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Busse Campaign: ‘This is tax policy, not a wedding’
HELENA, Mont. — Former firearms executive Ryan Busse is calling out Governor Greg Gianforte’s illegal use of taxpayer-funded “save the date” postcards, sent to hundreds of thousands of Montana voters, in an attempt to benefit Gianforte’s endangered political campaign.
Busse’s campaign today filed a formal ethics complaint against Gianforte with the Montana Commissioner of Political Practices. The complaint, online HERE, includes evidence that the Governor’s use of these postcards violate multiple state laws:
“It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to see the obvious political nature of these postcards,” the complaint states, adding that “the historic residential property tax increases that Montana taxpayers have suffered under Gianforte’s tenure as governor are overwhelmingly unpopular.”
“There is no question this property tax increase is a source of anger, disappointment and confusion for Montanans across the political spectrum, and it presents a liability for Gianforte’s endangered reelection campaign,” the complaint continues. “No wonder why the Governor would prefer to use official resources and the power of his incumbency to mitigate this liability. Overtaxed voters who receive an invitation to get ‘tax relief’ might mistakenly believe Gianforte is wholly responsible for said ‘tax relief,’ when in fact he is the sole person in this state responsible for much higher residential property taxes in the first place.”
Specifically, the postcards violate Montana Law (MCA § 2-2-121(3)(a)) because “they are taxpayer-funded political communications to support the Governor’s campaign, and serve no public or governmental purpose whatsoever,” the complaint says.
“The Governor may claim that he was simply alerting taxpayers to some future government action they may take (a ‘save the date,’ in his own words),” the complaint adds. “But this does not save the postcard from its obvious political meaning. This is tax policy, not a wedding.”
Busse’s complaint says the Montana Department of Revenue, which Gianforte directly oversees, presumably sent these postcards to the nearly 300,000 Montana households that were eligible for opt-in, $675 property tax rebates in 2023. This means Montana taxpayers funded a political mailer at a significant but unknown cost.
The complaint also points out the fact that the taxpayer-funded postcards fail to disclose that they were printed and mailed at taxpayer expense, which is also required by Montana law (MCA § 18-7-306).
Busse for Montana is also demanding who paid for the political postcards, questioning whether the contract went to Ultra Graphics LLC. Ultra Graphics, “the go-to printing company for the Gianforte for Governor campaign,” is owned by Gianforte’s campaign manager, Jake Eaton.
If Ultra Graphics received the “sweetheart side contract,” it would be another clear violation of Montana Law (MCA § 2-2-121(2) and (3)), which prohibits public officials from directing public funds to their private business interests or otherwise taking government action to benefit private business interests.
“How much did it cost taxpayers to print these postcards?” Busse for Montana asked the Commissioner. “How much did it cost taxpayers to mail them to hundreds of thousands of households? Given the public expense, what was the profit margin for the contractor who spearheaded this effort? And who, exactly, got that contract?”
QUICK FACTS:
- Pronunciation: Ryan BUSS’-ee
- Home: Kalispell, Mont.
- Office Sought: Governor of Montana
- Affiliation: Democrat
- Website: busseformontana.com
- X (Twitter): @ryandbusse
- DOB: 2/23/70 (53)
- Occupation: Writer, Consultant, Firearms Expert and Former Executive (Vice President of Sales, Kimber America: 1995-2020)
- Family: Married to Sara for 24 years; two sons: Lander (18) and Badge (15)
- Alma Mater: Bethany College (Kansas)
- Chevy Odometer: 280,000 miles
- Hunting Dogs: Aldo and Teddy
- Bio: Ryan Busse is an author and former firearms executive who helped build the gun company Kimber from Kalispell between 1995 and 2020. Over his 25-year career Busse directed the sales of nearly three million Kimber firearms. His memoir, Gunfight: My Battle Against the Industry that Radicalized America, was published by PublicAffairs (Hachette) in 2021. Busse was born near the Kansas cattle ranch homesteaded by his great-grandfather. He is an avid hunter, angler and champion of public lands, and has held leadership positions with Backcountry Hunters and Anglers and Montana Conservation Voters. Busse and his wife Sara live in Kalispell and have two teenage sons.