Author: Dara Deines

We’re hiring!

Posted on by Dara Deines

Senior Organizing Manager

Forward Montana & Forward Montana Foundation 

Because you believe in a Montana that believes in you. 

Forward Montana (FMT) is seeking a full-time Senior Organizing Manager to directly manage & lead a growing statewide field team to success across our leadership development, issue advocacy, voter mobilization, and voter registration campaigns. Additionally, our Senior Organizing Manager is responsible for developing, maintaining, and growing our statewide volunteer development and engagement programs. 

The ideal candidate is someone with direct management experience, a proven track record of supporting diverse teams remotely, and an ability to  independently manage their workload while  supporting the priorities of a busy, ambitious team. You’ll excel in this role if you have a keen eye for strategy and detail, can delegate work effectively and efficiently, are passionate about leadership development, have experience conducting field work, and are committed to building processes to support the effective functioning of a team (TL;DR: you like to run meetings, provide 1:1 support, and can fill gaps like a pro). 

Applicants should be committed to supporting and growing our statewide programs and regional field teams while staying flexible with an eye towards new opportunities. 

Who We Are

Forward Montana (FMT) and Forward Montana Foundation (FMF) are dedicated to engaging and mobilizing young Montanans to help shape their democracy to improve their lives and the lives of fellow Montanans. We put young people on the front lines of civic engagement statewide, basing our efforts out of Bozeman, Missoula, Billings, and the greater Flathead area. 

What You’ll Do

The Senior Organizing Manager reports to the Program Director, sits on the organization’s coordinating team (our version of a senior leadership team!), and is responsible for the following:

  • With the support of the Program Director, lead and support our regional Field Managers in every stage of implementation of programs that accomplish our strategic vision and mission 
  • Lead our regional field teams through the development of benchmarks, goals, and quarterly execution plans surrounding our statewide voter registration and leadership development programs
  • Develop and execute collaborative processes for goal-setting – including the development of metrics and benchmarks for success across all of our statewide programming 
  • Support our regional field teams to develop & execute advocacy campaigns around relevant and/or timely issues happening in our local communities
  • Support, participate, and manage our regional field teams to success across all of our voter mobilization & get out the vote (GOTV) campaigns
  • Facilitate planning processes for major programmatic events and initiatives including, but not limited to, National Voter Registration Day, Student Voter Day, other civic holidays, and The Montana Youth Organizing Summit 
  • Responsible for identifying leadership opportunities for staff, interns, and volunteers that support the growth of professional development skills. Additionally, responsible for developing and running relevant trainings for the program team when appropriate
  • Responsible for the development and day-to-day management of our statewide volunteer engagement and retention programs
  • Responsible for fielding requests and needs of our regional field team and working with the Program Director to meet them
  • Empower the statewide FMT program crew to be the most badass they can be! 

Must-Haves | Here’s what success looks like: 

  • Develop leaders & engage volunteers: You can create and maintain strong processes, goals, and benchmarks for success across all of FMT’s regional volunteer development and recruitment programs. You feel passionate about growing our base of supporters and can manage a statewide team to find creative ways for volunteers to engage with our organization, inside and outside of election years. You’re also passionate about internal leadership development and ensure that the individuals you manage have consistent access to professional development opportunities that align with their passions and areas for growth. 
  • Drive to achieve results while supporting a statewide team: You have a track record of supporting teams to accomplish ambitious goals and getting results even when there are obstacles. You set a high bar and meet it, because you think three (or 30) steps ahead to anticipate hurdles and can come up with pragmatic solutions on the fly. You’re excited about processes and systems within a team – you can run an effective meeting, give 100% to your individual check-ins with the people you manage, and can run an event planning process on a tight timeline. You know how to ask for help, have the ability to act as an advocate for the needs of a diverse team and ensure they feel heard, and understand how to hold folks accountable to setting and reaching ambitious goals with creativity and flexibility. 
  • Actively Anti-Racist: You are committed to actively contributing to a more equitable and inclusive FMT by facilitating conversations around diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice with the regional field team, fellows, volunteers, members, and within our broader organization. You’re committed to amplifying young voices to advocate for a more progressive, just Montana. You recognize how your own identities show up in the work and welcome, reflect on, and act on feedback with an eye towards continuous learning about race, ability, and other lines of difference. 

We understand that the right candidate may have experience in different areas. If you don’t meet all the requirements above but have an interest in learning, we encourage you to apply. 

If you were the Senior Organizing Manager right now, you would be:

  • Facilitating planning conversations for our upcoming regional candidate forums – ensuring your team has the tools they need to execute a badass candidate education event
  • Supporting a regional Field Manager during your 1:1 weekly check-in and troubleshooting a roadblock with a local issue advocacy campaign 
  • Developing the volunteer recruitment and engagement plan for the next quarter to ensure your team has achievable, scaleable goals for growing their volunteer programs and understands how to execute on them 
  • Developing the agenda and purpose for an upcoming planning conversation for our statewide voter registration goals – you’re compiling data from past years, coming up with recommendations, and figuring out how you’ll track goals this year
  • Strategizing with the entire program team about how to create a relevant campaign targeted at new voters who are moving into Montana from other states 

What Else You Should Know

Forward Montana is an equal opportunity employer and we value having staff who come from communities that are most impacted by our issues and work. We especially encourage people of color, LGBTQ2S+ people, women, and people with disabilities to apply.

  • Logistics
    • This position is full-time (40 hours/week) and is based in Montana. There are opportunities for a relocation stipend 
    • You must be comfortable working unconventional hours occasionally — including nights and weekends
    • You must have the ability to travel once or twice a month, especially in the summer months (a valid driver’s license is required)
    • You’re comfortable conducting field work for up to 6-8 hours at a time in all weather conditions
    • This position includes both in-person and virtual components based on public health guidance around COVID-19
    • You must be comfortable being managed and building relationships with our statewide team remotely
    • There is a potential to utilize a shared office space with other FMT staff if based in Bozeman, Billings, or Missoula

The salary for this position ranges from $47,000 – $50,000. Forward Montana also offers the following benefits:

  • Health insurance
  • Retirement plan with a 3% match
  • Technology reimbursement
  • Professional development funds
  • Generous paid time off, including paid family and medical leave

How to Apply

Please send a resume and one-page cover letter stating your interest in the position, why you think you’d be the right fit for the Senior Organizing Manager at Forward Montana, and what skillsets you’d be excited to grow & develop in this position. 

