Montana
How four different lawyers could claim that they're the true Roosevelt County Attorney – Daily Montanan
Four attorneys believe they may be the rightful Roosevelt County Attorney.
And it may be that only the 2024 election will answer the question of who is actually the county attorney.
It could be the person who won the last election for the office, lost the job when a judge agreed that he didn’t meet the qualifications of Montana law, and is now suing the county for back pay.
Or it could be the attorney who has been handling most of the litigation full time for the eastern Montana county, who said he’s filing paperwork to run in the 2024 election.
Or it could be the attorney from Fergus County who was hired by the commissioners and has said she’ll start on Feb. 20.
Or it could be the interim county attorney who has had a number disputes with the county commissioners, is being accused of botching a murder trial when she was the county attorney in Richland County, and is currently working in Utah.
The case of who is the Roosevelt County attorney has been at the heart of three court cases, and is spider’s web of accusations, case law and politics.
It started with a newspaper lawsuit
The turnover in the Roosevelt County Attorney’s Office began when Northern Plains Independent Publisher Darla Downs filed a lawsuit challenging former Roosevelt County Attorney Frank Piocos’ eligibility for the post.
Piocos had previously served as a deputy county attorney and was elected to the county attorney position after then-county attorney Austin Knudsen successfully ran for Montana Attorney General.
Downs proved to a district court judge that Piocos didn’t maintain a residence in the county, a requirement of the position by state statute, and that because he didn’t meet the eligibility requirements, his election should be overturned.
The case wound its way to the Montana Supreme Court, which agreed with district court Judge Katherine Bidegaray that Piocos was ineligible.
That decision left Roosevelt County with a gaping hole in its legal department, and the three county commissioners looked for different options, eventually settling on former Richland County Attorney and Roosevelt County native Janet Christoffersen.
Meanwhile, Piocos is suing the county for back pay and attorney’s fees, arguing that he should be reinstated, saying that neither the state’s Supreme Court, nor the original decision from Bidegaray’s nor Montana law, provides a way to remove a person from office.
Interim county attorney
The commissioners appointed Christoffersen. She is currently at the center of an appeals case at the Montana Supreme Court that accuses her of withholding evidence that may have exonerated a person convicted of homicide, although that case doesn’t appear to have factored into any of the decisions by the Roosevelt County Commissioners.
But just several months into her tenure, the commissioners attempted to replace Christoffersen, saying that they had originally agreed to hire her for a four-month interim contract — to serve until they found someone more permanent. Christoffersen said that four months was an arbitrary period the commissioners threw out, giving her time to decide if the position was right.
She was the Richland County Attorney from 2018 to 2022, when she decided not to run for re-election. She had previously served as a deputy county attorney there and was in private practice for 10 years. Prior to that, she had run for a state district court judge against Bidegaray. Previous reporting by the Sidney Herald said she grew up on a ranch near Froid.
However, when the county commissioners attempted to remove and replace Christoffersen after that four-month interim, she filed a lawsuit against Roosevelt County, challenging whether the commissioners had the right to remove her.
In a lawsuit that played out in September and October, Roosevelt County District Court Judge Michael Moses said that state law allows the county commissioners to appoint a county attorney if one is removed or leaves office, but it only allows them to appoint an attorney who would serve until the next election, not a series of interim attorneys. That effectively handed the position back to Christoffersen, who continued doing work for the county.
However, during the same time, she also accepted a job as a deputy county attorney in Utah, according to court filings, raising the ire of the county commissioners, as well as questions as to whether she was fulfilling her responsibilities.
County commissioners make changes
The Roosevelt County Commissioners then decided to keep her position, in line with Moses’ ruling, but made structural changes. They made the county attorney a part-time position and changed the deputy county attorney’s role from part-time to full-time. Currently, Thomas Bleicher is the deputy county attorney, working full-time. Roosevelt County Commissioners also bumped the deputy county attorney pay to be 85% of the county attorney’s $119,215 salary.
Christoffersen’s legal battle against Roosevelt County continues, with her saying in court filings that commissioners have created a hostile work environment and retaliation.
