Posted: Jan 31, 2012 5:18 PM by Kay Rossi (Great Falls)
Updated: Feb 3, 2012 5:29 PM
Jim O'Hara is taking an unconventional approach in his bid to become the next governor of Montana, and his unique campaign has drawn the attention of CBS News feature correspondent Steve Hartman.
O'Hara, a Republican, is erecting hand-made billboards in each of Montana's 56 counties, and traveling 3,500 miles across Big Sky Country to do it, with each billboard featuring each county's courthouse.
That caught the eye of Hartman, who often profiles off-beat or compelling people in his CBS stories; Hartman caught up with O'Hara near Ulm on Monday.
Hartman explained, "We heard that there was a guy running for governor who was putting billboards up in every county in the state, and this is not a small state. I'm not sure if you're aware of that. This is a very large state...if he was doing this in Rhode Island, we probably wouldn't cover it."
Campaigning in the Treasure State usually means a lot of travel, but O'Hara says what he's doing requires a lot more work.
O'Hara explained, "The art work is between 10 and 20 hours per billboard depending on the billboard, or on the courthouse, some of them are a little more intricate...and then I had to physically put the poles in the ground."
O'Hara says he's thrilled to have his story air nationally and he hopes it gets Montana voters interested in his message: "I believe what the voters should get out of this is that our courthouses are the foundation of government. They belong to the people. Our government belongs to the people."
But whether the extra attention will get him to the Governor's mansion remains to be seen; when asked if he thinks that being profiled on a national level will will give him a leg up in the race, O'Hara said, "It can't hurt!"
Hartman last visited the Treasure State in 2009 to do a profile of Walter Breuning.
Hartman's segment on O'Hara is scheduled to air during the CBS Evening News on Friday, February 3rd, on Montana's News Station.
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