If a cover letter isn’t your style, try something creative! We’re less concerned with the perfect cover letter and more interested in getting to know you, your passions, and what’d you bring to the position — slideshows, videos, graphics / visuals, portfolio’s, or just a more casual tone cover letter are all welcome. 

Please send application materials to hiring@forwardmontana.org.

Applications will be accepted until the position is filled; however, preference will be given to applications who submit materials by May 20th so that we can start interviews by May 23rd. Preferred start date for this position is July 25 (or earlier)

Power Play Glossary

Posted on by Dara Deines

Hey, we get it. This stuff is wonky and full of jargon. We’ve tried to make the general language of Power Play as accessible as we can, but there are still some terms that could trip folks up. See below a living glossary where we will add new terms included in each issue.

Barriers to Entry: factors that can prevent or impede competitors from joining a market such as high start-up costs.

Competition: in economics, this is a situation where different entities compete for customers or resources. In markets where competition is not restricted by things like barriers to entry or limited access to information, economists predict that there will be more innovation and lower prices.

Deregulation: a ten year period in Montana history lasting from 1997 to 2007 during which the cost of power was not regulated by the Public Service Commission in a failed attempt to allow new utilities to enter the market and bring down power prices. 

Emission Reductions: a measurable decrease in greenhouse gasses released into the atmosphere from an activity specified over a period of time. 

Fossil Fuels: materials made of ancient plant matter preserved in the earth’s crust that, when burned, are depleted to produce energy. Carbon dioxide is the main by-product of this reaction and causes global warming when released into the atmosphere.  Examples of fossil fuels include coal, petroleum, and natural gas.

Free Market: an economic system in which prices for goods and services are determined by unrestricted competition between businesses and transactions are “free” from government intervention.

Monopoly: a business, company, or corporation that does not have to compete to provide a needed good or service to a captive customer base. 

NorthWestern Energy: an electricity and gas utility monopoly based in South Dakota that currently supplies power to two-thirds of Montana’s energy consumers.

Montana Power Company: a collapsed utility monopoly that provided power to the majority of Montana for nearly a century until it sold all its assets and converted to a telecommunications company in 1999. 

Net Metering: a billing mechanism that allows a home, business, school, or library with a distributed generation system to accrue on-bill credits for excess energy that their system exports to the grid. Credits can be ‘banked’ for future bills. In most cases, the ‘bank’ balance resets to zero once per year and any leftover credits are forfeited to the utility (source: MREA)

Pennsylvania Power and Light: A Pennsylvania-based utility that bought the majority of Montana Power Company’s assets in 1999. It supplied energy to Montana for 15 years before selling those same assets to NorthWestern Energy in 2014. 

Pre-Approval: A Montana law passed in 2003 that allows NWE to be reimbursed from ratepayers for building new energy generation assets – making investments in new assets risk-free for NWE. The PSC must approve this reimbursement before the asset is built. This law was recently deemed unconstitutional by a Missoula County district court. 

Procurement Plan: A plan that NWE develops every 2 to 3 years for how it will ensure a reliable and affordable supply of electricity for all ratepayers over a forecasted 20-year period.

Public Service Commission (PSC): a five-member, partisan commission that acts as a mediator between utility monopolies and us, the rate payers. They are supposed to ensure we don’t get overcharged by utilities while allowing those utilities to make enough money to incentivize stable and reliable service. The PSC’s  jurisdiction includes privately-owned electricity, gas, telephone, water, garbage, and sewer utilities as well as rail and pipeline safety in Montana.

Rate Payer: likely you! Anyone who pays regularly for a utility service like electricity or gas.

Renewable Energy: often referred to as clean or sustainable energy — energy from a source that is not depleted when used, such as wind, solar, hydroelectric, and geothermal power.

Renewable Energy Standard: A Montana law passed in 2008 requiring public utilities acquire renewable energy equal to 5% of its retail sales of electricity in Montana. In 2010 that percent increased to 10% then rose to 15% in 2015. A stipulation of this law required utilities that did not comply to pay a penalty fee to tribal and low income energy assistance programs. This law was largely ignored by NWE and then was eliminated (along with the standing debt) in the 2021 legislative session. 

Re-Regulation: a period in history when the Montana Legislature re-instated regulations for the production of power beginning in 2007 and lasting through the present day. 

Rooftop Solar: A small-scale energy generation system where solar panels are mounted on the roof of a residential or commercial building. The system is generally owned by the resident or business. 

TouchAmerica: a telecommunications company that Montana Power Company restructured itself into in 2001, which then went bankrupt in 2003.

Utility: an organization that supplies a community with goods or services that are considered essential such as water, gas, electricity, or telephone. 

March Newsletter

Posted on by Dara Deines

1. Save the date for our Statewide Candidate Forum Roadshow!

2. Join us as a Community Organizing Fellow! 

3. Learn to roller skate with Izzy in Missoula! 

What’s happening at Forward Montana?

Candidate Forum Roadshow

Save the date for our Statewide Candidate Forum Roadshow from May 3rd through the 6th! That’s right, Forward Montana is hitting the road with some incredible candidates for Montana’s Western Congressional District. We will be hosting candidate forums in Butte (May 3rd), Missoula (May 4th), Kalispell (May 5th), and Bozeman (May 6th). For the Eastern District, there will be a candidate forum in Billings on May 8th! 

Interested in sponsoring the roadshow? Reach out to Margo to learn more and get involved! 