In his ruling granting a preliminary injunction against the Roosevelt County Commissioners, Moses said that Christoffersen was qualified to be appointed as county attorney, and that she holds the office until either a vacancy or the next election. He said that state law did not allow the commissioners the power to remove a qualified attorney whom they chose to appoint.
Yet earlier this month, the Roosevelt County Commissioners decided to hire a full-time county attorney and selected Theresa Diekhans of Fergus County.
Deputy County Attorney Bleicher voiced concerns about that process, saying that he was cut off from asking more questions during the interview process with Diekhans, according to reporting from the Northern Plains Independent. Meanwhile, Christoffersen objected, saying that proper public notice wasn’t given for the interviews, and said that she was contemplating running for county attorney during the upcoming election in 2024.
Bleicher also confirmed that he had picked up paperwork so that he could run for the position as well.
At the meeting, according to the reports from the Northern Plains Independent, Roosevelt County Commissioner Gary Macdonald said, “We went from the frying pan to the fire.”
Montana
State, federal & local leaders meet for annual Montana wildfire season briefing
HELENA — Despite a strong storm that brought snow to Helena Wednesday, Montana’s wildfire season isn’t far away. State, federal and local administrators met in Helena to talk about their preparations, in Gov. Greg Gianforte’s annual fire season briefing.
“It’s a great day to have a fire briefing, given the weather outside,” Gianforte joked.
Leaders met at the Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation’s fire aviation support hangar at the Helena Regional Airport. There, DNRC maintains firefighting helicopters before they’re sent into the field ahead of the start of the season.
Matt Hall, chief of DNRC’s Fire Protection Bureau, said the department plans to hire just over 100 seasonal firefighters this year. He said they’ll be able to offer an entry-level wage of $19.05 – higher than previous years – because of the new state employee pay plan.
“I know we have a number of open fire jobs still posted today, but anticipate over the course of the next few weeks filling those positions fully with all of our seasonal staffing,” he said.
DNRC also cooperates closely with local firefighters. Hall said they’ve built 14 new wildfire engines this year, and they’re distributing them to agencies in Beaverhead, Blaine, Cascade, Chouteau, Custer, Fergus, Gallatin, Golden Valley, Meagher, Musselshell, Phillips, Powder River, Sweet Grass and Stillwater Counties.
In addition, Hall said DNRC is planning to contract for another “Type 1” helicopter – a heavy helicopter that can carry around 2,000 gallons of water.
“Today we are on track to have firefighting resources ready and available for the 2024 fire year, and we look forward to working with our partners across Montana to increase wildfire readiness, to better serve the citizens of Montana,” he said.
“Partnership” was a key word for all the agencies in attendance Wednesday. Tim Garcia, deputy regional forester for the U.S. Forest Service’s Northern Region, talked about their close cooperation with the state on work like Good Neighbor Authority forest management projects.
“That foundationally is based on and built on the trust and the relationships that we have with our state DNRC partners,” he said. “We encourage and direct our line officers to really make sure that we’re having those people – having everyone – at the table as we go into fire season so that, again, we have that early and often communication.”
Garcia said the USFS is also optimistic they’ll get close to their goals for firefighter staffing this year, despite challenges like the cost of housing.
Leaders said it’s still early to know what kind of fire season Montana could see this year, but they’re prepared.
“People always say, ‘Well, what’s the fire season going to look like?’ And we oftentimes say, ‘Well, we’ll tell you in October,’” said Adriane Beck, director of Missoula County’s Office of Emergency Management and representative for the Montana County Fire Wardens Association. “I say that with some confidence, in that, whatever this fire season brings, know that your counties are ready. Your county fire wardens are working year-round in coordination with the state.”
Since taking office, Gianforte has repeated two main priorities for the state’s wildfire response: aggressively attacking fires from the early stages to keep them small, and expanding the scale of active forest management work. He reiterated both points Wednesday.
“Together, we can continue to build healthier, more resilient forests, but it will take all of us,” he said.
May is also Wildfire Awareness Month. State leaders encourage residents to take steps to get themselves “fire-ready.” You can find more information at mtfireinfo.org.
“We can’t stop every wildfire from starting, but we can control our actions and our preparedness,” Gianforte said.
