Brett Rosenberg

This page was current at the end of the individual's last campaign covered by Ballotpedia. Please contact us with any updates.

Brett Rosenberg

Democratic Party

Education

Bachelor's

University of Kansas, 1995

Graduate

University of Michigan, 2002

Personal

Birthplace

St. Louis, Mo.

Profession

Consultant

Contact

Campaign website

Campaign Facebook

Brett Rosenberg (Democratic Party) ran for election to the Montana Public Service Commission to represent District 4. He did not appear on the ballot for the Democratic primary on June 2, 2020.

Rosenberg completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2019. Click here to read the survey answers.

Biography

Brett Rosenberg was born in St. Louis, Missouri, and lives in Missoula, Montana. He earned a bachelor's degree from the University of Kansas in 1995 and a graduate degree from the University of Michigan in 2002. Rosenberg’s career experience includes working as a scientist, research assistant, and environmental consultant.

Elections

2020

See also: Montana Public Service Commission election, 2020

General election

General election for Montana Public Service Commission District 4

Jennifer Fielder defeated Monica Tranel in the general election for Montana Public Service Commission District 4 on November 3, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Jennifer Fielder (R)	52.1	64,726
		Monica Tranel (D)	47.9	59,481

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 124,207
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Montana Public Service Commission District 4

Monica Tranel defeated Daniel Carlino in the Democratic primary for Montana Public Service Commission District 4 on June 2, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Monica Tranel	76.9	25,888
		Daniel Carlino	23.1	7,786

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 33,674
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Brett Rosenberg (D)

Republican primary election

Republican primary for Montana Public Service Commission District 4

Jennifer Fielder defeated Will Deschamps and Champ Edmunds in the Republican primary for Montana Public Service Commission District 4 on June 2, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Jennifer Fielder	44.9	16,665
	Submit photo	Will Deschamps	35.1	13,040
		Champ Edmunds	20.0	7,412

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 37,117
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Webb Brown (R)

Campaign themes

2020

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Brett Rosenberg completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2019. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Rosenberg's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

Expand all | Collapse all

Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

I am a father of two young kids who lives in Missoula, Montana. I grew up in the Kansas City area with a single parent who sacrificed much on my behalf. I've worked since I was 15 years old, and I understand what it means to live paycheck to paycheck. I'm sensitive to how difficult it can be to make ends meet, especially when the costs of simply living seem out of our control.

Over the last 20 years, I've worked, at times literally, in the trenches to hold industry accountable to their environmental responsibilities. My first job out of college, based in Washington, DC, involved visiting sites around the US to advise clients on technical issues related to industrial wastewater treatment and management, and compliance with federal and state water regulations.

I had the opportunity to work with mayors nationwide to provide cities a unified, non-partisan voice in speaking to the federal government about infrastructure, energy, and environmental policy. Additionally, I was part of the team that launched the US Mayors Climate Protection Agreement, which is the basis of so many local climate action plans nationwide. And, I've worked with architects and engineers from around the country to move the building industry toward better energy efficiency and resource stewardship.

I'm running for the MT Public Service Commission because while I'm dedicated to a clean energy future for my children, I appreciate firsthand the fiscal discipline necessary to get there.

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

• Montana deserves a comprehensive long-term energy plan that focuses on clean, affordable and renewable energy.
• The Public Service Commission is accountable to the people, not the regulated community.
• It's time the Montana Public Service Commission consistently functions in a professional, competent manner, and works effectively with other parts of the state government.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

As somebody who actually went out of his way for an internship at a local water utility, that is, at drinking water and wastewater treatment plants, it's safe to say that I dig infrastructure. I'm ever curious about how things like pipes and wires work, why they are where they are, who made the decisions behind them, who paid and continues to pay for it, and whether it will all last much longer without some kind of fiscally sound long-term management plan.

Since I've lived in Montana, the Public Service Commission has demonstrated very little leadership when it comes to our future energy needs, despite a growing population and ever more dire predictions about our climate; rather, it simply reacts as new dockets come along. Nor has it seemed to pay much attention to the interests outside its members' immediate political constituencies, especially rural and tribal areas. Its apparent dysfunction over the last year has been particularly rife. It has also become apparent that the PSC has become a parking lot for politicians who've termed out of their stints in the state legislature.

This is all to say that I'm passionate about clean, affordable, and sustainable infrastructure of all kinds; about an affordable clean energy future for all Montanans; and having elected officials who are curious and care about their roles.

