A RESOLUTION REGARDING CONSTITUTIONAL INITIATIVE NO. 132 (CI-132) AND NONPARTISAN JUDICIAL ELECTIONS IN MONTANA

WHEREAS, the Fort Belknap Indian Community Council is the governing body of the Gros Ventre and Assiniboine Tribes of the Fort Belknap Indian Community, Fort Belknap Indian Reservation, Montana, by the authority of the Constitution and By-Laws of the Fort Belknap Tribes approved on the 13 day of December 1935, and

A RESOLUTION REGARDING CONSTITUTIONAL INITIATIVE NO. 132 (CI-132) AND NONPARTISAN JUDICIAL ELECTIONS IN MONTANA

BE IT RESOLVED BY FORT PECK DEMOCRATIC TRIBAL COMMITTEE OF THE MONTANA DEMOCRATIC PARTY

WHEREAS, the Fort Peck Democratic Tribal Committee is the duly elected Democratic Tribal Committee and is authorized to adopt resolutions concerning matters affecting the interests and welfare of the Fort Peck Assiniboine and Sioux Tribal members and its tribal citizens; and

A RESOLUTION REGARDING CONSTITUTIONAL INITIATIVE NO. 132 (CI-132) AND NONPARTISAN JUDICIAL ELECTIONS IN MONTANA

BE IT RESOLVED BY THE WOLF POINT COMMUNITY ORGANIZATION

WHEREAS, the Wolf Point Community Organization is the duly constituted governing body of the Wolf Point Community of Fort Peck Assiniboine and Sioux Indians and is authorized to adopt resolutions concerning matters affecting the interests and welfare of the Wolf Point Community and its enrolled tribal citizens; and

A RESOLUTION TO EXPRESS SUPPORT FOR MONTANA CONSTITUTIONAL INITIATIVE NO. 132 (CI-132) CONCERNING NONPARTISAN STATE JUDICIAL ELECTIONS.

As retired district court judges who worked in courtrooms across Montana, we know there is no Democratic or Republican way to handle the everyday court cases Montanans face. That’s why we support Constitutional Initiative 132 to keep our judicial elections nonpartisan.

Supporting Montana workers isn’t partisan. Our labor unions have members from both sides of the aisle and across the political spectrum. Creating economic opportunity and putting Montana workers first aren’t Republican or Democratic issues but things that affect the everyday lives of Montana workers and their families.

Citizens Initiative 132 takes on the current threat to Montana's historically non-partisan judicial election process. For over 90 years, Montanans have wisely chosen to keep politics out of judicial elections. Judges are not politicians and should never be accountable to party bosses or those in powerful positions. They are experienced public servants governed by high ethical standards.

I’m confident few, if any, Montanans want more partisan influence in our politics. In fact, Montanans decided almost a century ago that our judicial elections should be nonpartisan. Politicians in Helena who want to make our courts partisan are not in line with the will of voters, and we have the chance to show them we want to keep our politics out of our courts by voting yes on CI-132 this November.

Montanans should vote yes on CI-132. One of the things I like about CI-132 is that it continues to make records and qualifications the focus of judicial elections rather than a certain political agenda. We’ve been electing judges in nonpartisan elections for 90 years.

Having spent many years covering news and courts, I have seen firsthand that individuals entering a courtroom feel like they have little to no power. They rely entirely on our judicial system to provide fair and impartial justice. Unfortunately, the toxic partisanship tearing our country apart threatens that very impartiality.

After representing clients in Montana courts for over 50 years, I firmly believe judges and justices should be elected on the basis of their record and qualifications, not politics. We need judges qualified by experience, effectiveness and competence in court and who share our values of honesty, integrity, judgment and fairness.

Voting YES on CI-132 gives us all an opportunity to keep our courts impartial. Montana’s judicial elections have been nonpartisan since 1935, and they need to stay that way.

CI-132 is a simple measure that adds just FIVE words to the MT Constitution: "Judicial Elections shall remain Nonpartisan."

Constitutional Initiative -132 is a simple initiative that puts one sentence into Montana's constitution: "Judicial elections in Montana shall remain nonpartisan."

The passage of the ballot initiative CI-132 is so important. CI-132 simply puts into the Montana Constitution that judges will remain non-partisan, as they have been for the last 90 years. It's that simple. Judges should not declare support for one political affiliation over the other, whether they are a candidate for Montana Supreme Court or a District Judge who will preside over civil cases, felonies, and probate. As our judges deal with everyday Montanans, we need to know they will set aside their political affiliation when they enter the Courtroom.

The Founders understood that liberty depends not simply on elections, but on institutions strong enough to enforce constitutional limits on government. Preserving an independent, nonpartisan judiciary is not contrary to conservative principles — it safeguards these principles. If we truly believe in limited government, checks and balances, and the rule of law, we should also believe in keeping unnecessary partisan politics out of our courts. That is precisely what CI-132 would do.

In an era of divisive politics, one thing Montanans agree on is the importance of our access to public lands and waters. These are more than values we hold: they are constitutional rights Montanans hold dear.

When those rights are challenged, those cases end up in our courts. We rely on Montana’s judges and justices to uphold the law fairly and impartially, without political bias. That’s why Wild Montana Action Fund has endorsed CI-132, a constitutional initiative that will keep our judicial elections nonpartisan.

Our country has weathered many storms with a system based on three balanced branches of government: Congress, Executive and Judiciary. This ensures lively, civil debates on policy, and it makes it very difficult for any one person or group to amass a dangerous amount of power. An independent judiciary is, of course, critical to this balance.

I was honored to serve Montana in law enforcement for over 42 years, first as a juvenile probation officer for the Fourth Judicial District and Chief Probation Officer for the Seventh Judicial District, then as Dawson County Sheriff, and finally as U.S. Marshall for Montana. I saw the good, the bad, and the ugly throughout those decades, but one thing was consistent: whether within the court system or as Sheriff, I worked with some of the highest quality judges in Montana.

If one serves that long in law enforcement, one’s going to disagree with a judge’s decision a time or two. That’s okay. But I always knew judges were first and foremost committed to upholding the law and the constitution, interpreting cases and offering judgements in a fair, impartial way. That’s why we need Constitutional Initiative 132: to keep politics and the money it runs on out of our courts.

CI-132 wording is simple: “Judicial elections shall remain nonpartisan.” It’s been that way since 1935 in response to Montana’s powerful Copper Kings who were buying judges to rule in their favor. This Citizen Initiative protects this long-standing tradition so we can keep judges accountable to the people’s interests, not deep pocketed political interests.