Getting to know Montana’s State Auditor candidates

(Photo by Will Newton | Getty Images)

About this profile

The Daily Montanan sent candidates in this race a list of five questions prepared by staff members. We have limited each response to 200 words. All candidates have been given the same opportunity to respond and the same word limit. Candidates who do not appear with the rest of the candidates in the race did not submit answers to the Daily Montanan. Answers that were longer than 200 words were trimmed to the nearest sentence. If you have any questions, please reach out to info@dailymontanan.com

The Montana State Auditor seat is open this year because incumbent Republican State Auditor Troy Downing is running in the Republican primary for the also-open 2nd Congressional District seat.

The state auditor acts as the Commissioner of Securities and Insurance in Montana, which is charged with protecting consumers, investigating and prosecuting fraud, and regulating insurance and securities companies.

Three candidates will be on voters’ primary ballots for the race in June – two Republicans and one Democrat.

James Brown, currently the chairperson of the Montana Public Service Commission and a private practice attorney from Beaverhead County, will face John Jay Willoughby in the Republican primary.

Willoughby sells insurance at his company based in Helena, founded a bail bonds company, and previously worked in law enforcement.

There is only one Democrat running in the race this year, John Repke, a Whitefish business executive who ran unsuccessfully for the Public Service Commission in 2022.

With absentee ballots already in the hands of voters, the Daily Montanan is profiling the candidates in most of the statewide primaries for voters to decide to whom they want to lend their support.

Republicans

James Brown

The role of the Auditor and the Commissioner of Securities and Insurance is far-reaching. What is your top priority for the office?

The role of the State Auditor is far reaching and multi-faceted. Consequently, it is hard to name just one important issue to address. But I absolutely will focus on key issues such as making Montana a place where people seeking insurance coverage have numerous policy choices and can find insurance at affordable rates due to a healthy regulatory environment and robust competition. 

I will also focus on protecting all Montanans from insurance fraud and scams. The underhanded criminals who perpetrate crimes against our seniors and other white-collar criminals will know that there is no place for them to operate in the Treasure State.

What changes would you like to see at the office?

Having grown up in rural Montana, I know how difficult it can be for Montana citizens to access resources offered by state agencies located in Helena. Therefore, I will continue the education efforts undertaken by the agency to get out and into to Montana’s local communities, visit with stakeholders directly, and to be accessible on a one-on-one basis to all Montanans regardless of where they reside – from Alzada to Libby – such that rural areas are well represented.  I will also strive to provide resources to Montana businesses to find investors to grow their companies and to employ more Montanans.  

With more scams happening electronically and through banks, how would you propose keeping Montanans safe?

Once elected, I will focus the agency’s investigatory branch on the securities sector in order to protect against bad actors.  More needs to be done to shield Montana’s most vulnerable citizens from the pervasive and exploding use of artificial intelligence to commit fraud.

Do you have any plans to work with insurers to make sure that more child care facilities can obtain and keep their insurance, the cost of which has increased in recent years, according to providers?

The posed question does not call out the specific line(s) of insurance, however, I believe the best way to protect against insurance companies leaving the state is by creating a regulatory environment that makes Montana attractive to do business in. Insurance agents can also be a tremendous asset in this regard because they are on the most local level and will most accessible to the consumer.

Do you agree with the recommendations made in the 2023 financial compliance audit of the office, as the current auditor did?

The current Auditor agreed with the finding of the audit and, likewise, agreed to implement the recommendations. I would continue the implementation of those recommendations. 

Democrats

John Repke

The role of the Auditor and the Commissioner of Securities and Insurance is far-reaching. What is your top priority for the office?

Hard working Montanans and their families are struggling with how expensive living in Montana has become. Along with jumps in property taxes and utility rates, the increasing cost of insurance is a big part of the growing affordability challenge we are all having.  My top priorities are to shore up the healthcare marketplace and address coverages for catastrophic property loss.  Inadequate medical insurance coverage due to loss of a job, loss of Medicaid, or any other reason, puts folks in a precarious financial situation – and that puts our network of health care providers in a difficult position as well. We need to find ways to keep folks insured. Our system can’t work if they’re not. Other forms of insurance are also under stress. Rates are rising significantly, and more and more folks are unable to find or renew their policies. Much of this is tied to how insurers are assessing risk in light of the rise of catastrophic events, including wildfires. This is a complex area, but we must find solutions or Montana families will be one event away from losing all they have.     

What changes would you like to see at the office? 

I will work to put in place more proactive/forward looking approaches to the challenges in the insurance markets and to the prevention of financial scams as they become increasingly sophisticated. I also will support an increased effort to promote the work of the agency.  The staff does excellent work, but it still flies under the radar and a lot of Montanans are not aware of the services the agency has to offer.   

With more scams happening electronically and through banks, how would you propose keeping Montanans safe?

Education and awareness are the key. Regardless of the platform used by the scammers, an informed individual is less likely to become a victim. I will work to find more creative ways to make Montanans resistant to fraud and aware of the resources available to them.    

Do you have any plans to work with insurers to make sure that more child care facilities can obtain and keep their insurance, the cost of which has increased in recent years, according to providers?   

As with many challenges in the insurance markets these days, understanding the risks and assessing them correctly is the key to solving the problem. I certainly will work with insurers to understand the underlying issues and find solutions. The best solutions would be ones that come out of the market – and I will work with the insurers to find those, but I am not opposed to evaluating other solutions as well. 

Do you agree with the recommendations made in the 2023 financial compliance audit of the office, as the current auditor did?

Yes, I agree. I applaud the detailed work of the Legislative Audit team. They play an important role in making sure our state government works as it should. The findings at the State Auditor’s office were accounting and administrative procedure related. It is always important that the accounting be done correctly and that procedures are followed.  I am pleased that the current Commissioner agreed.

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