Montana
State executive offices up for election in Montana this year
HELENA — Every four years, Montanans elect not only a governor, but four other state executive officeholders – together, the five members of the state land board.
Currently, all of those offices are held by Republicans. MTN has already looked at Attorney General Austin Knudsen’s bid for reelection and at his challenger, attorney Ben Alke, a Democrat from Bozeman. Now, the races are beginning to take shape for three other land board offices.
Jonathon Ambarian
Secretary of State Christi Jacobsen filed for a second four-year term earlier this month, telling MTN she promised voters not to seek higher office while she was still eligible to run for this one. She said she considers her first term to be a success, and she plans to point to record business registrations in the state and reduced red tape.
If she’s reelected, Jacobsen says she wants to continue to focus on election integrity measures. She says she hopes the Montana Supreme Court will allow provisions like stricter voter ID to go into effect, after they faced legal challenges.
“We’re working hard and fighting to keep those on the books into the next term,” she said. “So there’s always room for improvement. We’re already starting to talk with the legislators about possible legislation for next time around to continue to improve elections in the state of Montana.”
Jonathon Ambarian
Running against Jacobsen is Jesse James Mullen, a Democrat from Deer Lodge. He owns a chain of small community newspapers in Montana and five other states, though he’s stepped back from the company during the campaign. This is his first statewide campaign, after he ran in a special election for state senate last year.
Mullen criticized Jacobsen’s office for their frequent involvement in lawsuits, saying it shows actions the secretary of state should have been taking without being taken to court. He says, as a business owner, he can bring an emphasis on “customer service” to the office’s interactions with businesses and the public.
“A good secretary of state should be a caretaker of the position,” he said. “A great Secretary of State isn’t going to be out in the media all the time because they’re doing the job and making sure Montanans can prioritize their own lives, their own careers and their own businesses.”
Superintendent of Public Instruction Elsie Arntzen will be termed-out at the end of 2024 after serving eight years. Two of her former deputy superintendents have expressed interest in succeeding her.
Jonathon Ambarian
Susie Hedalen, the superintendent of Townsend Public Schools, filed for the Republican nomination last week. She worked at the Office of Public Instruction for three years, including serving as deputy superintendent for education services. She previously worked as superintendent in the Arrowhead School District, and prior to that in various other educational roles, starting as a classroom teacher.
Hedalen also serves as vice-chair of the Montana Board of Public Education. She says the various roles she’s held have given her an understanding of what school leaders need and how OPI can support them. She also wants to emphasize listening to parents’ concerns.
“I want to make sure that we bring education back to basics, and what I mean by that is that we have a well-rounded education that is built on the foundational skills that our students need – reading, writing, math, science, those skills that are going to bring them through along the way.”
Hedalen’s campaign has touted support from Republican leaders like Gov. Greg Gianforte, Knudsen and – on Monday – U.S. Rep. Ryan Zinke.
Jonathon Ambarian
Sharyl Allen, currently the superintendent-principal for Harrison Public School, told MTN she intends to file as a Republican candidate in the coming days as well. Allen was deputy superintendent under Arntzen for three years. She had previously been a superintendent in Conrad and Boulder, a principal in Great Falls and a teacher in Augusta.
Allen says, during her time in the superintendent’s office, she got experience working firsthand on educational initiatives like student assessments and teacher residency programs. She says OPI needs to do a better job of being responsive to local school leaders.
Allen says she’s shown herself to be an innovator and risktaker throughout her educational career.
“I think the question is, what do you believe in most? And for me, it’s always fighting for kids and the opportunities that they need,” she said. “I love kids, I believe they have incredible potential that often is untapped, I fight for them and I will continue to fight for them, and will ask Montanans to join us.”
Jonathon Ambarian
The Democratic candidate running for superintendent is state Sen. Shannon O’Brien, D-Missoula. She’s worked as a high school teacher, helping students access college, and as dean of Missoula College – as well as serving as education policy advisor to former Gov. Steve Bullock.
O’Brien says she wants to rebuild the Office of Public Instruction, saying many school districts aren’t receiving the support services they should be. She argues Arntzen’s office has been too focused on issues that aren’t important to families, and she believes she can get that message across to people regardless of their political party.
“We have mental health issues, we have safe schools we need to focus on, and we have a teacher shortage crisis going on right now,” said O’Brien. “So, first of all, I think we need to focus on what’s most important to our families and our children and our teachers. And secondly, we need to make sure that our public schools are protected and our quality public schools in our rural towns are supported, and those teachers have the support that they need to do their job.”