Montana
Exclusive Interview With Secretary Buttigieg in Montana
Missoula, MT (KGVO-AM News) – Following his visits to the Missoula airport, the CSKT Reservation, and lots of travel time seeing the beauty of western Montana, U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg granted me an exclusive nearly 13-minute live in-studio interview in the KGVO Radio studio on Wednesday afternoon.
Secretary Buttigieg first described his reaction to the additions to the Missoula Airport, including the many new carriers recently added to carry travelers around the nation and the world.
Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg Provides an Exclusive Live Interview
“The added capacity at the airport means more airlines and more flights can serve this region,” began Buttigieg. “That means helping to keep air fares under control, because I know affordability is a real concern. So seeing that we were not just creating a better day-to-day experience, but a more competitive landscape was really encouraging for us. The other thing I loved seeing there is that the first phase of that project came in under budget, which is what I’d love to see more of because usually with infrastructure, it tends to happen in the opposite direction.”
Secretary Buttigieg also referenced his visit to see the planned expansion project between Missoula and East Missoula.
Buttigieg Praised the Project Linking Missoula to East Missoula
“Everything we’re doing is going to make a difference in day-to-day life,” he said. “The Safe Streets for All Grant that we’re working with Missoula and funding to connect East Missoula even though it’s only three miles away, is really cut off by the way that the highways run,” he said. “That’s a big project for us, too. It’s on my radar, even though it’s one of many in that program because we really believe that that part of what we can do with our generation’s worth of infrastructure is make sure that it really is connecting and not what you had sometimes in the past, because dividing a highway shouldn’t stand between you and where you need to be.”
The discussion then led to electric vehicles and the necessary infrastructure needed in a state the size and population of Montana.
“It’s the same way that when you go out on the road now,” he said. “You know there’s going be a gas station when you need it. We’ve got to make sure we get to the same place when it comes to EV (Electric Vehicle) charging. We’re not just urging states to do that; we’re funding states to do that. Every state has submitted a plan, making sure you’d never go more than 50 miles without coming to a charger. It’s going to take a few years to put those up, and this is pretty new for us as a country, but we got to make sure we get that done.”
READ MORE: Dangerous U.S. 93 Gets Big Dollar Fix North of Missoula
Buttigieg said Eastern Montana Can Look Forward to More Electric Vehicles
Secretary Buttigieg gave his view on how people in lightly populated eastern Montana might be able to look forward to having more electric vehicles.
“People here are more likely to live in single-family homes which means you already have some kind of charging infrastructure in the form of a plug in the wall,” he said. “That’s what we do at our house in Michigan. But also, the more you drive, the longer distances you cover, and the more of your money you’re spending on gas and diesel; you’ll find it’s cheaper to fill up a car with electricity than it is with gas and diesel. Provided we can make sure that the chargers are there when you need them, which is a big project for us, and also keep fighting to get the sticker price of those EVs down. I think there are a lot of people in these less dense areas who are going to find it’s the right answer.”
LOOKING BACK: Photos of Missoula and How It’s Changed
Check out these photos of how Missoula has changed over the past decade.
Gallery Credit: Ashley Warren
Montana
Montana Catholic bishops oppose abortion ballot initiative
CNA Newsroom, May 8, 2024 / 08:00 am
Montana’s Catholic bishops have issued a joint letter denouncing a proposed pro-abortion constitutional amendment they say would pave the way for late-term abortions, partial-birth abortions, and an elimination of the state’s parental notification requirement for minors in Montana.
In their May 3 letter, the bishops called the initiative an attack on the “recognition of the infinite dignity enjoyed by all persons” that fails to respect “life as a precious gift from God and recognize our sacred duty to nurture and protect every human life.”
“This recognition of the infinite dignity enjoyed by all persons informs our understanding of the basic rights and protections to which all human beings are entitled,” the letter stated. “When those rights are threatened, the Church must speak up with clarity and boldness.”
The statement — signed by Bishop Austin Vetter of Helena and Bishop Jeffrey Fleming and Bishop Emeritus Michael Warfel of Great Falls-Billings — urged Catholics in the state to refrain from signing the petition and to pray for the initiative’s defeat.
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