Transcendent Joy: Second Edition

Transcendent Joy was such a hit last summer, we are creating a second edition! We are now accepting submissions for the second edition of Transcendent Joy, our zine by and for LGBTQ2S+ Montanans. Submissions will be open until March 24th! We are looking for visual art, writing, and other printable works celebrating trans and queer joy. View the first edition and submit your work here: 

SUBMIT

LGBTQ+ Missoula Roller Skating Clinic with Hellgate Roller Derby

April 9th, 11AM-5PM

  • 11AM-1PM: Roller Skating Basics — Learn how to stay upright, move forward, turn around… the basics!
  • 1:30-3PM: Jam Skating — Get your groove on! Practice the basics of jam (dance) skating.
  • 3:30-5PM: Roller Derby 101 — Come test our your derby chops under the expert instruction of Missoula’s own Hellgate Roller Derby! No specific skillset required.

A limited number of rental skates will be available at no cost. Keep your eyes on our social media pages for more information and to register!

LGBTQ2S+ Equality in Billings

We’re hoping to spend much of 2022 working on LGBTQ2S+ equality in the Magic City! We’d love to connect with LGBTQ2S+ folks (and allies!) in Billings through round tables, happy hours, interviews and more.Please reach out to our Billings Field Manager, Pari Kemmick, if you’re interested. We’d love to hear from and build community with YOU!

A Note From Kiersten Iwai

As Women’s History Month draws to a close, I reflect on my own path to leadership and how women’s history is always in the making.

Growing up, I was always known as a “team player.” Heck, my high school even granted me a sportsmanship award. My coach and teammates could always depend on me to show up for practice and work hard. Team player, that was me! 

So I never thought of myself as a leader.

Now I know that some of this is because of the stories that I hear about what it means to be a leader, and who is a leader. Asian women are underrepresented in leadership positions (as with all women of color). 

This has made me aware of the role that I play as a leader today. I’m trying to be the leader I’ve always wanted, but never knew was possible. If I close my eyes I can envision her: compassionate, supportive, someone with integrity.

Through every crisis and through every celebration, I’ve tried to hold on to who I am, so that I can be the best leader that I want to be, and the best leader that my team and community deserves. My teenage-self would be really proud of Kiersten today; she’s held onto her team player spirit while nurturing something more.

Signs with Izzy

This month, Izzy dives into Montana’s birth chart! Head to the link below to watch the full video on TikTok.

Montana’s Birth CHART

Community Organizing Fellowship

From practice to power: learn to build power in YOUR community!

Are you excited about getting involved with social and political movements within Montana? Are you passionate about empowering young people to make change and take risks for their communities? Apply for our 12 week community organizing fellowship! Fellows will learn to build power with and for their communities through fieldwork, classroom discussion, and immersive workshops. Fellows will earn $15/hour for 10 hours of work per week – starting May 23rd and ending on August 12th! Apply by April 24th to be considered for this opportunity!

Head to the link below to learn more! 

Community Organizing fellowship

Power Play

Posted on by Dara Deines

February 2022 edition

What is the PSC and why do we need it? 

(Total estimated read time ~6 min. 40 sec.)

Companies, corporations, and elected officials have moved the pieces determining Montana’s energy landscape for over a century. Today, NorthWestern Energy (NWE) supplies power to two-thirds of Montana’s energy consumers. NWE could transform our state into an affordable and renewable energy powerhouse, but chooses instead to depend on expensive and dirty fossil fuels. Why is NWE planning to spend over $1 billion building a fleet of gas-fired power plants over the next two decades? Why hasn’t the Public Service Commission, the one publicly elected agencytasked with regulating NWE, defended us from rising energy prices and a climate catastrophe? We’ll inspect the past and present of these two entities to uncover the answers and actualize an equitable and sustainable energy future. 

The Public Service Commission (PSC) is one of Montana’s smallest state agencies with authority to make some of our state’s biggest climate action decisions. Many of us don’t even know what the PSC is, let alone the scale and scope of the decisions the PSC makes. If you care about climate action, dread paying your monthly utility bill (even after splitting it between roommates), or want the freedom and financial support to use solar panels to generate your own energy, then you should #GiveAShit about the PSC. Before we dive into the what and how of the PSC, however, it feels important to explain why they even exist. And for that, we’ll need to brush up on our high school economics reeeeeeal quick! Bear with us here: 

Capitalism and Competition, or lack thereof (Est. read time: ~1 min.)

Capitalism deeply emphasizes the “free” part of free market economics — where prices for goods and services are determined by unrestricted competition between businesses and transactions are “free” from government intervention. Theoretically, this results in the most efficient distribution of goods and services. This romanticized narrative rarely centers the several CRUCIAL requirements for unrestricted competition: there must be no barrier to entry or exit for folks wanting to sell a product, the product offered must be similar from seller to seller, there have to be many different folks selling, and all the folks selling and buying must be well informed about the value of the product.

Are you seeing any red flags yet? ???? We know that structural oppression puts up all kinds of barriers and limits on who has the ability, wealth, and knowledge to participate in so many aspects of our society. And that’s just us humans. Mother Natch has her own set of physical limitations we like to forget about too. 

Competition matters because when companies don’t have to compete, they become monopolies. As those of us who have played the grueling family board game know all too well, monopolies slowly edge out all other competitors in a market until they have complete control of a captive customer base. In the absence of competition, they can charge exorbitant prices while offering an inferior service or product. 

Back to the PSC (Est. read time ~2 min.)

Now that we’ve brushed up on the basics, let’s get back to how this all relates to the PSC. Over a century ago, railroads in Montana were heavily monopolized. Railroads present a classic case of high barriers to entry, limiting competition as a result. It costs a shit ton to build a railroad, and there are often limited paths through the landscape – especially in a mountainous state like ours.

Generating and supplying electricity faces many of the same barriers to competition. It costs big bucks to build a coal-fired power plant or a hydroelectric dam. Installing and maintaining all the electricity distribution lines across the state is also a huge undertaking. Even if it was financially feasible for different electricity generation companies to compete, it makes sense to have one entity manage its distribution. Can you imagine what it would look like to have multiple power line companies installing power lines along the same routes? It would be an inefficient mess!  

The legislature recognized the impact these barriers to competition had on consumers’ energy prices, and just seven years after forming the Railroad Commission, they put those very same railroad commissioners in charge of regulating utilities. Following the example of states across the nation, the Public Service Commission was born. 

