PoliticktickBOOM

We’re back! After a long hiatus, it’s time to dive into Politics again and meet the people that are trying to change the world.

John Heenan is our first guest, and he’s running for the lone U.S. Congressional seat in Montana. He’s a small business owner and consumer rights advocate based in Billings, Montana where he lives with his wife Meagen and their four children. As a consumer rights advocate, John has spent his career stepping up for Montanans who have been ripped off by big banks and big insurance companies. In addition to his work as a consumer rights advocate, he has also been deputized by the State of Montana to prosecute dark money cases, the most notable being former State Legislator Art Wittich, who was found guilty doing the bidding of a Right to Work dark money group. Since announcing in early August, John has traveled the State of Montana, from Sidney in the east to Kalispell in the Northwest. Meeting people is the heart and soul of this campaign.

It’s not every day that you get to sit down with a candidate for the U.S. Senate and chat for a while about all the reasons they’re running, and all the cool things they’ve done in their life. But that’s exactly what happened today! Candidate Dirk Adams took some time to swing by and chat about why he’s in the race, what he’s done with his life, who he is, and what he hopes to accomplish. I think you’re gonna like him, and I know that once you’ve listened in, you’re going to have a much harder time voting in the primary.

And, WE’RE BACK! It’s been a little over eight months since the last episode, and frankly, it’s about time we started back up and what better way than by chatting with the awesome Monica Lindeen, Montana’s State Commissioner of Securities & Insurance. Well, she will be after we adjust the constitution to reflect what her role actually is. Confused? You shouldn’t be, but we discuss that and much more in this relaunching episode of PTTB. Enjoy!

Representative Amanda Curtis sits down with us to discuss the past session, what was great, what sucked, and what’s next. The outspoken Butte High teacher shows humor, humility and passion for all that’s she’s done and clues us in to things that she’s going to do next. Enjoy!

Representative Bryce Bennett took time out of his busy schedule to sit down and go over the most recent session, what’s coming up both politically and personally for him, what the interim may bring, & what’s new in Montana politics. Enjoy!

We’re joined once again by Representative Nick Schwaderer, a.k.a. “The Schwad”, and we get a wrap up of the session, some thoughts on what went well versus what went off the rails, and how things are shaping up for Montanans. And his interim assignment, which is really quite cool. Enjoy!

We finally get a new episode and it’s with the rather spectacular Galen Hollenbaugh. Listen in as we discuss the magic trick he managed to pull off this last week in the Montana Legislature, and what it means for all Montanans. And we discuss the Formerly Known As The Bonding Bill Jobs Bill, the future of Montana’s pension plan, and what’s next for the final few weeks of the 2013 Session. If you want to know more about Galen, you can find him at Hollenbaugh.org, on Twitter as @MTGjh and via Legislative Services.

Being a lobbyist is hard enough, what with the bad press and the angry opposition that the other side always throws at you, but it’s even worse when you’re working on an issue that divides people as harshly as reproductive rights. Kim has been the Program Director for NARAL Prochoice Montana for a while now, and she took some time out the very busy session schedule to sit down and chat about it. Enjoy!

The amazing and wondering Jenifer Gursky takes a quick hour of her very busy schedule to swing by and have a chat with us about what politics is about these days. You will enjoy this episode of the show, and if you need to reach Jen, you can follow her on Twitter, contact her on Facebook or via her legislator profile.

Welcome to 2013 and the first episode of the new year, and the new session. This show started because the 2011 Legislature of Montana was filled with insanity and crazy, and part of the problem was that people don’t know their representatives or their senators. So we get to meet them here.

Freshman Representative Schwaderer, or “Schwad” as he’s commonly referred to, joins us to talk about running for office, facing the press, and getting things done. If you’d like to contact him, you can reach him via his Facebook, Twitter, or vialegislative services profile.