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October 9, 2025
The final two proposed ballot initiatives aiming to keep Montana’s judicial elections nonpartisan were due for review Thursday by Attorney General Austin Knudsen, who was sued earlier this week after editing the language of another initiative on the same subject.
The attorney general’s review of the two initiatives proposed by Montanans for Nonpartisan Courts is due by end of day Thursday. One would require that Montana’s currently nonpartisan judicial elections stay that way. The other would require that any Montana court created in the future also be filled through nonpartisan elections.
The push to maintain nonpartisan elections follows several failed attempts by Republican state legislators to require judicial candidates to declare a party affiliation. Those attempts were preceded by the Montana Supreme Court judging multiple Republican bills unconstitutional over the last five years.
Knudsen hasn’t weighed in publicly on the initiatives, but he has repeatedly railed against what he calls “activist judges” when courts have ruled against his Department of Justice.
The initiative at the crux of this week’s lawsuit, crafted by Montanans for Fair and Impartial Judges, is one that Knudsen approved, while changing the descriptive language voters will see if the initiative gathers enough signatures to reach the general election ballot in 2026. Constitutional Initiative 131, if passed, would require that Montana Supreme Court and district court elections be nonpartisan.
Knudsen found that CI-131 passes legal muster, but changed the language. The original language read: “This constitutional initiative would require that Montana Supreme Court and district court elections remain nonpartisan. Since 1935, state law has required that these elections be held without political party affiliation. This amendment would add that rule to the Montana Constitution, so it could only be changed by another constitutional amendment approved by voters.”
Knudsen’s revision reads: “CI-131, if passed, mandates Montana supreme court and district court elections be non-partisan. A non-partisan election prohibits labeling candidates on the ballot according to the political party the candidate aligns with including labels like independent.”
Montanans for Fair and Impartial Judges’ proposed CI-131 language suggests that nonpartisan races are and should remain free of political affiliation. Knudsen’s language suggests that judicial candidates are aligned with political parties and CI-131 would prevent those affiliations from being disclosed.
During the 2025 Legislature, Republicans succeeded in passing a law allowing political parties to donate directly to judicial candidates for the first time.
This story will be updated at montanafreepress.org.
—Tom Lutey
Ghost town grift
The state’s former manager of the Virginia City ghost town and other historic properties pleaded guilty Tuesday to stealing $300,000 from the state.
Michael Elijah Allen, who also managed Nevada City and Reeder’s Alley in Helena, pleaded guilty to felony embezzlement and money laundering.
The thefts came to light in May 2024 when Allen’s successor learned that the Montana Heritage Commission was being evicted from a storage unit in Butte. Bills for the unit had been charged to Allen’s state credit card. The unit was more than an hour’s drive from Virginia City, an intact ghost town with a colorful history of robber barons, vigilantes and miners.
The storage unit was full of new leather furniture. An investigation by then Commerce Director Paul Green revealed that Allen had used computer software to create phony bills to cover up personal purchases paid for with state funds. One bill for “artifact cleaning and restoration” was actually from a Bozeman tattoo parlor.
Earlier this year the Montana Legislature restructured management of the Heritage Commission, cutting the number of commission seats from 14 to 9 and changing the professional requirements to serve. The law change also means the commission no longer selects its own director. The Commerce Department now provides all staff and services.
Commerce Deputy Director Mandy Rambo informed staff on Wednesday that Kal Poole, the most recent director of the Heritage Commission, is no longer in the position, which was posted to the state jobs board shortly before Rambo’s message was issued. The job, based in Virginia City, pays $102,000 to $112,000 a year.
—Tom Lutey
Speaking of Paul Green
The former Commerce director and state legislator is leaving as director of the Billings-based Big Sky Economic Development Authority, which promotes economic growth in nine south-central Montana counties.
In a press release, Green said he had come to a mutual agreement with the development corporation’s board of directors that it would be best if he stepped down.
“While the board and I ultimately had different perspectives on the role, we mutually agreed that this transition is in the best interest of the organization and the community,” Green said.
Green left his Commerce Department job in February to become BSEDA director. At the time, he told Montana Free Press the job in Billings got him closer to his family ranch outside Hardin. Gov. Greg Gianforte praised Green’s work at Commerce, saying he was sorry to see Green leave.
Green’s last day at Big Sky Economic Development is Oct. 17.
Green was appointed Commerce director in January 2024, replacing Scott Osterman, who resigned after an investigation found he improperly spent at least $26,000 in government funds, mostly on vehicle and lodging expenses. The state was being billed for Osterman’s commute from his home in Flathead County and room at the Helena DoubleTree hotel when Osterman was at the Capitol. The governor’s Office of Budget and Program Planning concluded the expenses weren’t allowed and referred the matter to Montana’s Legislative Auditor for investigation.
The Legislative Audit Division in August 2024 concluded Osterman’s travel status was legitimate and that he didn’t violate state travel policy by claiming reimbursement.
This story was updated Oct. 10, 2025, to include the Legislative Audit Division finding that Scott Osterman’s reimbursed travel expenses didn’t violate state travel policy.
—Tom Lutey
