by Rep. Kathy Love, HD 85, Hamilton
In an absolutely bizarre display of politics, Democratic state senators protected Republican corruption in the recent Montana State Legislature as Republicans tried to root out the unethical and criminal behavior by one of our own. Allow me to explain.
The Montana Constitution allows senators to get rid of one of our colleagues for “good cause” via a two-thirds vote to expel.
The vast majority of Democrats serving in the State Senate voted three times against expelling Senator Jason Ellsworth from the Senate.
Ellsworth is a Republican senator from Hamilton and former President of the Senate with a long history of criminal, unethical, and disturbing behavior.
He was fined $600,000 by the Federal Trade Commission for unethical business practices against customers of his magazine company.
Ellsworth pled guilty to criminally obstructing a Montana Highway Patrol trooper as he tried to abuse his position as an elected official to get out of a speeding ticket.
He was accused of domestic violence by his ex-fiancé, including threatening her with a gun.
Then, after Republicans gave him the boot from his position as President of the Senate, he tried to raid over $170,000 of taxpayer money from the state treasury for his longtime friend and business associate. That action was investigated for months by the Senate Ethics Committee, which determined he broke state ethics rules, failed to disclose a conflict of interest, and lied repeatedly during the process.
A supermajority of Republican state senators determined that this pattern of behavior was more than enough “good cause” to expel Ellsworth from the Senate. A majority of the Senate did vote to expel him. But Democrats and the infamous “Nine” Republicans (which include Ellsworth) blocked us from reaching the two-thirds threshold to get rid of him, saying his actions didn’t justify expulsion.
Abuse of elected office. Obstructing law enforcement. Domestic abuse. An attempt to nab $170,000 from Montana taxpayers. A decades-long pattern of lies and deceit.
All of that and the following Democratic state senators still voted three times to save Ellsworth from losing his position as a state senator: Laura Smith, Mary Ann Dunwell and Janet Ellis of Helena; Ellie Boldman, Shane Morigeau, Willis Curdy and Andrea Olsen of Missoula; Pat Flowers, Cora Neumann and Chris Pope of Bozeman; Sara Novak of Anaconda; Jacinda Morigeau of Arlee; Susan Webber of Browning; and Jonathan Windy Boy of Box Elder.
These Democrats, “led” by Senate Minority Leader Pat Flowers, protected and continue to enable Republican corruption in the State Capitol.
Sen. Neumann even bragged about it in social media videos, saying “None of us disagree that there are ethics violations” but nevertheless “Democrats and moderate Republicans were able to come together, effectively block expulsion of one of the senators that we’ve been working with and so I’m just really proud of us for holding the line on that.”
The people of Montana deserve better than this. Call the Democrats and tell them to stand against corruption like Republicans are doing.
WMA says
Very little of Ellsworth’s bad behavior is new, but Republicans were fine with his dishonesty and ethical lapses— until he sided with Democrats to pass important legislation that helps middle class Montanans. And then they were outraged. What a bunch of hypocrites.