State Auditor Troy Downing could run for a second term, but he’s campaigning in the Republican primary for Montana’s eastern district seat in the U.S. House – leaving the office, which regulates the insurance and securities industries in the state, open for now.
Jonathon Ambarian
The only candidate to file for auditor so far is Montana Public Service Commission President James Brown, a Republican from Dillon. Brown ran a prominent campaign for Montana Supreme Court in 2022, and says that helped him introduce himself to voters statewide.
Brown believes the state auditor and the PSC share similar regulatory roles, and duties to serve the public.
“Part of the reason I ran for the PSC in 2020 is because I believed I had a skill set in order to bring balance to that commission,” he said. “I feel like I’ve successfully done what I’ve started out to do at the PSC, and I believe that my skill set now is a better fit at the moment for serving as state auditor.”
Brown, an attorney, says he holds an insurance producer’s license, and that he got it to better educate himself about insurance issues that came up in his practice. However, he hasn’t worked actively in the insurance industry, so he says he’d have knowledge without the worry of a conflict of interest.
Any candidates still wanting to file for these and other state offices still has almost a month to do so. The deadline is March 11.
MISSOULA — Four out of five members of Montana’s Public Service Commission were in a federal courtroom in Missoula Thursday morning, as the PSC’s former president challenges the disciplinary action taken against him earlier this year. Now, newly released documents are shedding more light on to what led up to this point.
(Watch the video for a closer look at the case.)
New documents shed light Montana PSC dispute
Commissioner Brad Molnar has sued President Jeff Welborn, Vice President Jennifer Fielder and Commissioner Annie Bukacek – the three PSC members who voted in May to require him to work remotely, after an investigation into complaints about his workplace conduct. Molnar has claimed he is being unfairly punished for constitutionally protected speech, and he asked Senior U.S District Judge Donald Molloy to allow him to return to the PSC offices.
Matthew Monforton, Molnar’s attorney, told the judge that barring Molnar from the building was limiting his ability to do his job.
“He has not been officially kicked out of office, but his voice has clearly been diminished,” said Monforton.
But Natasha Jones, an attorney representing the other three commissioners, said the findings were about behavior, not just speech, and that the PSC’s action was a reasonable response.
“These are serious concerns about a pattern of conduct that has made employees quit,” she said.
Jonathon Ambarian
On Tuesday, Molloy ordered the release of redacted versions of two full investigative reports into Molnar’s conduct – more than 100 pages of documents. Monforton had moved for the full reports to be made public, and Molloy ruled attorneys for the other PSC members hadn’t shown a compelling reason to keep the documents under seal as long as the names of people involved in the investigation were obscured.
While the names remained redacted in the investigation reports, the attorneys for Welborn, Fielder and Bukacek also filed additional documents – including a public declaration from Bukacek and from former PSC executive director Alana Lake, providing information about their allegations against Molnar.
The two reports, from an outside investigator, cover Molnar’s alleged actions over two periods: the first from February to August 2025, and the second from August to October 2025. The investigation began after the first formal complaint, filed by Bukacek in May 2025 – though the reports say employees had been bringing up concerns about Molnar’s behavior informally for several months prior.
Bukacek’s complaint claimed Molnar had repeatedly made what she called “sexualized and demeaning comments.” The examples she cited included saying the PSC should replace “Taco Tuesdays” with “Topless Tuesdays,” reminiscing about watching girls in bikinis as a teenager, and commenting about the beauty of women in areas of China who didn’t get “old and wrinkly.”
In her declaration, Bukacek also claimed Molnar had “maliciously disseminated false information” about her and “engaged in behavior that was dismissive, derisive and otherwise abusive.”
“My primary concern now is not for my safety nor my feelings, but for the rest of the staff who may not have the temperament to speak up or may feel too intimidated to speak up given concerns over job security,” Bukacek said in her declaration.
MTN News
The investigators determined Molnar had violated the PSC’s code of conduct by making comments of a sexual nature, and that it appeared his behavior had continued for some time after he was warned about it. They also found he had behaved unprofessionally and in a belittling manner toward Bukacek, though they said Bukacek herself had at times used “language that could be considered inappropriate” in emails to staff or other commissioners. Bukacek told MTN she “readily self corrected” any behaviors that were brought to her attention.
The investigation also found a violation in connection with a complaint from a PSC staff member, who said he “felt bullied” by Molnar when the commissioner sent an email complaining about his team not being “people with competence.”
However, much of the first report and the entire second report was focused on conduct after the initial complaints, when Molnar was accused of retaliating against people who participated in the investigation. Lake said in her declaration that she saw “an immediate and significant change in his behavior toward staff involved in the process.” She claimed he said he would use an attorney and private investigator to go after people who filed complaints, and she accused him of publicly criticizing her in interviews and removing her job responsibilities because of her handling of the investigation.
