By Michael Howell
Montana Commissioner of Political Practices Jonathan Motl has accused Montana Growth Network (MGN), a registered political committee in the state from 2011 to October 2012, of violating Montana’s campaign laws in the 2012 elections. Motl found that MGN filed too late as a political committee, published material supporting and opposing certain candidates without the required attribution, and failed to report all of its independent expenditures.
As a political committee, MGN is allowed by Montana law to spend money related the advocacy of “issues” without naming the donors, but any group that expressly advocates for or against a candidate must disclose, report and attribute the source of the payment. Motl found that MGN had failed to do so in the case of its express independent expenditures, totaling about $41,865.88, in support of Laurie McKinnon’s successful run for a seat on the Montana Supreme Court. As part of his investigations, Motl subpoenaed MGN’s bank records and found that only fourteen donors, all of them out-of-state, contributed a total of $978,000 to MGN between 2011 and 2013. He has not yet determined the exact amount of money that was spent on “issues” and how much was spent on advocacy and opposition to candidates.
Although most of the contributions came from out-of-state, at least a few of the out-of-state donors do own land in Montana. Those donors include Bitterroot landowners Charles Schwab who donated $200,000 and Ken Siebel, who donated $8,000. James Cox Kennedy, who owns land in the Big Hole, donated $100,000. All three have been involved for years in court battles challenging Montana’s Stream Access Law. Fair Oaks Finance, a Hamilton based company that Schwab has been associated with, also donated $100,000. James Haughton, Jr. of Billings donated $25,000 and Retamco Operating, Inc., of Red Lodge, MT donated $25,000
Other donors included:
Bioch Companies, LLC, of Columbus OH – $25,000
Dana and David Dornsife, of Danville, CA- $90,000
Shale Exploration, LLC, of Forth Worth, TX – $10,000
The Woodhead Family Trust, of Reno, NV- $50,000
Continental Resources, of Oklahoma City, OK – $75,000
R. Todd Slawson, of Denver, CO – $50,000
Great Norther Properties, of Huntington, WV
U.S. Chamber of Commerce, of Washington D. C. – $200,000
Motl has forwarded his findings to the Lewis and Clark County attorney’s office for potential charges. If he declines to prosecute the case or simply fails to do so within 30 days of being notified, Motl can negotiate a settlement agreement or file a civil complaint in court.