The PSC has evolved over time and is now composed of five partisan commissioners elected from different districts across the state and aided by a staff of expert advisors. The PSC’s jurisdiction expanded to include privately-owned gas, telephone, water, garbage, and sewer utilities. The PSC also regulates rail and pipeline safety in the state. The PSC’s goal remains the same as it did when it first formed — to act as a mediator between utilities and us, the rate payers. The PSC is supposed to ensure we don’t get charged up the wazoo by private utility monopolies while allowing those utilities to make enough money to incentivize stable and reliable service. 

How the PSC Impacts Our Lives (Est. read time ~2 min.) 

If you are seeking some tangible examples, look no further; here are just a few cases where the PSC can determine both our cost of living and our climate future. 

  • If you have solar panels on your roof and generate more energy than you use, you can get paid by your utility for putting your excess energy onto the grid. This is called net-metering and lowers the overall cost of having solar panels. The PSC sets the rate that you, the consumer, gets paid for your extra energy and thus determines if money saved and earned through generating your own electricity and net metering is enough to offset the cost of buying and installing solar panels — AKA if it makes financial sense to have solar at all. 
  • The PSC also determines the price that independent wind and solar farms can sell their energy for — determining if it makes financial sense to build these independent renewable energy projects. 
  • When utilities, like NWE, want to buy or build another facility or resource, the PSC assesses if that expansion is in the best interest of us, the ratepayers. If the PSC determines it is in our best interest, then the PSC allows the utility to pass the costs off to ratepayers rather than taking on that financial risk as a company. As a result, we could collectively pay millions of dollars to finance coal or gas-fired power plants in an age when we must make a dramatic shift to renewable energy. 
  • Every few years, utilities have to submit a 20-year plan to the PSC outlining how they will meet the needs of ratepayers. Say, perhaps, that a utility planned to build a fleet of new gas-fired power plants without investing in any renewable energy generation (cough cough, NorthWestern Energy): the PSC decides if the utility’s long-term plan aligns with the interests of stakeholders and the public. In practice, the PSC interpretes this mostly as our financial interest, but it’s within their responsibility to also protect our cultural and environmental interests.

Itching to learn more? Check out this great resource from the Montana Renewable Energy Association. 

Unfortunately, the PSC has a spotty history of living up to its founding ideals of consumer protection. Instructions from the state legislature, influence from utility lobbyists, and contention within the PSC itself have undermined the PSC’s mission. We’ll dig into the backstories of these other players in the next issue of Power Play. 

Written and compiled by Emma Bode (Bozeman Field Manager), Stuart Rinehart (Bozeman Intern, Fall 2021), and Miles Cevallos (Bozeman Intern, Fall 2021)

February Newsletter

Posted on by Dara Deines

1. Lucia has joined our team as our Missoula Field Manager and Greg has joined as our Development Coordinator! 

2. Montanans won – On February 3rd, it was ruled that last minute changes to a bill during the 2021 legislative session violates the state constitution. 

3. Don’t miss our new series: Signs with Izzy????

What’s happening at forward Montana?

The primary elections in June are coming up quicker than they may seem. Check your registration status here! 

Yikes, not registered?! That’s okay! Take a few minutes to register online. 

Alphabet Soup: An LGBTQ+ Happy Hour!

  • Wednesday, March 9th, 6-7:30PM — A virtual space for LGBTQ+ Montanans to gather, connect, and discuss our hopes, dreams, and needs for our communities. RSVP here.
  • Thursday, March 10th, 6-7:30PM — A virtual space for allies and aspiring allies to meet, ask questions, and learn more about how to best show up for Montana’s LGBTQ+ communities. RSVP here.

Meet Our New Team Members!

Lucy (they/them) has joined our team as the Missoula Field Manager! 

Lucy was born in Polson, MT and has lived in Missoula for the last ten years. They studied neuroscience at the University of Montana for two years, before taking some time off of school during the pandemic. They are fervently passionate about empowering young folks in Montana to recognize their infinite ability to create a future that is brighter, juster and kinder for themselves and the greater Montana community. 

To get in touch with Lucy or to give them a warm welcome, email lucia@forwardmontana.org. 

Greg (he/him) has joined our team as the Development Coordinator! 

Greg moved to Bozeman in early 2020, excited to get involved in his new community! Shortly after, he was accepted into Forward Montana’s Spring 2020 internship class. With a background in political finance and fundraising, Greg felt at home at Forward Montana and dove right into on-the-ground organizing, first as an intern, then as Voter Mobilization Organizer. Today, you’ll find him digging through data, calling our rad supporters, and working on grant proposals as Development Coordinator. Welcome back, Greg!

To get in touch with Greg or to give him a warm welcome, email greg@forwardmontana.org.

ICYMI:

Pari Kemmick, our Billings Field Manager spoke at the Northern Plains Resource Council’s People’s Hearing Rally to Stop the Laurel Methane Plant on February 10th. To learn more about the methane plant and read coverage of the event, check out the link here.

To hear her speech watch the video below: 

Signs with Izzy ????

Introducing: Signs with Izzy! Every month, our amazing LGBTQ+ Advocacy Organizer, Izzy, will let us know what’s going on with astrology and politics. Head to the link below to view the Tik Tok video. Don’t worry, you don’t need to have a Tik Tok account to view it!

Signs with Izzy

A Note From Kiersten

Last summer, we challenged SB 319, a bill that would have silenced the voices of college students and removed Montana judges from hundreds of pending cases. In case you missed it, here’s the short version:

Less than 24 hours before the end of the 2021 Montana legislative session, legislators added two completely new provisions to a straightforward, uncontroversial bill.

These last minute changes violated a provision in Montana’s State Constitution that prohibits a bill from containing multiple unrelated subjects. This type of lawmaking is a tactic used to purposely confuse constituents and distract from the real issues at hand. It’s the type of lawmaking that the Montana greats of the 1972 Constitutional Convention wanted to prevent.

Our lawsuit also argued that the new provisions violate the First and Sixth amendments of the State Constitution because it would greatly restrict the rights of college students and potentially send the state court system into chaos.