Lake said Molnar’s actions led to “declining morale within the agency,” undermined staff members’ ability to do their jobs and damaged her reputation. She said that led her to resign as executive director.
“I believe no employee should be forced to choose between reporting misconduct and protecting their career, reputation, or personal well-being,” she said in her declaration.
Lake has since become Helena city manager.
Jonathon Ambarian
The report said there was evidence to show Molnar had retaliated, including by “making disparaging statements about investigation participants” including Lake, by sending an email warning he could file complaints of his own against people involved, and by taking other actions investigators said could dissuade employees from reporting behavior in the future.
Monforton said during Thursday’s hearing that the initial comments Bukacek complained about were jokes Molnar had admitted were inappropriate, that he regretted saying them, and that he hasn’t made any similar comments in about a year. But he argued the vast majority of the findings against Molnar were about retaliation – and that those were primarily based on speech that the other commissioners don’t have the right to interfere with.
Monforton said it’s unreasonable to punish Molnar for what he said in the July news conference where he announced he was under investigation, in interviews with the media or in commission meetings. He said Molnar’s conduct doesn’t rise to the level of actual retaliation.
“This is an elected official, engaging in speech in his forum,” Monforton said.
He said Molnar may have made harsh comments toward staff, but that he had the right to raise objections about the way the agency does business.
Jonathon Ambarian
Monforton also argued the retaliation claims no longer justify keeping Molnar out of the office, since Welborn, Fielder and Bukacek voted to remove him as president in October and he no longer has the authority he’s accused of misusing. He said there haven’t been further complaints about his behavior since that time.
“We’re not asking for the moon and stars, we’re asking for the status quo as it existed for the last seven months,” he said.
Jones said there is enough evidence to show Molnar would have been punished regardless of whether any protected speech was excluded.
“This is not about a couple of jokes,” she said.
Jones said Molnar made maliciously false statements about people like Lake, and that type of statement isn’t covered by free speech protections.
She also said Molnar’s exclusion from the PSC offices is temporary, and that the PSC will reconsider whether to let him return if he apologizes for his actions, accepts the agency’s code of conduct and undergoes training.
Molloy indicated he saw indications that there was “acrimony” on both sides of the situation, and said he was skeptical it would be resolved easily.
“It would be nice if instead of juvenile behavior, there was professional behavior,” he said.
However, the judge said there was an avenue for Molnar to pursue if he wanted to reach a resolution.
Molloy took no immediate action Thursday. He told the parties he would rule as quickly as he could.
Carrie Gilbertson has been executive director of Cancer Support Community Montana for just under two months, stepping into the role in April with more than 15 years of nonprofit experience and a lifetime of Montana roots.
The organization provides psychosocial and mental health support to anyone affected by cancer — not just those with a diagnosis, but also family members and others walking alongside them.
WATCH: Meet the new leader of Cancer Support Community Montana 🎗️
Cancer Support Community Montana names new executive director
“This mission of providing psycho-social supports and mental health supports for anyone impacted by cancer, not just that person who has the diagnosis, but also family members, anyone who is walking alongside someone as they experience that often scary diagnosis, that’s just something that’s important to me,” Gilbertson said.
Gilbertson’s role extends beyond the Bozeman office. Cancer Support Community Montana’s Missoula location is already up and running, and a Helena location is expected to be operating soon. Each presents its own set of challenges.
“Each hospital is different. They might have different resources. Their social workers might be connecting to things in a different way. So understanding what those hospitals need, what different participants need in each community, is going to be different just because the communities are different, resources are different,” Gilbertson said.
The Bozeman office has been operating for more than 20 years, providing a foundation that supports the organization’s broader statewide efforts.
“I think this is a crew that looks at what does this community need what do our participants need what are some of the changing landscapes in cancer care what things are the gaps that we see that we can maybe just jump right in and you know let’s see if we can provide that for people so that’s something I really love about this crew that I work with and just this mission that there is some flexibility in being able to adjust and adapt as we learn more,” Gilbertson said.
Those adaptations show up in unexpected ways. The organization converts its parking lot into a pickleball court every Friday morning.
“I didn’t know there was a pickleball court. I pulled in actually with my daughter pulled in and she was is that pickleball court and I was like oh, it kind of looks like it is so yeah that’s fun, every Friday morning we clear out the parking lot and put up the net and I haven’t played yet I’ve been watching just to kind of see how that game works but they take it pretty seriously,” Gilbertson said.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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