a sheriff’s deputy are usually fast moving, and one has little time to make a decision and act, while a postal inspector functions more like a detective, analytical and investigative.
Morse is a strong advocate for economic development. He sees the development of the TEDD industrial park in Lockwood as a game changer for the future of Yellowstone County and fully supports it.
Both Morse and his wife, Teresa Darnielle, own their own businesses. Through his own experiences and as a close observer of his wife’s challenges, Morse says he knows the burdens of over regulation and red tape. “We understand how it impacts small businesses,” he said.
Morse’s business is that of an investigating firm through which he contracts his services as called upon. In one of those cases, he wound up in the unexpected situation of being asked to manage a 60,000 acre irrigated and dry land farm in central Montana, which he did for a couple years. The experience gave him greater insight and appreciation for the business of growing crops and managing workers. The opportunity stretched his administrative skills. “You don’t need to know everything, you just need to know the smartest guy to call,” he said in explaining how he rose to the challenge with so little background experience.
And, although Morse always knew the importance of agriculture to the state’s economy, that experience reaffirmed his understanding of it.
Yellowstone County can be likened to a $115 million business, said Morse, one that has had good administration in the past, as evidenced by its long–standing AA bond rating. The county has a road and bridge crew second to none, lauded Morse. He said he also appreciates the significance and value of Metra Park to the local economy. It is hard to fully quantify how much business Metra Park, which is a county owned and managed enterprise, brings to other businesses in the community, and Morse views the management and future development of Metra Park as a profound responsibility of county commissioners.
Morse said that politically he is probably best described as a conservative and a Constitutionalist. He is a strong supporter of the second amendment and would never restrict anyone’s gun rights. He believes in the wisdom of people, “I believe if you give them all the facts, they will make the right decisions.”
He and Teresa have been involved in various civic endeavors in the past, most especially the Billings Community Foundation, for which they remain active supporters.
Morse is a very active “handy man” and was very hands-on in the process of building their home located near Pryor Creek Golf Course. Morse sees his handy-man projects as a past time, which he enjoys doing. He also enjoys fly fishing, hiking and hunting.
County commissioners are elected to six-year terms. Denis Pitman, a Republican, is serving his first term. The position will open for election in next year’s – 2022 – general election in November.