On February 3rd, District Court Judge Mike Menehan ruled that last minute changes to a bill during the 2021 legislative session violates the state constitution. What does this mean? It means that we won our lawsuit!

We’re thrilled to be a part of this monumental case that uses the single subject rule to challenge unconstitutional provisions.

Don’t forget to sign up for our newest newsletter series – Power Play. Power Play will be exploring the past, present, and future of Montana energy generation, transmission, and regulation. 

sign up

January Newsletter

Posted on by Dara Deines
  1. Welcome to our first monthly newsletter! We will send out a monthly email with all things Forward Montana, but don’t worry, you can update your email preferences here if you don’t want to receive this! 
  2. Yesterday, the Senate failed to pass the Freedom to Vote: John R. Lewis Act. This is extremely disappointing.
  3. We are hiring a Flathead Field Manager and a Civic Engagement Organizer! 

What’s happening at Forward Montana?

We’re hiring for a Flathead Field Manager and a Civic Education Organizer! Head to the link below to learn more. 

work with us

Sleeping Giant Citizens Council, the Helena affiliate of the Northern Plains Resource Council, is hosting a FREE public forum on the proposed passenger rail on Tuesday, January 25th at 7:00PM over Zoom.

register

Election Judges are needed across the state, but especially in Missoula! Head to the link below to learn more and to sign up today! 

more info

A Note from Kiersten Iwai

Hello and welcome to our first monthly newsletter! If you don’t know me yet, my name is Kiersten Iwai and I’m Forward Montana’s Executive Director. Every month, we’ll be keeping you informed and up-to-date on all things voting rights, elections, politics, and more! 

Breaking News on Voting Rights

Yesterday, the Senate failed to pass the Freedom to Vote: John R. Lewis Act.This is extremely disappointing.

If you haven’t been following this legislation closely, here’s what you need to know: Over the past year, Congress has struggled to pass two bills that would be instrumental in strengthening our democracy and securing our right to vote. Congressional leaders combined the two bills into one, the Freedom to Vote: John R. Lewis Act. Because of complicated Senate rules about cloture, debates, and the filibuster, this monumental piece of legislation failed to secure enough votes to advance.

This bill is at the heart of what Forward Montana stands for. We can’t make our communities a better place unless we have a voice at the table. While we are disheartened by the result, we applaud the senators (shout out to Senator Tester!) who have backed this legislation, and chosen to ensure voting rights are human rights. The work is not over. Join us as we continue to fight for everyone’s right to vote.

Power Play – A Newsletter Series

Announcing Power Play – a newsletter series exploring the past, present, and future of Montana energy generation, transmission, and regulation. Companies, corporations, and elected officials have moved the pieces determining Montana’s energy landscape for over a century. Today, NorthWestern Energy supplies power to two-thirds of Montana’s energy consumers. The company could transform our state into an affordable and renewable energy powerhouse, but choose instead to depend on expensive and dirty fossil fuels. Why is NorthWestern Energy planning to spend over $1 billion building a fleet of gas fired power plants over the next two decades? Why hasn’t the Public Service Commission, the one publicly elected agency tasked with regulating NorthWestern Energy, defended us from rising energy prices and a climate catastrophe? We’ll inspect the past and present of these two entities to uncover the answers to these questions and actualize an equitable and sustainable energy future. 

FMT’s SB319 Litigation

Posted on by Dara Deines

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contacts: Raph Graybill, Graybill Law Firm, (406) 403-2811

** Forward Montana sues to challenge recent unconstitutional lawmaking **

[HELENA, MONTANA] Forward Montana, Montana Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, Lewis & Clark County Attorney Leo Gallagher, and a group of prominent members of the bar who represent both plaintiffs and defendants, have filed a lawsuit challenging a recently passed law that silences the voices of college students and would remove Montana judges from hundreds of pending cases.

Less than 24 hours before the end of the legislative session, legislators commandeered SB319 and added two completely new provisions to the bill. The changes are both sweeping and unconstitutional. The first provision requires judges to recuse themselves anytime they receive $91 or more in independent spending from a political committee that a party or attorney before them has supported financially in any amount.  If the provision takes effect on July 1, it will cause chaos in the judiciary by forcing the removal of judges from hundreds of pending cases in Montana.  The second provision bans voter registration and other First Amendment activities around certain public university facilities, such as a Montana Grizzly football game. The provisions were added onto SB319 in a hearing that lasted just sixteen minutes and without public comment.

The complaint alleges that these changes violate Article V, Section 11 of the Montana Constitution, which requires that bills contain only a single subject and prevents the legislature from amending laws so much during the process that they lose their original purpose.  Though the practice is unconstitutional, it became more common during the most recent legislative session.

About bringing this challenge, Kiersten Iwai, Executive Director of Forward Montana issued the following statement:

“Our democracy works best when everyone is involved, not just a few lawmakers behind closed doors. Think I’m exaggerating? The hearing for this bill lasted only sixteen minutes with no opportunity for public input. That’s the definition of closed-door lawmaking.

Montana’s State Constitution is designed to prevent last minute amendments – just like these – by prohibiting a bill from containing multiple unrelated subjects. This type of lawmaking is a tactic used to purposefully confuse constituents and distract from the real issues at hand.

The results of this quick lawmaking should be a concern to all Montanans. It’s an assault against our democracy and must be challenged in court. Legislators need to know that this behavior will not be tolerated.”

Joining the lawsuit is the Montana Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers. The Association cautioned that if SB319’s recusal provisions go into effect, it could affect hundreds of pending criminal cases in Montana and potentially interfere with other constitutional rights like the right to a speedy trial.

Colin Stephens, President of the Montana Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, noted that the suit has drawn support from both the prosecution and defense side of the criminal bench:

“Any time I can stand side by side with Leo Gallagher is an interesting but good time.  Bad legislation makes strange bedfellows.”

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View the full SB319 Complaint here

2021 Legislative Session Statement

Posted on by Dara Deines

As an organization that advocates for the safety and well-being of all Montanans, the last few months of the 2021 Legislative Session have been tough.

