ICYMI: Gianforte is Ignoring the Montana Constitution
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday, July 17th 2024
CONTACT
gaby@montanademocrats.org
“Yet another example of how this governor thinks basic rules don’t apply to him”
Helena, MT – Bombshell reporting from the Daily Montanan suggests Governor Greg Gianforte is ignoring the Montana Constitution by failing to live in Helena.
Gianforte is juggling multiple mansions across the state of Montana– but which one is his primary residence? The Montana Constitution clearly states that the Governor must “reside at the seat of government” in Helena, but the Daily Montanan details how the Governor does not appear to be a full-time resident of Montana’s capital city.
Great Falls lawyer, Caitlin Boland Aarab, and former advisor for Governor Brian Schweitzer, Jayson O’Neill, are both interviewed in the reporting and shared their skepticism:
“Is he making any good faith effort to reside in the capital city as required by the law and the constitution?” O’Neill said of the question prompting his inquiry. “All evidence I’ve found shows Gianforte is not.”
“I view this as yet another example of how this governor thinks basic rules don’t apply to him,” said Caitlin Boland Aarab, with the Boland Aarab law firm.
Check out highlights from the reporting below.
The Daily Montanan: Is Helena home? Gianforte residency ‘at seat of government’ questioned
July 12, 2024
Keila Szpaller
The governor, along with the other five highest-ranking officials elected to lead state government, is supposed to “reside at the seat of government,” and Gov. Greg Gianforte clearly spends time in Helena.
But, it doesn’t appear he’s made the capital city his regular residence, according to public records and interviews with neighbors.
Public records show the governor votes absentee or by mail in Gallatin County, and he lists a Bozeman address for his Fish, Wildlife and Parks hunting licenses.
Gianforte’s wife, Susan Gianforte, electronically signed for a property tax rebate for their Bozeman home, and Gov. Gianforte is listed as a taxpayer. The law provides rebates for a “principal residence,” or one where a taxpayer has lived for at least seven months of the year.
Neighbors who live on the same block or had a line of sight to the 618 residence said this weekend the Gianfortes moved out roughly three weeks ago, and they generally spent Mondays and Tuesdays there, a scenario that aligns with a year of the governor’s calendar.
In an email last week, Republican Gov. Gianforte declined to answer questions about his residency through a spokesperson.
Lura Brown, who lives a couple of houses down, said the Gianfortes would hold meetings there Monday and Tuesday evenings, but she doesn’t know how frequently the governor was present at the residence.
“I don’t know how often he was actually there,” said Brown, in the neighborhood since 2017.
Pat Hunt, whose deck overlooks the 618 yard, also said the Gianfortes were at that residence Mondays and Tuesdays. “When I talked to Susan, she said, ‘We travel the state the rest of the week,’” Hunt said.
Susan Gianforte declined to confirm or correct the statement through an email from the Gianforte Family Foundation; she directed questions to the Governor’s Office. The Governor’s Office did not respond to the question.
Hunt, who has lived in the neighborhood for more than two decades, said she hasn’t known the Gianfortes to have ever had the Madison house as a full-time residence, although while they were there, they were “great neighbors.”
Another neighbor with a direct line of sight also said the governor held events at the house Monday and Tuesday nights for roughly an hour or so. The neighbor said he wouldn’t typically see the governor there the rest of the week.
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