31 December 2018 — 2040 mst
Monica Lindeen hired as executive director
of the Montana Democratic Party
Lindeen in Kalispell in 2016.
Mary Sexton, head of the Montana Democratic Party, today announced that former state auditor Monica Lindeen will replace Nancy Keenan, who is retiring, as the MDP’s executive director. Lindeen’s first day on the job will 2 January.
Lindeen’s political résumé is similar to Keenan’s, but is more Montana centric.
Beginning in 1999, Lindeen served four terms in the Montana House of Representatives. She lost to Denny Rehberg in the 2006 election for Montana’s seat in the U.S. House of Representatives, then won elections for auditor in 2008 and 2012. Her last hurrah was in 2016 when she lost to Corey Stapleton in the election for Montana’s secretary of state.
Prior to becoming a politician, Lindeen co-founded the Montana Communications Network in Billings. She earned a degree in education from Montana State University in Billings.
The Howard Dean model
A political party’s choosing a former elected official as its executive director is the Howard Dean model. Dean, the former governor of Vermont whose 2004 bid for the Democratic Presidential nomination came to a screaming halt, became the Democratic National Committee’s head honcho after John Kerry’s defeat. Dean devised the 50-state strategy that many believe laid the foundation for Barack Obama’s victory in 2008.
As a former candidate and elected official, Lindeen understands the practical needs, fundraising prime among them, of running winning campaigns, and has the cat herding skills required for leading Democrats, a famously fractious coalition.
As the party’s executive director, Lindeen says she will continue her advocacy for health care plans that cover pre-existing conditions.
Working Montanans want their elected officials to protect health care rights, defend our public lands, and create good paying jobs for families across our state. Montana Democrats are working hard to do all this and more, and I’m excited to get to work electing candidates up and down the ballot.
2020 will be a challenging year for Montana’s Democrats
Because of Montana’s limits on terms served, Gov. Steve Bullock cannot run again. Bullock and his predecessor, Brian Schweitzer, used their vetoes to protect Montanan’s from the most damaging bills passed by the Republican controlled legislature. If a Republican replaces Bullock, and Republicans hold both legislative chambers, Montana will turn into Arkansas or Idaho or Wyoming faster than a red beer besotted leadfoot in a pickup runs into a telephone pole as all sorts of crazy bills will be passed and signed into bad law.
Winning 2020’s statewide elections will be the MDP’s top priority, but the party needs to make a bigger and better effort to elect more Democrats to the legislature. In 2016, Steve Bullock carried over 50 MT House districts, but only 41 Democrats were elected to the MT House. Democrats must and can do better in 2020.