After a disappointing election where Republicans gained 10 state seats and control of the governor’s office for the first time in 16 years, we expected to see the Republican agenda advance. This was no surprise. What was not expected were the ways in which GOP leadership would use their power to exploit the legislative process and enact controversial policies to safeguard their unilateral control from years to come.

The tactics used to engineer this power grab were bold and manifold. Members of the minority party were silenced during floor debates. Committee chairs invalidated the experiences of constituents and bullied organizations who came to testify at hearings. There were attempts to conduct committee hearings without Democrats present and a move to exclude reporters from Republican caucus meetings, despite Montana’s strong open meeting laws.

Unfortunately, there seem to be few accountability measures in place in these instances. Legislators in the majority party can easily get away with even the most blatant abuses of decorum with little consequence, as we saw. The pace of the session is too quick for the media and other organizations to give each of these abhorrent occurrences the scrutiny that our democracy deserves.

When legislators are elected to office, it is their job, first and foremost, to listen to their constituents. However, during the 11th hour of the session, Republicans packed last minute line items into hard-fought budget bills and added sweeping amendments with no opportunity for public input. While this behavior is not uncommon at the end of any legislative session, the degree to which it occurred was unprecedented. No matter which side of the aisle you stand on, we should all be concerned with a rushed government that excludes the voices of the people who it governs.

Much of our own time and energy as an organization was spent fighting baseless attacks on Montanans’ rights and bodies, rather than working towards meaningful compromise and solutions to the issues facing our state. It is exhausting to show up time and time again, fighting harmful bills that should never have been introduced in the first place.

If you weren’t able to keep up, here are some key policy takeaways from the 67th Montana Legislative session:

  • In a state with a commitment to “maintain and improve a clean and healthful environment” written into our Constitution, we’ve rolled back clean water protections and allowed Northwestern Energy, our state’s energy monopoly, to forgo investments in renewable energy projects.
  • In a state where voters and politicians are vocal defenders of our constitutional rights, we’ve enacted bills from ALEC, a corporate-funded right-wing group selling prepackaged agendas to curtail First Amendment rights.
  • Legislators who campaigned on the promise of keeping the government out of private decisions, put forward bills doing the exact opposite: putting the government between individuals and their doctors.
  • In a state built on the backs of blue-collar workers, our legislators introduced bills to attack unions while offering tax breaks for the wealthy.
  • In a state brimming with Montana pride, conservative organizations brought in paid out-of-state lobbyists to testify on controversial bills, while dismissing the experiences of Montana families.
  • Republicans who campaigned on small government, demonstrated an obsession with consolidating power into the hands of a few (themselves) and dismantling local control across the state — launching an assault on local governments, health boards, and the Montana Board of Regents.

Perhaps most concerning this session was the attack on democracy itself. The Legislature and Gov. Gianforte passed multiple laws that will undoubtedly make it harder for Montanans to cast a ballot. To accomplish this, the Gianforte Administration spread dangerous lies and misinformation around “election integrity.” Make no mistake: this is a calculated effort to sow undue skepticism and distrust in Montana’s elections in order to justify voter suppression legislation that will keep people of color, young people, people with disabilities, and others away from the polls.

In addition, there were over a dozen GOP bills introduced to undermine the Judiciary, an independent branch of government. It’s clear that to Gov. Gianforte, the court system is the last barrier to unilateral Republican control. Our legislature knows that these power grabs are unconstitutional – which is why they’ve padded the Secretary of State’s office with money to defend their voter suppression bills in court. In the meantime, Legislative Republicans have launched a well-timed campaign to smear the reputation of the Montana Judiciary. These actions are a threat to the checks and balances of our democracy and should concern every last one of us, regardless of your political beliefs.

Spend a day listening to heartfelt testimony on any number of the bills heard this session and you will realize the thousands of lives affected by this legislation. These laws shape our lives. They perpetuate injustice. The process of sharing your story in front of people who do not listen, who intimidate you into silence, or gaslight you into believing your experience isn’t real, is traumatizing. Yet, this is the reality of the state legislature. It is an unsafe and violent environment for many, especially BIPOC and other historically marginalized communities, and yet Montanans keep showing up. Because our lives and the future of our state depend on it.

We must also acknowledge the shortcomings of our legislative process in itself. Montana is one of only a handful of states with a “citizen legislature,” meaning it is made up of ordinary folks who serve part-time in addition to their regular jobs. While a citizen legislature has the advantage of representing a broad range of folks, not everyone is in a position of privilege to take 90 days off work, resulting in a body that is not truly representative of all Montanans.

In addition, Montana is one of only four states with a biennial legislature, convening only every other year. This means that two years of budget and policy work is crammed into just four months of lawmaking. At several points throughout this session, the haste at which complex bills were being heard was not only impossible to engage with, but insulting to the people whose lives these laws will impact for years to come.

The current structure of the Montana legislature is not conducive to meaningful public participation and perpetuates systems of inequality. It is a reproductive organ of white supremacist capitalist patriarchy. While we must work for change within this oppressive institution, we must simultaneously question its purpose, functionality, and impacts on all Montanans, and imagine alternative ways to create change in our communities. At Forward Montana, we are committed to doing both.

We are incredibly grateful for anyone who made an effort to testify this session. Union members showed up en masse and quashed right-to-work legislation which passed in other states. Medical professionals, young people, and LGBTQ+ Montanans and allies worked tirelessly to stop two bills that would have prohibited transgender youth from accessing lifesaving healthcare. Together, we protected access to Medicaid and SNAP for thousands of low-income Montana families. Your stories and voices make a difference.

We are thankful to everyone who contacted legislators, wrote into local newspapers, or started conversations with loved ones around the issues that matter to you and will continue to affect our lives for many years to come. We are also extremely grateful to many of our hard working legislators who continued to represent us day after day and fight for all Montanans. They are true public servants.

At Forward Montana, we have big dreams for our state, and we recognize that we have a long way to go. Our legislative process is steeped in white supremacy and harms ALL Montanans in one way or another. There are no simple solutions, but there are countless creative, compassionate, and dedicated young Montanans who believe in a better future. This gives us enormous hope.

