Ed hire who posted on Dems' sexual orientation declines job

(AP) — Montana's incoming superintendent of public instruction says a Republican Party operative won't join her team after he was criticized for social media comments he made about Democratic politicians' sexual orientation.

Randy Vogel, a former Billings police officer who worked recently for U.S. Rep. Ryan Zinke, declined his appointment as a senior policy adviser to incoming superintendent Elsie Arntzen, the Billings Gazette reported Sunday (http://bit.ly/2ixnYUI ).

Arntzen, a Republican state senator, defeated Democrat Melissa Romano in November to become the next superintendent of public instruction.