What characteristics or principles are most important for an elected official?

Integrity: knowing the right thing to do and having the courage to do it.

Transparency: openness about the decision-making process, campaign funding sources, etc.
Availability: reasonably accessible to the public

Empathy: willing to listen to people and consider their experiences, and how one's decisions affects others.

What legacy would you like to leave?

I'd like to think that people remember me as somebody who successfully fought the good fight - to help stop, and reverse the causes of climate change; to be part of the solution to Montana's affordable, clean energy future; to hold corporations accountable to the the people; and foster innovation and prosperity in Montana.

What was your very first job? How long did you have it?

My first job, as a 15 year-old, was at a Burger King in Lenexa, KS. My best friend worked there first, so I decided that I'd apply there, too. I generally worked one weekday evening and one and one weekend day. I made $3.35 per hour so I had to work an hour in order to afford lunch during my half hour break. Getting a paycheck, such as it was, was nice, but I didn't exactly enjoy the work.

It was like the movie Coming to America: something like, I started mopping floors like you, then I moved on to fries. Someday, I'll be assistant manager.

Except I began on the boiler/steamer. Frozen patties went on a belt on one side, flowed over the flames, and plopped out the other, while the buns went in an attached steamer. I had to run back and forth to both ends fo the machine to keep up with orders, which never stopped. I always smelled like hamburger. Soon, I moved on to the soda machine at the drive through window. Imagine what a pain it is to put a lid on a flimsy cup of soda, then multiply that times a thousand. Every hour.

Needless to say, I lasted about four months, after which I began my career as a grocery sacker.

What was the last song that got stuck in your head?

Heard it in a Love Song by the Marshall Tucker Band. I can't explain why.

Are there any little-known powers or responsibilities held by this office that you believe more people should be aware of?

The Montana Public Service Commission's ostensible purpose is to oversee how monopoly corporations, such as investor-owned electric utilities, do business in the state. In order to do business as a monopoly in Montana, a corporation must agree to meet a minimum quality of service at a price that the PSC deems appropriate, in terms of affordability to rate payers as well as covering operational costs and a return on equity for corporate investors.

Montana has experimented with wholesale deregulation of its electric utilities, to disastrous results. Instead of opening up the marketplace in Montana to a range of new options for electricity consumers, the major utilities in the state promptly went bankrupt and the costs for consumers skyrocketed. These results arose due in part to hasty action on the part of the Montana State Legislature and Public Service Commission. Meanwhile, it was becoming readily apparent that burning coal for our power is unsustainable due to its impacts on our climate and its high cost, compared with renewables and natural gas.

This is where the Public Service Commission comes in: The PSC has the regulatory authority to set the rates that consumers pay for energy, and it plays a big role in guiding utilities in how they source the electricity they sell to rate payers, who have little say in where they get their power.

Instead of reacting on a case by case basis, the PSC can demonstrate some real leadership in working with the State Legislature and other stakeholders to enact laws that provide for limited consumer choices that include better access to renewable energy options, and with the utilities to diversify their generation portfolios in a way that brings more clean energy into the mix while keeping rates affordable and creating a reasonable rate of return.

Do you believe that it's beneficial for holders of this office to have previous experience in government or politics?

This is a leading question - of course it would be beneficial for holders of this office to have previous experience in government or politics because it's self-evident that that kind of experience would, to some extent, be an important personal selling point and means of negotiating the ins and outs of state government. The more important question is whether such experience is necessary. The answer to that question is No.

The Montana Public Service Commission has a quasi-judicial role: its job is largely to listen to the public it serves and the entities it regulates in order to make decisions that are fair and reflect our shared values. Even though its seats are elected positions, there's little reason why it should be as politicized as it is. In fact, not having experience in politics, which I don't, should be a beneficial attribute.

What kind of skills or expertise do you believe would be the most helpful for the holders of this office to possess?

The Public Service Commission considers a range of issues, dealing with electric utilities, waste hauling, and telecommunications, to name a few. Given the breadth of issues, commissioners with broad expertise and experience across industries, versus the more traditional political or agency experience, would bring more to bear on the position, in terms of having a strong knowledge base to approach the job.

As a quasi-judicial body, members of the Public Service Commission should approach their jobs in as impartial and non-partisan a way as possible so as to best serve all members of the public.

Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.

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