Whether you’ve been civically engaged for years or just started paying attention, we hope this legislative session galvanized you into action. As citizens, we are not meant to be spectators in the political game we call democracy, but engaged participants. As a wise person once said, “The antidote, the only antidote, to the power of organized money is the power of organized people.” We’re going to need everyone’s help to renew our democracy in the wake of the 67th Legislative Session.

Please take a break to rest, rejuvenate, and regain your strength, and once you feel ready, we hope you’ll continue to join us to fight for a more equitable and inclusive Montana.

We’d love your feedback on how we can best work together.

What the Helena – The Final Wrap-Up!

Posted on by Dara Deines

*May 9, 2021*

It’s been just over a week since we bid adieu to the 2021 Legislative Session, and we hope y’all have been able to take a breather. As you’re probably aware, a lot of the legislation we saw this session wasn’t so great.

Over the last four months, you may have felt hopeless, angry, or afraid. You may have seen Montana in a new light, or you may have been unsurprised by the ceaseless attacks on our rights and bodies. Maybe you needed to take a step back to care for yourself and your loved ones. Know that we share many of these feelings, and that all of those responses to this year’s legislative sh*tshow are valid.

We should take time to rest, but we can’t disengage. The wheels of white supremacy, transphobia, and homophobia will keep turning in Montana. Each and every young person is needed to transform our state into a safe and loving place to live.

In our wrap-up edition, we will take a few minutes to recap the successes and carnage of the 67th Legislative session and share some resources. If you have feedback for us, we’d love to hear from you.

Wondering who’s been keeping you up-to-date this session? Tune in for five giggly minutes with our legislative team.

Climate Justice

The science of climate change is strong and alarming. In Montana, we can see glaciers melting before our eyes and feel the smoke in our lungs each summer from worsening forest fires. Environmental changes have social, economic, and political repercussions, while disproportionately affecting low-income communities and BIPOC in our country. Yet, on the state level, we continue to see short-sighted legislation that does not acknowledge or address these pressing issues.

We’ll start off by celebrating the deaths of some horrible bills! HB320 set the stage for the sale of public lands to private interests. SB379 gave Northwestern Energy a blank check for continued investment in the outdated Colstrip power plant while driving up energy bills for Montana households. SB260 would have discouraged the enforcement of environmental regulations put in place for the sake of public health. Thankfully, many environmental advocates banded together to defeat these bills, which did not make it across the finish line.

Now, getting a little heavier. Penalties for fossil fuel protest are about to get a whole lot higher. HB481 will increase the penalties for trespassing and vandalism of energy infrastructure (activities that are already illegal) — to an outrageous extent. The bottom line: HB481 is part of a nationwide effort to shut down Indigenous-led resistance to fossil fuel development. It’s on the Governor’s desk.

Meanwhile, Montana’s energy monopoly, Northwestern Energy (NWE), has gotten away with solidifying its reliance on fossil fuels at our expense. HB475, HB576, and SB237 will likely eliminate the Montana Renewable Portfolio Standard (which was created to encourage renewable energy development across Montana) and repeal the Community Renewable Energy Projects requirement — letting NWE off the hook for $2.5 penalty fees it currently owes to tribal and low income energy assistance programs. HB576 and SB237 are both waiting to be signed.

Montana’s energy industry may also be getting less democratic. HB273 would repeal Initiative 80 (I-80), a long-standing initiative which gave citizens the right to vote on any proposed nuclear facilities in our state. It doesn’t take a history buff to tell us how closely nuclear energy is linked with environmental injustices worldwide. No matter how you feel about nuclear power, Montanans deserve to have a voice. This is also waiting on Gov. Gianforte’s stamp of approval.

We will continue to fight alongside our neighbors young and old for a sustainable climate future, while bringing justice to the forefront of the conversation. In the meantime, support your local farmers! Learn about and participate in Indigenous-led climate movements! And donate to one of the many organizations in our state fighting for a healthy climate future.

Tribal Sovereignty

The issue of tribal sovereignty is often misunderstood and showed up a lot throughout the session, so we feel it’s important to recap.

Tribal Nations are sovereign nations, meaning they have the right to self-governance and the authority to oversee their own land and resources. They have a unique government-to-government relationship with the federal government. However, several bills introduced this session demonstrated the continued overreach into tribal affairs that Native Nations have been fighting for decades.

SB214, a tax bill rooted in settler colonialism, creates unnecessary barriers to tribal land consolidation efforts. This ignores the sovereignty of tribal nations. HB302 requires county approval to relocate bison. It includes an exemption for tribes, but advocacy organizations say the exemption is vaguely written and the bill could still threaten tribal sovereignty and disrupt ongoing tribal bison restoration efforts in Montana. 

Legislation like this continues to erode trust between tribes and state agencies, forcing Native Montanans to sacrifice time and resources in an effort to protect their Constitutional sovereignty.

On a good note, there were several bills introduced this session to address the epidemic of Missing and Murdered Indigenous People (MMIP). Three out of four passed and were signed into law — the first of many steps toward addressing this crisis in our state. 

If you want to support organizations that advocate for tribal sovereignty, please check out our partners at Western Native Voice. 

Economic Justice

Y’all, I wish this update could be more heartening, and yet, in keeping with the all-too-familiar theme of less than good news, it’s time to identify some of the barriers the 67th Legislature erected for lower income Montanans.

Housing:

The passage of HB259 prohibits inclusionary zoning practices in Montana, affecting the current housing efforts of Bozeman and Whitefish and excluding all other towns from using this tactic to address affordable housing needs. ICYMI: inclusionary zoning requires that new residential developments include a certain percentage of affordable units.  

And, if you’re a renter, a slew of bills introduced by Rep. Steven Galloway of Great Falls (HB401, HB402, HB439, HB541) will put more power into the hands of landlords, aka himself, and contribute to the already predatory rental environment we face. Thanks to the disproportionate number of contractors and landlords who are elected into office, the housing crisis will be sticking around.

