Subpoenas in closed primary case create stir

By Michael Howell

Last Friday Bozeman attorney and candidate for a seat in the legislature Mathew Monforton who is spearheading the lawsuit trying to establish a Closed Republican Primary in the state told the Bitterroot Star that he had conducted about ten depositions in the case and that the discovery phase was about to wrap up. He said briefing in the case would probably begin in Mid-September.
“We are just trying to make sure that Republican candidates are picked by Republican voters,” said Monforton. He said in some districts where the voters are tilted heavily towards the Republican Party, making it extremely likely that a Republican will win, Democrats cross over and vote in the Republican primary to see if they can get the least conservative Republican candidate elected.
Monforton said that the depositions he was conducting were designed to learn how extensive efforts to organize cross-over voting have been. He said he was deposing a few people in Missoula, most in Helena and a few in Bozeman. But some people in the Bitterroot Valley also received notice of deposition and were upset by it.
Former Senator Jim Shockley and Senator Pat Connell said they received notice and both were disturbed by the implications. They did agree, however, to submit a voluntary declaration in response to questions from Monforton.
Shockley was asked about a letter he wrote in April 2014 advancing the candidacy of Connell who was running against Scott Boulanger at the time. Shockley said the letter was not party specific and some of the recipients were probably Democrats.
“As I recall the letter said that the recipient was a contributor to my campaigns in the past, but did not ask for money. I pointed out the obvious, the Republican primary was the only game in town. Two of the county commissioners had supported the county treasurer, Valery Stamie (sic), as had Bolanger (sic) and the feeling against Stamie (sic) was considerable. I presumed that the recipient was going to vote in our primary to vote against Stamie (sic) and her supporters and suggested that as long as he was voting to vote against Bolanger (sic), who had been a supporter of Stamie (sic). I said that Connell was my candidate and ask for their vote,” wrote Shockley. He said he could not find a copy of the letter.
Gil Gale said that he received a notice of deposition and was expecting to be subpoenaed. Gale said that he would resist a subpoena if one was received. He said that the questions Monforton was asking were a violation of his constitutional rights to privacy. He said that he should not have to tell anybody who he voted for or why.
Monforton is urging the Republican Party to file a federal lawsuit claiming the right to a closed primary but so far the Republican Party leadership wants to give the legislature a chance to take action before filing a federal lawsuit. Republican Party Chairman Will Dechamps has emphasized the need for a “slow approach” to the issue on his Facebook page.