Healthcare:

Anti-reproductive healthcare extremists inundated the Capitol this year and we have many new restrictive laws to show for it. As of the end of the session, the Legislature passed bills to ban abortion procedures at 20 weeks, shame abortion patients, inhibit medical practitioners’ ability to provide medication abortions, and restrict funding for low-income Montanans in need of reproductive healthcare services. Lastly, after the passage of HB167 we will see a “Born Alive Infant Protection Act” on the 2022 ballot which would penalize doctors who don’t provide life-saving care to a newborn that has no chance of survival. Families and medical providers already have to make impossible decisions in these situations, and this bill is nothing but cruel political theatre that will re-traumatize Montana families. 

A hint of hope! Our voices echoed through the halls on SB100, which would have increased barriers to Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), unfairly impacting low-income families. This bill was tabled in committee in early April and we were thrilled to see it stay on that table for the rest of the session.

Taxes:

And finally, the big “T” word. We saw some gallant efforts by legislators — ahem, Rep. Emma Kerr-Carpenter of Billings – who proposed robinhood-like legislation to raise taxes on the wealthy and put that money towards public programs and services. On the other hand, Gov. Gianforte (again: a wealthy tech mogul from NJ) recruited Sen. Greg Hertz of Polson to carry tax bills that would benefit only the wealthiest Montanans and result in massive revenue losses around the state. SB159 and SB399 will be implemented one after the other, allowing the rich to get even richer. These bills will undoubtedly have long-term consequences.

The road to economic justice is a bumpy ride. Consider following along with us and partner organizations like Montana Budget and Policy Center, Montana Women Vote, and Planned Parenthood Advocates of Montana as we buckle up for the journey ahead. And, if you have the means to donate – the Susan Wickland Fund and MT BIPOC Mutual Aid assist marginalized and healthcare-seeking communities.

Voting Rights

With a Republican supermajority that lives and breathes voter suppression, our rights took a hard hit this session. Many horrific bills that will keep eligible citizens from voting passed easily on party-line votes.

One of the biggest, baddest bills of the session, HB176, eliminated same-day voter registration (SVR). That’s right folks, SVR is no longer. ICYMI, Montana voters have affirmed time and time again that they want this service; we implemented SVR in 2005, voted overwhelmingly to keep it in 2014, and continue to use this service — 3,352 Montanans used SVR in the 2020 general election alone. That’s a whole lot of voters who might not be able to make their voices heard in future elections.

This session also brought some targeted attacks on voting for young, low-income, and BIPOC folks. SB169, now law, enacts more stringent voter ID requirements and prohibits the use of student ID as an acceptable form of standalone voter ID (don’t worry, concealed carry permits are still allowed). That’s f*cked up. This means that if you’ve been using your student ID or out-of-state license to vote, you might need to bring extra documentation with your name and MT address when you register and go to vote in person. 

Additionally, language inserted into HB530 at the very last minute prohibits paid ballot collection. This prevents groups like our parter org, Forward Montana Foundation, and our other partners from helping voters safely deliver their ballots to their county elections offices on Election Day. An extremely similar law was ruled unconstitutional last year because of its disproportionate impact on rural, Native American voters. This bill, and the other two mentioned above, will have their day in court very soon.

What can you do now? Continue following us on Instagram, follow groups like Western Native Voice, ACLU of MT, and MontPIRG, subscribe to the Montana Free Press newsletter, vote in every election, and talk to your friends and family about the importance of protecting our Constitutional right to participate in our democracy.

LGBTQ2S+ Equality

Gosh, y’all. It’s been a bumpy ride, but here we are. Nationally, we have seen more bills directly targeting transgender people than ever before. In Montana, this session brought us a whole slew of bills attacking the rights of LGBTQ+ and especially trans Montanans, and our work is far from over. After thousands of messages sent, dozens of hearings watched, and a few exciting victories, here’s where we stand now:

Thanks to the passage of SB215, it is now legal for people, businesses, and other entities to claim “religious exemption” to civil and criminal laws, including nondiscrimination ordinances. In other states, this has led to LGBTQ+ people being denied services, employers refusing insurance coverage for medications like birth control and PreP, and other extremely dystopian-feeling human rights violations. If this scares you (it should) you can urge your U.S. Congressional representatives to support the federal Do No Harm Act.

We also face new barriers to accurate identification. Under SB280, now law, transgender people who want to change the gender marker on their birth certificate must first go to court and present proof of gender confirmation surgery. This law ignores the fact that most trans people never receive surgery, for a variety of reasons, and still deserve to have identification that reflects who they are. If you were born in Montana and could be impacted by this law, the ACLU wants to hear from you. Reach out to aclu@aclumontana.org to share your story. 

The final big change we’re grappling with is the passage of HB112, which prohibits transgender girls and women from participating in school sports in Montana. This is blatant discrimination, and similar laws are currently tied up in courts; we foresee the same happening in Montana. For now, though, hold your trans friends a little closer. This isn’t the end of the fight. Contact Senator Tester and Senator Daines and ask them to vote in support of the Equality Act, which could stop these bills in their tracks. 

Let’s end on some good news: we were able to stop not one but TWO bills that aimed to bar transgender children from receiving lifesaving gender-affirming healthcare. We saw these bills pop up across the nation this year, and defeating them here in Montana was no small feat. Each and every one of you who turned up in support of trans youth helped make this happen, and we couldn’t be more grateful. 

So where do we go from here? Let’s figure it out together. We know that in the coming years in Montana, we will need to invest in our communities more than ever. We need to build and strengthen support networks for queer and trans Montanans, ensure that everyone has access to the things they need, and continue having conversations with our neighbors about what it means to be LGBTQ2S+ in Montana. We need to dig into our colonial preconceptions of gender and sexuality, individually and as a society. This is hard work, but we’re in it together. 

If you have dreams about what queer connection could look like in Montana, hit our line. In the meantime, if you are a trans, gender-nonconforming, or Two-Spirit Montanan (or the parent of a child who holds these identities) and are in need of community, you can reach out to paxton@mhrn.org to chat about support groups.

Finally, check out this beautiful blog post written by an FMT intern, where she reflects on what it’s been like to be queer in Montana over these last few months. 

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Rest, drink water, soak up the sun – our work has just begun.